Do chickens....hiccup???

[Bec]

Tonight I went out to do a head count and one of my hens sounded like she was hiccuping....they were all lined up on their roost. Is this possble??

 

[Henrietta23]

Not sure, but I swear one of my ducks does. When I let them out in the morning and she eats, before she can get to the water she starts making a hiccupping like sound. Hope someone knows for sure about chickens!

 

[d.k]

* Mine does it often, usually it means she's having a "hissy fit" over something-- most of the time she wants to go out or eat (NOW!!) and I'm not moving fast enough to fulfill Her Majesty's wishes.

 

[Bec]

Come to think of it..she did start doing it when I filled their feeder after they went to bed so that they would have a full feeder in the morning. Maybe thats it? But it definately sounded like a hiccup...lol

 

[d.k]

* Sounds exactly like a hiccuph when Miss Chook is doing it, too!!

 

[Windy Ridge]

I don't believe it's possible, as birds don't have a diaphragm in their respiratory system. Air is moved in and out through pressure changes in their air sacs. In fact, their lungs cannot even expand the way mammals lungs do.

Interesting article

It may be some cognate to a hiccough, though.