chicken vomiting?

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walker

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chicken vomiting?
« on: February 12, 2010, 14:34 »
Hi All
I've just been out to check the chucks, handle them and give them a once over. The two light sussex were fine being handled but when it came to handling the rhode islands, one seemed to be sick. Is this common from the stress of being handled or should I keep an eye on her?
« Last Edit: February 12, 2010, 14:37 by noshed »
One light Sussex , two bluebells, two white stars, two speckled stars , two cream legbars.

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Roughlee Handled

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2010, 19:13 »
Chickens do not normally vomit.

Is her crop full first thing in the morning (I mean very first thing)?
Stuart


Dont worry I am just paranoid duckie.

If I get the wrong end of the stick its because I have speed read. Honest.

Blar blar blar blar snorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre.

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yacks

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2010, 21:20 »
i have read that chickens dont vomit. i have only had my hens for three weeks first week one had a cold so the farm i got them from gave antibiotics that cleared up and now one seems like she is being sick. she has been drinking loads more water then the rest however not as greedy as she was please help x

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joyfull

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2010, 22:02 »
get her to a vet - chickens do not get colds like we do but have respiritory infections and it would appear that whatever was ailing your hen is still not sorted out. Drinking copius amounts of water can indicate kidney problems amongst other things.
Staffies are softer than you think.

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yacks

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2010, 00:48 »
thank you for your quick response. my dad said that they dont get colds and i should have listened to him as he was bought up with them and ( dont hate me ) was a slaughter man for a very long time. it is two different chickens that have been not to good the first within 5 days of getting them. in your opinion would it be something i would have done wrong?? i have done everything told to by farm. however they wont eat what was sold to me. i was not told about grit or anything all i have learnt about is on here.

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joyfull

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2010, 07:18 »
if they both came from the same place and were ill so quickly after getting them then I would assume that the cause of the illnessess has come from there. The respiritory infection (yes your dad was right and you should listen to him  :lol:) could have been mycoplasma which can be passed down from hen to egg thus meaning your chick was already infected and any stressful occurance - such as going to a new home - could trigger it off. This is why you should never breed from a bird which has myco. I still think the vomiting one - possibly just water dribbling out should see a vet or taking back to the farm (do not get a replacement bird from there as you could end up with more problems if they have myco running through their flock).
Hey we don't hold your dads former occupation against you or him - my brother used to work at a slaughter house and then became a butcher.
Keep us informed how the girls are doing xx

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yacks

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #6 on: June 18, 2010, 00:57 »
i rang the farm and told them what has been happening and they told me that chickens dont vomit. i forgot to mention in earlier message that she is the only one of my girls that will chase and eat bumble bees. the farmer said that she could have been stung in mouth and trying to ease it through drinking the water and maybe i never see her be sick and that it was just water falling out of mouth.
ok i thought and she seemed fine all day as she was eating and scratching around like the others and then when it came to early evening she started to what i would call vomiting again.
 she is the dominant hen and was wondering that she may just be drinking to stop the others. As soon as the others go near the water she will run over and drink as much as she can and wont stop until the others have gone then she will chase after them and take what they are eating then she vomits.
on a different note i have one laying hen and 4 not started yet. one of them has hidden most of the day and it looks like she is straining. checked her botty and that was clear. poo fine and no other symptoms just quiet  on her own she even went in coup nearly hour before others.
sorry for being a pain and writting so much i just dont want to think of them suffering if they dont have to x

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hillfooter

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #7 on: June 18, 2010, 02:40 »
Well as you seem to be witnessing with your own eyes Chickens can very clearly vomit.  They can do this after drinking excessive amounts of water particularly in very hot weather it helps cool them.  It can also be indicitive of sour crop or impacted crop.  The 'vomit' is usually clear water.  Dark coloured chx such as Barnevelders, or RIR or Black Rocks,are more susceptible to heat stress than light ones such as Light Sussex.  Make sure they have access to clean cool water kept in the shade all the while and they have shade in their run not just in the house.

