My rooster swallowed a string

[chickens45]

my chickens love bologna and I was feeding them a piece today and took the red string stuff off from around it and placed it on the ground behind me so I could break pieces off to toss to them . Before I even knew it one of my guys grabbed it and swallowed it. I tried to get it from him but he ran off!

I’m so worried. Is he going to die? I feel awful that I left it lying there but didn’t think he'd eat it!

 

[azygous]

For those of us that don't eat bologna, how long is the string? That matters.

A short string, say three inches, will likely pass right through his system, while a longer string has more potential to cause mischief inside, although it's more likely to harmlessly pass through.

The biggest danger is if the string gets wrapped around his tongue somehow. You need to open his mouth and be sure this hasn't happened. Another risk is if the string is long enough to bunch up and block his gizzard or intestine.

To be on the safe side, give the rooster a couple teaspoons of coconut oil to lubricate his digestive tract, making it more likely the string will slide through his system and the string will do no damage.

If the "string" you mentioned wasn't really woven cotton string but plastic or animal intestine sausage casing, that would almost certainly pass through his system uneventfully.