Chicken eats baby bird

[suesakk]

I discovered my chicken was eating a baby bird. The feathers were about 2' long.how is that going to work? impacted crop?

 

[RUNuts]

I discovered my chicken was eating a baby bird. The feathers were about 2' long.how is that going to work? impacted crop?

Mine eat feathers when someone is molting. They don't lay around very long at all. No issues.

Do you have grit available?

I caught one of the layers finishing off a small bird. Sparrow maybe? They are all over every feeder but not the chicken feed. Nothing but the wings and breastbone were left. I returned later and found nothing. Vicious little fluffy butts.

 

[Rooster G]

Did you say you are in Jurassic Park?

 

[Chickassan]

Nope, baby bird will become poop.

 

[Kabootar]

I discovered my chicken was eating a baby bird. The feathers were about 2' long.how is that going to work? impacted crop?

No worries, chicken are omnivores. They often eat baby birds, mice, little snakes and other small helpless critters. It's good for them, it's nice good source of protein and calcium.

 

[Compost King]

My only worry would be chickens catching Mites or Lice from the baby bird but that's an easy fix if it occurs.

 

[Perris]

hello @suesakk ! welcome to BYC
as those above have said, all should be fine, so don't worry
I always find it grim to see one of them running round with a small animal (bird, toad, snake even) and bashing it into a broken mass before consuming it whole, and then remember their dinosaur heritage... I am so glad they evolved into something smaller than us!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Honestly it amazes me some of the critters our sweet little fluffy butt chickies will devour. My neighbor swears her flock went all in after some stray kittens that had been dumped in her yard. She said she had to go out with a broom to rescue them.

 

[cassie]

I discovered my chicken was eating a baby bird. The feathers were about 2' long.how is that going to work? impacted crop?

Chickens are scavengers. They can and do anything they can find or catch, including each other.

 

[Dona Worry]

I discovered my chicken was eating a baby bird. The feathers were about 2' long.how is that going to work? impacted crop?

You may have forgotten that chickens are descendants of dinosaurs, but they have not.
They'll be fine.