Genovieve is missing her tongue!

PunkinPeep

Songster
10 Years
Mar 31, 2009
3,642
77
229
SouthEast Texas
I have been watching my Genny pretty closely for a little over a week because she looked like she was starting to show signs of gape worm - nothing more really than she was just holding her mouth open a lot.

Anyway, she has been very stubborn about not letting me see in her mouth, and i couldn't figure out how to force it...

Anyway, the other girls started panting more this past week - 'cause this is Texas, and it is HOT outside. And i noticed that the other girls display their tongues, and their "chin" areas show some movement when they're panting. And then i caught a couple of glimpses, and just now i got a really good look inside of Gen's mouth, and there is no tongue in there! It's just a cavity. And her throat area is bigger than the other girls.

Have you ever heard of this?

Do i need to do anything?

She seems fine, except that she holds her mouth open more than the others. She eats and drinks and poops.

What do you think?

All 3 of my chickens are 14 week old buff orpingtons.
 
Well now that's the darndest thing! Sounds like maybe she was born without it. That's a new one! But it sounds like she's alright otherwise. Just weird in a kind of neat new experience way.
 
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I admit, i am relieved. I don't really understand how she's doing all the eating stuff without her tongue, but she's gotten this far, so i GUESS she'll be o.k.
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Well thank heavens she's of a breed that uses stones in the gizzard. Where she a parrot, she'd be doomed! But pretty much she just has to chunk down food.

Drinking would be the thing I worried about.

But this does remind me of a goose I bought. Something happened where he hadn't a whole lower jaw. His tongue was pretty worthless really - hung out like Odie. Of course he had to come home with me - I'm the one that buys angel winged geese, etc. /sigh

Anyway back to the point: when he ate and drank, he used what he had of his lower jaw as a scoop. As long as he had deep water/feed, it worked for him. (Til a predator killed him darnit.)

She won't need deep feed, but I'd make sure your waterers are always deep because since she doesn't have a tongue to help direct water, I bet that's how she's getting the water back - scooping it.

What a neat little unique girl!
 
thanks for the tip. i'll keep an eye on it. i haven't ever noticed that she eats or drinks differently, but i'll definitely be watching from now on. she has always seemed completely like the rest.
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and yes, i'm happy, she is special.
 

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