Almost a year ago, I got two silkies and a satin silkie from a breeder. I raised them up until they were ready to go outside, and they always had access to clean water, feed, and treats such as oats, strawberries, mangos, and grass. My satin, Popo, always loved grass the most. Although, their fenced area I kept them in never grew much grass. So, I would always give them lawn clippings. There was never an issue with them eating the clippings, and they enjoyed them. But, three days ago, Popo started to act strange. She didn't lay a single egg all week, but she wasn't eggbound. She started to have less energy than she usually did, and didn't eat or drink and just sat around and slept all day. She also felt lighter than usual. So I started to force feed and water her to keep nutrition in her until I figured out what was wrong. I asked around and no one I knew was quite sure what was happening. Today, my boyfriend and I discovered she had long blades of undigested grass hanging out of her vent. We tried to get it out of her by putting warm water on her vent and gently pulling the grass out. It felt like the grass never ended, and we were shocked. About a minute into slowly but surely removing the grass, Popo had a violent seizure and died almost instantly afterwards. I was absolutely devastated, and I never cried so much over a chicken passing away. I decided I would never feed my flock grass again.
I'm not quite sure what happened. I've heard of impacted crop, but impacted intestines? I've never heard of such a thing happen. Does anyone have experience with this, or know why the grass didn't digest? I want to know so I can have some closure and know what to do if this somehow happens again. Thank you.
I'm not quite sure what happened. I've heard of impacted crop, but impacted intestines? I've never heard of such a thing happen. Does anyone have experience with this, or know why the grass didn't digest? I want to know so I can have some closure and know what to do if this somehow happens again. Thank you.