Help! My chicken swallowed nylon string!

[Llegsmacedo]

Update this morning- chicken girl is still acting completely fine and normal. Last night I fed her a mixture of egg white and olive oil and she loved it.

The vet told me to give her Metamucil so this morning I added a little Metamucil to the egg white and olive oil mixture to really try and get things going. She pooped a few times last night and seems normal this morning. No tail tuck or strange behavior. I will keep you guys updated. I can’t feel a bulge or anything in her crop she looks and feels normal. It’s hard to tell how much of the string she consumed- the strings we have are all different lengths.

The vet did recommend the crop surgery I mentioned originally- only problem is the Dr isn’t available until tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon (today is Tuesday) and they are almost 2 hours away. If she was in clear distress I wouldn’t be second guessing but she’s acting normal- is it worth a 2 hour drive and $300 surgery?

 

[Llegsmacedo]

It's the length that will cause her problems. String can be a chicken's worst enemy. String and threads and yarn get wrapped around a chicken tongue. It can form obstructions in the esophagus. The gizzard is my biggest worry, though. It could get hung up there and then all you can try then is a three-day Epsom salt flush to try to "hose" it out of the gizzard. The only worse thing a chicken can swallow is a staple or screw.

Epsom salt flush is a good recommendation how do you administer that?

 

[azygous]

You will need to tube it because of the volume being too much for syringing. Are you set up for that? Most vets will sell you a small animal tubing kit for a few dollars or Amazon carries them

The solution is one teaspoon Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) in one half cup warm water for each infusion. You will do two infusions each day for three consecutive days. The entire one half cup must be tubed into the crop unless it's a bantam, then I'd reduce the volume by half.

In between flushes, you will provide plenty of plain water as this can be dehydrating as it pulls fluids out of the intestines. Food can be give as usual, although I'd time the flushes for when the crop is empty. This has always energized the chicken I have administered it to, and it usually achieves the objective of flushing out an obstruction.

The tube is inserted in the esophagus as shown in this photo where a syringe is going in on the right side of the throat.

 

[Llegsmacedo]

Update this morning- chicken girl is still acting completely fine and normal. Last night I fed her a mixture of egg white and olive oil and she loved it.

The vet told me to give her Metamucil so this morning I added a little Metamucil to the egg white and olive oil mixture to really try and get things going. She pooped a few times last night and seems normal this morning. No tail tuck or strange behavior. I will keep you guys updated. I can’t feel a bulge or anything in her crop she looks and feels normal. It’s hard to tell how much of the string she consumed- the strings we have are all different lengths.

The vet did recommend the crop surgery I mentioned originally- only problem is the Dr isn’t available until tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon (today is Tuesday) and they are almost 2 hours away. If she was in clear distress I wouldn’t be second guessing but she’s acting normal- is it worth a 2 hour drive and $300 surgery?

Wednesday morning update! Chicken girl is still acting normal and seems comfortable and active BUT upon inspection this morning she has a golf ball sized hard bulge in her crop area. This was the first time I felt anything abnormal so I will be calling the avian vet back today to likely get her the crop surgery. Fortunately that means she probably has not started digesting it and it’s still in her crop. Will keep everyone updated!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

I hope your hen makes it!

 

[Llegsmacedo]

I hope your hen makes it!

Thank you so much- I really hope so too.

 

[azygous]

No, the string is not digestible. Unless it's cotton. A hen of mine swallowed a band aid and only the plastic part was pooped out.

Better to have it stuck in the crop than in the gizzard. Crop surgery is low risk, so everything should turn out just fine.

 

[Llegsmacedo]

No, the string is not digestible. Unless it's cotton. A hen of mine swallowed a band aid and only the plastic part was pooped out.

Better to have it stuck in the crop than in the gizzard. Crop surgery is low risk, so everything should turn out just fine.

Unfortunately the closet avian vet is almost 2 hours away and quoted me $400 total for the surgery. I’m hoping it doesn’t come down to that but it sounds like if she can’t digest it then that’s our only option. I made an appointment for Friday afternoon but spending that much is going to be difficult

 

[Smokerbill]

If you feel confident of your abilities this thread explains the details of at-home crop surgery.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-crop-operation-warning-graphic-pics.21291/

 

[The Coop Crew]

Unfortunately the closet avian vet is almost 2 hours away and quoted me $400 total for the surgery. I’m hoping it doesn’t come down to that but it sounds like if she can’t digest it then that’s our only option. I made an appointment for Friday afternoon but spending that much is going to be difficult

I know people have done crop surgery at home. There are a couple articles on here about it. I’m not sure if it’s something you’d be comfortable with and I don’t think it’s highly recommended but if it would save your hen it might be worth it…