PSA - My hen died from eating crumbles

[Weehopper]

You can't, but it doesn't happen often either. Less than once a year. It's not something I sit and worry about. I've only had it happen, maybe 3 times in, 20 years or so.

 

[bigz1983]

Sorry for your loss. I feed my chickens a egg layer feed from my local feed mill that is like a sand like consistency. Its looks like sand.

I was thinking about getting crumbles but I will stick with the sandy feed now that I heard about your hen lady Gaga.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sorry for your loss. I feed my chickens a egg layer feed from my local feed mill that is like a sand like consistency. Its looks like sand.

I was thinking about getting crumbles but I will stick with the sandy feed now that I heard about your hen lady Gaga.

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sandy feed (consistency) sounds terrible!

Have you considered fermenting? Check the link in my signature if you want.

 

[bigz1983]

No I haven't considered fermenting. The chickens like the feed its easy for them to eat.

 

[FlyWheel]

It's not just crumbles. It happens with pellets, too. Sometimes they just eat too fast and choke to death. I have had it happen a couple of times over the years.
So sorry for your loss.

I can see something like this happening to mine as well. They gobble down their feed so quickly I can hear them gagging and coughing from time to time, even though their water fount is right next to their food.

Would feeding them a wet mash (fermented feed) help prevent this? I know it's better for them to begin with.

Oops, I just read the later threads. It seems to be a good solution.

 

[Weehopper]

I don't know.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I can see something like this happening to mine as well. They gobble down their feed so quickly I can hear them gagging and coughing from time to time, even though their water fount is right next to their food.

Would feeding them a wet mash (fermented feed) help prevent this? I know it's better for them to begin with.

Oops, I just read the later threads. It seems to be a good solution.

Honestly it seems like even if they don't choke on it dry.... they could still be inhaling all that "dust" which in a lot of feeds includes DE that I don't think is beneficial to the lungs. Although I notice the dust more when I'm pouring, maybe it doesn't kick up so much when they are just eating it.

Love, love, love fermented feed. Since I free range it isn't consistent anymore. But when they were confined the difference in poo becoming way less smelly and more solid was the convincing factor for me to stick with it. Sometimes it takes the chickens a day or two to adjust, depending on how cautious your flock is of new stuff since they are creatures of habit. But all of my chickens enjoy it. I don't offer dry anymore so I don't know if they actually prefer it. But nobody complains and they even try to jump in the bucket to get to it as I am feeding out.

Check the link in my signature line if you like.

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

Sorry for your loss. I feed my chickens a egg layer feed from my local feed mill that is like a sand like consistency. Its looks like sand.

I was thinking about getting crumbles but I will stick with the sandy feed now that I heard about your hen lady Gaga.

Honestly, I think that would be even worse than the crumbles, just too easy for them to accidentally get something that small in the wrong hole. I would go for something bigger like pellets to be honest, the crumbles we had were very dusty, and I really feel like that contributed to her death too. Too easy to inhale something that small. Fermenting would definitely be a great idea for the sandy feed!!

Honestly it seems like even if they don't choke on it dry.... they could still be inhaling all that "dust" which in a lot of feeds includes DE that I don't think is beneficial to the lungs. Although I notice the dust more when I'm pouring, maybe it doesn't kick up so much when they are just eating it.

Love, love, love fermented feed. Since I free range it isn't consistent anymore. But when they were confined the difference in poo becoming way less smelly and more solid was the convincing factor for me to stick with it. Sometimes it takes the chickens a day or two to adjust, depending on how cautious your flock is of new stuff since they are creatures of habit. But all of my chickens enjoy it. I don't offer dry anymore so I don't know if they actually prefer it. But nobody complains and they even try to jump in the bucket to get to it as I am feeding out.

Check the link in my signature line if you like.

I feel like the dust definitely contributed to her death. I had just fed them they very last of the bag of all flock crumbles, which contained a lot of dust. She probably choked on some of the dust and wound up inhaling the crumbles in the process. I ferment for my "hospital" coop flock of 5, but I do not ferment on a larger scale for the others yet. I tried, But I think I made WAY too much and it wound up going bad and bugs got in it. I need to get me some 5 gallon buckets and try that rather than a rubbermaid. I will definitely check out your signature link!! Thank you!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I try to make batches that I can feed out in at least 1 week. That is the 18 gallon rubber made and 50# of feed for 48 chickens. They do make smaller rubber mades to if you like that type.

