Chicken swallowed a bolt

[Winderdear]

I massaged my hen’s crop for the past few days because it has been slow to empty. My husband and I both felt a hexagonal bolt, maybe 3/4 of an inch long inside her crop this morning. I’m not certain, but I believe it is a stainless steel bolt from our greenhouse that blew over.

How dangerous is this situation? We have no transportation at the moment. It may be a few days longer before we can get her to a vet, and I don’t feel confident doing surgery myself.

Edit: Here are some pictures of a similar bolt to the one we suspect was swallowed

 

[Debbie292d]

Generally, what goes in, can come out. At least the bright side is that this isn't a nail. There's a possibility she can pass this.

I'd withdraw feed so that her digestive system works on getting this out. You could give a little bit of frozen coconut oil, so that you don't have to mix it in feed. Just break off a small chunk of it and put it in her beak. That might help ease things along. For water, one time only, I'd give electrolytes. Otherwise, fresh water. Keep her hydrated.

I have high hopes it'll pass! Keep us posted.

 

[Triangle Nostril]

Not a nail or screw so the worst fear of it puncturing something internal seems resolved. I've had a similar scare before and from my research, it'll get gradually worn down in the gizzard and either come out with time or just hang in there becoming a part of the digestive system. They eat rocks, so getting something like this lodged is probably not much of a concern.

Like @Debbie292d said - maybe restrict feed a bit and give coconut oil. I think it'll be fine. Don't try to force it down with a massage and keep an eye out on the crop (particularly in the morning) for any abnormalities. It'll probably resolve on its own.

 

[Winderdear]

Thank you both @Triangle Nostril and @Debbie292d for your advice.

We have been giving her coconut oil because of the slow crop, and in the morning we withhold food and give her gentle massages. At this point we will stop massaging except to just feel for the stuck object so we know where it is. It’s been six days since her crop started slowing. Every morning her crop feels like a bouncy ball. We weigh her, then bring her inside and have her only drink water until the crop flattens as much as possible, then we return her to the flock and let her behave as normal. Her weight has steadily been climbing, about .02 lbs a day, and she behaves completely normally, except that she drinks a lot of water.

I’ll keep you updated if anything changes!

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she getting any food? Can you still feel the bolt in the crop? Someone on here has often recommended sour kraut to be be so the object gets passed along to the gizzard. It can be common for metal hardware to get stuck inside the gizzard. This is caused hardware disease and sometimes certain metals can cause toxicity.

 

[Winderdear]

Is she getting any food? Can you still feel the bolt in the crop? Someone on here has often recommended sour kraut to be be so the object gets passed along to the gizzard. It can be common for metal hardware to get stuck inside the gizzard. This is caused hardware disease and sometimes certain metals can cause toxicity.

Thank you for your advice.

I’m fairly certain if it was one of the bolts from the greenhouse that I showed, it is stainless steel and not zinc, so it shouldn’t cause poisoning.

She is eating normally, also pooping normally. Food is moving through the crop and digestive system, albeit slowly. She is gaining weight a little bit each day, after having gone through a molt and roundworm treatment.

I don’t know how reliable it is, but my husband does metal detecting and used his pinpointer to see if it would react when pressed to her crop. It didn’t react at all. It’s possible it was not a metal bolt like we assumed, but something of a similar shape. We are planning on getting an xray on Tuesday if things don’t improve.

 

[coach723]

I personally would be inclined to probably try to remove that through crop surgery. It's a bit large to be very sure she could pass that. Maybe, maybe not, assuming it is a bolt. An xray is an excellent idea. If it's in the crop it's a relatively straightforward surgery. If it moves to the gizzard it can't be removed surgically. I will attach a link that has a video (graphic if you are squeamish) of someone doing a crop surgery at home to remove an impaction of hay, if you are interested.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...p-surgery-with-almost-a-pound-of-hay.1667126/