How fast does digestion occur? There's a PEARL EARRING in my Dominique

[PitterPatterPalace]

I was just happily trying to teach the chickens to perch when I set my hand down with positive reinforcement (scratch). Well all 6 of the 8 week olds love junk food and we're wanting to be next in line. If one flies up onto my lap without me letting them up I push them off.

Our Dominique had jumped up on my right shoulder and probably saw the silver post of my earring and went for it. She took my 7mm white pearl earring out and before I had a chance to set the bird I had in my hand and get it from her, she ran with it in her mouth, played with it a couple times and down the hatch it went.

This was 20 minutes ago!

What now? Do I wait for digestion to occur in 12 hr? 24hr? Will it stay in her crop?


Besides that I'm somewhat concerned that the pearl will get etched from her stomach acids, it's entirely frustrating AND HILARIOUS! And now I may not have a nice pretty set or pearl studs. Ugh!

 

[dirtdoctor]

GOOOOOOD LUCK, bird ate a earing off my daughter, put the bird in captivity to INSPECT, never ever found that earring, good luck, btw, just put the poo in a bucket of water and use the hose to float the stuff off, what is left on the bottom is what you will be interested in. Like panning for gold.

 

[Dar]

i would bring her in the house and wait for the poop.... and hope that the post of the ear ring does not get lodged anywhere and perforate her stomach or anything else along the way

 

[redhen]

This same thing happend to another lady here..only i think i was big ruby or emerald earing....
Dont think she ever saw that earring again...
And yeah..i agree.. pearls are pretty soft... i bet it will get destroyed in her crop or gizzard...

 

[AccioSarah]

I had a dog eat a charm off a bracelet of mine quite a few years back... my dad did the "panning for gold" for me then, and we found it!! I don't think I ever used it after that though...

 

[Imp]

I don't know for sure, but wouldn't the gizzard grind up a pearl?

Good luck, hope you get your earring back.

Imp

ETA - I see redhen beat me to it.

 

[Mandalina]

one of my girls got the silver ball off one of my hoops and I never saw it again either. I still havent replaced the ball either....not that I would have put the poo'ed on ball back into the hoop LOL.

 

[pattypenny]

A chicken has a gizzard and there is where their food is ground up and the gizzard usually has small gravel to help with the grinding and I suppect there is where you pearl will stay and the only way to get your pearl back is to butcher your chciken so I guess it comes down to what do you want the most the pearl or the chicken. sorry.I worked in a chicken plant for years and the people who opened the gizzards found all sort of items encluding one diamond ring.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

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Or at least for pearls

It's a waiting game we'll have to play...

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My husband and I talked about that. If it does get through to her gastrointestinal tract, we hope it can make it through the small of her intestines. A septic animal is a suffering animal...

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I think we'll just have to say she's our most expensive chicken! $2.99 for a day old chick 8 wks ago compared to a $50 pearl? Ha, we're crazy to pick the chick!



Suffice to say, if she survives, this will be a funny story to tell. We don't necessarily need the earring back (although it always saddens me to throw out a pretty piece of jewelry because it doesn't have a match).
Her name may have to change from Dom to Pearl now!

**Does anyone know how long it takes for digestion to occur? Should I be checking her excrement for one day? Two? Food seems to go through them faster than it does humans but I'm not particularly aware of avian physiology.

 

[silkiechicken]

For food, 24 hours with only water will clear out the guts near 100%. In 12 hours of withholding feed, most is already out, as that is how long you wait before butchering.

That said... it's a hard perl, I bet you it's going to be lodged in the gizzard and is currently being used to grind up the food in there, rubbing around with stones and rocks.... getting scratched up and destroyed as you wait for it to pass.

If you want it back in one shiny good looking piece, I'd make a cup of soup with the bird and fish the object out before it gets damaged.