I did much smaller when it was a smaller flock of course.

Here is a link to the last page of FF where plenty of people can answer question if you have them.

I personally NEVER leave 2 inches of water on top of the mix, straining it was a pain. And come to find out isn't necessary. Never had a batch get mold yet. I just stir once a day when I feed out. And when I get to about one days worth left I add fresh feed and water to it so I always have a good start going. I actually have two I go back and forth right now. Let one ferment as I am feeding the other out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/645057/fermented-feeds-anyone-using-them/7440

Since I have kids, I can appreciate your signature line!

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

Try this for worry. Just now I looked out my back door to see what my dog was up to. She was happily cleaning up some chicken food left on the ground. And right behind her, in the back pasture, stood a big Ol coyote, watching her. She never heard it, never saw it. I yelled to her and she studiously ignored me, and the Cotyote only looked at me. I had to start yelling loudly to get it to leave...and my dog? Still munching on chicken food..she is old, and practices selective hearing...no wonder I am down to 5, maybe less now, chickens.

LOL got to LOVE that selective hearing!! Thankfully my dogs are really good at noticing ANYTHING going on out in the woods, only problem is, 2 of them would eat all of my chickens, so those two are in their own pen which is a little less than half an acre and its on the back side of my property. I have another dog that is great with all the chickens and he guards the rest of the property. We frequently have coyotes visit us, I don't like it!!

I am terribly sorry for your loss!

It's great that you were able to do a necropsy. Do you mind sharing how much it cost? Glad it isn't something contagious and you won't be fighting it all winter.

Chickens do not have a gag reflex. So they usually shake their heads to get things out of their throats. Wouldn't have a clue how to get something from the wind pipe. Having inhaled things down my wind pipe, it definitely isn't comfortable or ever easy to recover from!

My chickens hated pellets. Since you are thinking about wetting your feed, maybe consider fermenting. I highly recommend it. Check the link in my signature line if you like. The difference in the smell of poo alone is worth doing it.

Ah, the nice gated communities...

It's true there is an ever present pressure on wildlife to find new homes and forage. I am thankful to live in a wildlife type area where we have just about every predator under the sun. It's the two legged wildlife living in those communities that we wish to avoid the most! But even when I lived in the city we had kit foxes, owls, hawks. But the worst are loose dogs!

Bless your heart for trying to do CPR on a chicken!

I know you really tried.

Thank you for sharing an experience of something I would have never considered.

I think prices for necropsy vary by state, but it cost me $42, $6 fee plus $36 for the necropsy. I sent her fedex ground which cost me $14 as opposed to $50-60 to overnight her - she got there at the same time she would have if I'd have overnighted her. So do check with fedex (they have a shipping speed map you can check) before you spend $60 to overnight a bird! (here is a link to that map http://www.fedex.com/grd/maps/ShowMapEntry.do ) I also learned DO NOT TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE SHIPPING. Tell them they are "animal Diagnostic Specimens" You can get a label for biological substances from this link https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/docs/Shipping_Necropsy_Specimens.pdf and it also has some other handy info on it as well. Just for future reference

In nearly ten years of keeping chickens, I've sure seen plenty of different ways chickens can get themselves dead. They could write a book.

There is a chicken Heimlich maneuver. I've used it and the hen is still alive at age seven. But she was as good as dead as I watched her choke on a cherry tomato. If I hadn't been there to grab her up and forcibly invert her, allowing gravity to pull the tomato down and out of her windpipe, she would have been a gonner.

Have you considered fermenting your crumbles? It's not only safer, but much more packed with wonderful nutrients than dry feed.

I do ferment for one group - my "hospital" girls, I have a hen in my hospital coop/run that is "visually challenged" so I have been doing FF for her basically as a trial run, I do plan on doing it for the others too eventually.

So how can you stop it from happening? I feed my girls crumble also.

I would say there is no 100% sure fire way of keeping them from choking on feed, but fermented or wet feed would greatly reduce that chance in my opinion. Or feeding pellets - however - as Weehopper said, it can happen with that too