Large amount of styrofoam ingested - so far no symptoms

[Maranera]

My two ladies decided to eat their nest box insulation, they peeled away the papery layer and ate much of the styrofoam, so far they haven't been showing any reaction, but I'm not sure if they will be able to pass it or not, and here is a pic to show how much they've eaten (w/ a quarter for scale)

 

[aart]

If you use a poop board under their roost,
it should be much easier to see what comes out the other end.
Don't think I've ever read of any ill effects,
but have read a bunch of posts of them eating it.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

This is my first year with chickens and I've read and learned so much. One thing I read is to avoid exposed insulation in the chicken coop. I read one possibility is to place hardware cloth over the insulation. Some folks use bricks of straw as insulation or layers of recycled wool blankets.

As for health concerns, I haven't come across anything specific to styrofoam, but I'm hopeful it'll pass through without any problems. It doesn't tangle, which is good news for the crop, and it's lightweight and very well could get pushed along by other content.

When my hen ate a rubber band, I was really worried for her. But the kind folks in the forum told me most things chickens eat pass right on through, and that's just what happened.

It's the quantity of styrofoam that could be a concern, so hopefully it was shared among several hens. Maybe if you give them baths you'll find they're a little extra buoyant. Who knows!

 

[Maranera]

This is my first year with chickens and I've read and learned so much. One thing I read is to avoid exposed insulation in the chicken coop. I read one possibility is to place hardware cloth over the insulation. Some folks use bricks of straw as insulation or layers of recycled wool blankets.

As for health concerns, I haven't come across anything specific to styrofoam, but I'm hopeful it'll pass through without any problems. It doesn't tangle, which is good news for the crop, and it's lightweight and very well could get pushed along by other content.

When my hen ate a rubber band, I was really worried for her. But the kind folks in the forum told me most things chickens eat pass right on through, and that's just what happened.

It's the quantity of styrofoam that could be a concern, so hopefully it was shared among several hens. Maybe if you give them baths you'll find they're a little extra buoyant. Who knows!

It was only shared between two hens, and they went right through the duct tape on another insulation panel (thankfully they just pecked the paper a bit on that one).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @horselove can we assume that everything came out o.k.

Not sure what it is with chickens and styrofoam but mine will try their best to get to it if at all possible. Covering it with something is a good idea, but for me, I don't think hardware cloth would work - I can see broken and/or damaged beaks from birds trying to get to the insulation through the wire (mine are that determined).