Chicken seems to have a seriously massive gas problem, but seems fine otherwise.

[JohnnyHarkerHts]

Every time I have gone out to feed my two english game hens, one of them inevitably lets out a very very long whistle fart that goes on for about 1-2 minutes.

She does it so regularly that I've gotten a good look to see if something is wrong with her when it's happening.

Other than getting in what looks like a determined position to let push the gas out by squatting somewhat she doesn't seemed bothered in the least.

In fact she's often come to eat while still farting, seriously.

How bad it is does vary, but I always hear at least one short, very audible one.

Knowing how smart chickens can be, I've wondered at times if she is doing this on purpose as some sort of joke on me.

Really though, I am a bit concerned even though she seems to be very healthy otherwise.

I'm wondering if maybe what is happening is some sort of fistula has formed between her cloaca and an air sac.

Has anyone ever heard of such a thing happening?

If that were the case though, I'd think she'd be experiencing some sort of infection by now, unless the pressure in the air sacs is so consistent that it prevents anything from entering it from the cloaca.

Does anyone have some ideas as to why this chicken is such a long-winded farting machine?

 

[N F C]

I really have nothing useful to say, other than this is the funniest thing I've read all day. I'm dying in front of my laptop and DH thinks I'm having a fit of some sort.

(I've only had chickens a year so if this is caused by some serious health issue, I sincerely apologize.)

 

[azygous]

I've had a hen fart on rare occasions when I go to pick her up, but nothing like the duration and consistency of yours. Has she always done this? Or is it a recent development?

I have a four-year old Sussex hen who has had watery poop since she was two days old and I brought her home from the feed store. I was worried at first that she was sick, but it never corrected itself, and she has had nothing but watery poop ever since, and she is perfectly healthy and normal in every other respect.

So perhaps you have a perfectly normal and healthy hen who is simply a little fart. I probably won't be the only one who will urge you to try to capture this on video.

 

[sunflour]

I, also, hope there is nothing wrong. But if she acts and eats normally, I would not be concerned. My largest, piggy BO also has farts. I named her Big Buff, but in retrospect should have named her Miss Piggy. Her first we witnessed was only a few days old. I really never knew chickens could do that, but why not? Humans, cats, dogs do it..It is funny but normal if everything else is normal.

 

[aart]

Have never heard a chicken fart.....could you get video?

 

[JohnnyHarkerHts]

I will try, but catching her in the act in order to video will not been easy, especially since you have to get really close to her to hear it over the background noises like the wind.

While I knew for a long time she could fart now and then, I never knew how extreme it was until early this November the first serious cold spell of the season caught me without her coup prepared.

So I popped her and her sister into a big dog kennel and kept them inside until I prepped their coup and it warmed up a few days later.

It was only then that I realized that when it came to chicken farts, she was a 14 ounce bantam English game hen who laid air eggs like a 14 pound Jersey Giant.

 

[sunflour]

My BO has only farted a couple of times that I have witnessed. It does seem strange that one would do it so often. I adopted a shelter cat once that had horrid gas issues and it was due to an intestinal yeast infection, all resolved with anti-fungal Rx. Have you observed your hens poops to make sure they look normal? If they do, then just laugh. If most are liquid, consider getting a stool analysis.

If you search YouTube, there are a few video's claiming a farting chicken…but the one that looks legitimate does have too much ambient noise to know for sure.

 

[JohnnyHarkerHts]

I have looked, and other than looking rather large for such a small chicken, the poop looks like it should like disgusting semi-solid mush with white stuff. I agree that it probably is nothing, but I thought it would be a good idea to ask to make sure for someone else this was a sign of problem yet to come.

 

[sunflour]

All that sounds normal. So don't worry unless you see something of concern. I bet all chickens do this, but not noticed.