Chicken ate weather stripping!!!

[OliviaC]

Hi! Yesterday when my chickens were free ranging....I found one interested in our back door. She started running away with what looked like a white worm. Then my other hen ran up and stole it. By the time I got to them, they hid under the bushes and I noticed it was a very thin piece of weather stripping she pulled off the bottom of my door! about 8" long!

I tried and tried to get her...but it just enticed her even more and she ate it!!!! Now this morning she seems to be wheezing a bit.

I have had my fill of chicken problems over the years....but this scares me!!

Any suggestions??? Anything I can do for her??

 

[Judy]

Hopefully she will just pass it, though the wheezing is a bit worrisome, granted. I don't know what you can do about it. Maybe a soft treat like yogurt to encourage stuff to move along, or maybe a little olive oil. Just guessing what might help. If she actually inhaled something, I don't know of anything you can do. They say people inhale all sorts of stuff (bugs, etc.) and their bodies adjust.

I've heard more than one story of chickens eating styrofoam, fiberglass insulation, etc. who survived to eat again.