force feeding chicken

[qhorse44]

My chicken was attacked by a hawk and the vet operated on her
and we have been taking care of her for weeks...she still won't
eat. does anyone have any ideas of what to force feed her before
she dies of starvation? She will drink water and she has also
been blinded in maybe both eyes. She is healing well. thanks

 

[BaronRenfrew]

Gidday: Had a similiar event w a pheasant that almost froze to death. Got her back: fed a crumble feed (laying mash, chick starter, ) and made a wet porridge out of it. Fed it through a turkey baster. She swallowed about half of what was put in her mouth. gave her some every hour or two. In theory you can fill her crop but it seems the bird has to be willing to consume that much. good luck

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
That sounds like a good idea, just be sure you feed down the right part of her throat, and not into her lungs and air sacs. There are some good pictures of chicken anatomy on the link at the top of the emergency section. Did the vet prescribe anything for her eyes?

 

[qhorse44]

Thanks for the advice...and, yes her eyes have been treated, but
she is blind in one,maybe both

I've been putting chicken pellets
in water and syringing into her mouth...best I can do...it's not ez
to feed a chicken ! unless you have two people to do it.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Large or bantam chicken?

If large, ask your vet for a small animal force feeding tube and a large syringe. The tube is about a foot long and a quarter inch thick. Buy baby parrot formula and mix it according to its directions, but also add a small pinch of electrolytes to help prevent diarrhea (a liquid diet of baby parrot food will cause diarrhea, electrolytes will at least help lessen the damage done). Don't feed oatmeal. It may look tasty but it has virtually no nutritive value for a chicken. Once you get the baby parrot food of a good consistency and temperature (slightly warm, but not hot), fill the syringe. You will need someone to help with the next step. Have a friend hold the bird and keep its neck extended straightly. Oil the tube with olive oil and slide it down the bird's throat (don't worry about accidentally inserting it in the trachea, most tubes are too large to fit). Idealy, you want the food to go directly into the crop, but as long as you're far past the trachea you're ok. Guesstimate the distance from the mouth to the crop. If it won't go any further, stop. Then push the plunger down fast and viola, the bird has been fed. Don't overfill the crop, but don't underfill. About half full is good (slight bulge on the chest). Do this at LEAST twice daily, 3-4 times is better.

Good luck! I kept a bird alive for two months doing this. After that I had to put him down because I just didn't have the time to dedicate to him. He would have survived though.

 

[Lucysmom002]

I'm trying to find out how to tube feed a chicken so I'm just bumping this up

Is the little hole in the throat the entrance to the breathing area?

 

[chkn]

I usually start out with a dropper and just drop slowly on top of the beak. You can take water and add electrolytes or gatorade. I'd try getting her hydrated first and then she may eat on her own. If not you can dropper egg yolk, catfood or baby food mixed with water and then just dropper it on top of the beak. The fluid rolls around and down into the beak so all she has to do is swallow. I would avoid force feeding if you can,

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Will she eat meal worms?

I have a hen who was bullied by another hen away from eating last week while away. She was refusing to eat. This went on for three days and I finally took her to the vet. He could find nothing wrong w/ her and said to give her what ever she'd eat to get her appetite and strength back up. I ordered 5000 meal worms for $35 from Petco and have been feeding her about 250 twice a day and it took about 5 days but now she's starting eat her food on her own.

I also agree w/ the wet mash idea. My hens love that. Especially, when they don't feel good.

 

[Lucysmom002]

She won't eat anything. I have another post under emergencies, she is a Crevecouer sp?? She has been weird the past couple days and not eating much. Today she wouldn't eat at all and is very weak.
She stands around with her mouth open all the time.

I suspected gapeworm so gave her fenbendazole. I got electrolytes and poly vi sol and put in the water. She was drinking water after that but that's all. I did this today.
I mashed up feed and water with the vitamins and all and sat and dropped one drop of it at a time into her beak at the edge. She drank it.
I've been doing that all afternoon. This evening she perked up a bit and is walking around looking for a place to roost. She will sleep on the ground in the ICU with the other two I have that are sick.

My Columbian Rock, suddenly she can't walk and is very off balance. She is very alert and eating and drinking. I gave her the same water today. She was fine Thursday, wobbly Friday and yesterday and today cannot walk. She will tumble over and fall down.

ughghg

 

[emilysteng]

You could try buying this

http://www.emeraid.com/emeraid-products/emeraid-omnivore.html

My vet suggested it to me for force feeding. Kind of expensive here (55 bucks for a tub) but it is everything they need and it's for debilitated animals. My vet sold it. Don't know if yours might carry it. Hope they get better soon!