My chicken has Pica

[whoacowboy]

Can a chicken suffer from Pica? My silkie has been pecking and trying eat things that have no nutritional value..cotton balls , paper, tin foil, wood, etc. What is going on? She eats a layer from our local co-op. She has access to grit, oyster shell and lots of water. She gets treats of fruit, corn, oats, wheat. Does anyone else have a chicken like this?

 

[Judy]

Chickens eat all sorts of things -- styrofoam, bits of wire, plastic, etc. They will all eat a certain amount of the bedding. You could try something to distract them -- a small roost, boxes to jump on, hang a cabbage or other food, etc.

 

[TheDarkestwolf]

Can a chicken suffer from Pica? My silkie has been pecking and trying eat things that have no nutritional value..cotton balls , paper, tin foil, wood, etc. What is going on? She eats a layer from our local co-op. She has access to grit, oyster shell and lots of water. She gets treats of fruit, corn, oats, wheat. Does anyone else have a chicken like this?

My Silkie hen has it too! I had to do crop surgery to clear it the first time and now she's still eating things afterward...is this a case of darwin award, did your chicken end up dying? I noticed no one ever answered you.

 

[TheDarkestwolf]

Can a chicken suffer from Pica? My silkie has been pecking and trying eat things that have no nutritional value..cotton balls , paper, tin foil, wood, etc. What is going on? She eats a layer from our local co-op. She has access to grit, oyster shell and lots of water. She gets treats of fruit, corn, oats, wheat. Does anyone else have a chicken like this?

My Silkie hen has it too! I had to do crop surgery to clear it the first time and now she's still eating things afterward...is this a case of darwin award, did your chicken end up dying? I noticed no one ever answered you.