Help! I think my hen ate pebbles???

[DWok]

@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@aart
It sounds like pendulous crop, it's not emptying properly.

I’m not familiar but feeling her crop today it definitely doesn’t feel like it is emptying.

 

[DWok]

Please either measure the diameter of the pebbles or better still provide a photo with a ruler so we can see the texture and size of this gravel.

Normally, gravel an eighth of an inch isn't going to be a problem. But shape may be. Is it smooth or very sharp and irregular?

If it's large and sharp, raw egg white may help. If it's large and round, an Epsom salts flush over three days tubed into the crop may be the way to go.

Your hen meanwhile is probably suffering from starvation. Give her a cup of water with one teaspoon sugar to bring her glucose back up.

I’ve given her some egg with the shell, as well as another concoction we found at tractor supply to help with emergency nutrients…I just gave her a little bit of the sugar water and she attempted to move for the first time on her own in over a day. Thank you for that, she’s still standing still with her eyes closed and wobbling. I’ll look into the molasses, I’ve never used it or a tube or any of those things. I’ll attach a pebble picture of the one I got out.

 

[DWok]

I’ve given her some egg with the shell, as well as another concoction we found at tractor supply to help with emergency nutrients…I just gave her a little bit of the sugar water and she attempted to move for the first time on her own in over a day. Thank you for that, she’s still standing still with her eyes closed and wobbling. I’ll look into the molasses, I’ve never used it or a tube or any of those things. I’ll attach a pebble picture of the one I got out.

For the life or my I can’t find this pebble!!! I was saving it too….im attaching a similar. About this size not too sharp but certainly not circular.

 

[azygous]

Giving a flush, unless you relish things like emptying a bathtub with a spoon, is best given by tubing. Tubing is no more difficult or technical than standing there all day dribbling the solution into the crop with an oral syringe. It's as stressful and tiring for the hen as it is for you.

Since this is something we should get started on right away, call your vet or two or three and ask them to sell you a tube feeding kit for a small animal. Just a few dollars. Then I will instruct you on what solution and how to do it.

By the way, anyone following along should order a tubing kit (Amazon carries them) to have with their chicken first aid supplies. That way when the emergency arises, you're prepared. No one should be put off by the idea of tubing a chicken. It's so easy and simple and safe, anyone can do it.

 

[azygous]

Do you have a ruler? Look at it and tell us approximately how big the gravel is.

Feel her crop. Let your finger tips tell you how much gravel is in there and about what size it is.

Try to understand that we who want to help are not there, so we need as much information from you as possible so we are not instructing you blindly.

 

[DWok]

Giving a flush, unless you relish things like emptying a bathtub with a spoon, is best given by tubing. Tubing is no more difficult or technical than standing there all day dribbling the solution into the crop with an oral syringe. It's as stressful and tiring for the hen as it is for you.

Since this is something we should get started on right away, call your vet or two or three and ask them to sell you a tube feeding kit for a small animal. Just a few dollars. Then I will instruct you on what solution and how to do it.

By the way, anyone following along should order a tubing kit (Amazon carries them) to have with their chicken first aid supplies. That way when the emergency arises, you're prepared. No one should be put off by the idea of tubing a chicken. It's so easy and simple and safe, anyone can do it.

Okay thank you I’ll call around, of course we live in the middle of nowhere - can you purchase the kit at a place like tractor supply?

 

[DWok]

Do you have a ruler? Look at it and tell us approximately how big the gravel is.

Feel her crop. Let your finger tips tell you how much gravel is in there and about what size it is.

Try to understand that we who want to help are not there, so we need as much information from you as possible so we are not instructing you blindly.

I do understand I promise, I’m sorry if I’m not being helpful, I swear I am between trying to get ready for work but I want to help her. I can’t find the pebble but this one is similar. It’s not very sharp but it is closer to a 1/4” in size. I didn’t feel much like that in her crop, but in her abdomen there is a lot.

 

[DWok]

Do you have a ruler? Look at it and tell us approximately how big the gravel is.

Feel her crop. Let your finger tips tell you how much gravel is in there and about what size it is.

Try to understand that we who want to help are not there, so we need as much information from you as possible so we are not instructing you blindly.

 

[azygous]

If all the gravel is around that size, this is not your hen's problem. Something else is going on.

First step is to stabilize her. Continue the sugar water. This is number one in importance right now. This will buy us time to figure out what's going on.

Monitor her poop. Get a photo of it so we can see what it looks like.

Work on finding a tubing kit. You may need it depending on what we decide to do.

 

[azygous]

She may have a crop disorder. Please read this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ You will need to check her crop tomorrow morning to verify a crop disorder and what type it is so you can then treat it.

Be aware, though, a crop disorder is almost always a symptom of something else more serious.