Check their crops, which is the food sack at the bottom of their necks to the right, and particularly note any foul or sour smell.  At the end of the day their crops should feel full and reasonably firm though not hard.  If their crops are still full in the morning before you let them out it may indicate either sour crop or impacted crop.  Sour crop is a result of feed in the crop starting to ferment and the crop usually feels full and mushy hence the smell whereas impacted crop feels hard and is due to a blockage.  Both conditions need to be cleared and your intervention may be needed if either is indicated.  Sour crop can be cleared by inducing 'vomiting'.  Though don't do this for impacted crop refer to specific information on these conditions if they are indicated.

If this is sour crop make sure it's not been caused by eating grass cuttings which very quickly ferment once cut.  People do give chx grass cuttings but it's not a good practise because of the dangers of sour crop or impacted crop caused by eating very long pieces of grass.  Fresh grass firmly anchored is best so they can nip off small bits.

I don't think what you are seeing is anything to do with respiratory disease which would be indicated by cold type symptoms such as, nasal discharge, runny eyes, swollen sinuses, wheezing, rattly breathing or breathing difficulty such as gaping.  They may well also be depressed with tails down and disinterested in food or moving about much and generally look miserable.  If your hens show these symptoms (usually more than one) suspect a respiratory disease which will need a vet visit to get antibiotics.

Having checked out for potential crop problems I'd keep your chx under observation for any symptoms of depression or other illness but if they are otherwise OK and engaging in normal chicken behaviour like eating drinking ,foraging and scatting about, grooming and being active I'd not worry.

If these are farmyard birds I'd worm them as soon as possible using Flubenvet.  It's just possible worms could be causing the apparent vomiting too.
HF
« Last Edit: June 18, 2010, 03:08 by hillfooter »
Truth through science.

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yacks

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2010, 11:49 »
the hen with tail down and quiet has had her first egg with no shell. farm said they will need worming next week so i assume that means they already have been wormed. there is no smell from crop.

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hillfooter

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2010, 11:55 »
She was probably showing the symptoms of trying to pass the soft egg then.  Just keep them under observation.  She should perk up now.  Persistent symptoms and a deterioration should trigger a vet's visit but just see how it goes for now.

HF

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yacks

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2010, 20:36 »
my girls have perked up now. i changed their food as they just wont eat the pellet put them on mashvomiting has all but stopped and shell on next egg was a lot better. thanks for repying to me x

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hillfooter

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2010, 00:05 »
Chx don't like their food being changed suddenly but that doesn't mean they can't be successfully and easily converted.  You just need to do it gradually.   

The drawbacks of mash is that for a small number of birds it's not very efficient for you and doesn't suit free range adlib systems. Mash has to be fed in measured quantities at set sessions as it doesn't keep as well as pellets and isn't very suitable for adlib feeders.  This means you have to go out at set intervals and give them their feed portion which they will eat pretty much in one go. Spilled mash won't be eaten which encourages vermin and unsanitary conditions.  The pro side is it should be cheaper to feed mainly because it is much more measured than adlib as well as being cheaper per kilo to buy and it is more suited to laying sheds and lots of birds.  Pellets suit an adlib feeding regime which makes your effort a lot less as you only need to top up the feed hoppers daily or less. However the birds eat more and it's more expensive though these considerations don't out weigh the convenience for smal numbers of hobbyists birds.

To wean your birds over try mixing it and reduce the mash to zero after a couple of weeks or longer if you like.  Persist and they will learn to browse feed which is much more natural for them being foraging animals and saves you work.  don't be discouraged that you think they aren't eating it a voraciously as the mash that's the nature of adlib systems.  They probably eat the same amount but spread over longer periods.  Also adlib feeding is much better for free range and helps prevent boredom and bad habits like feather pecking.  So I'd say you should definitely try to get them to feed using pellets.

Best of luck
HF

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yacks

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2010, 11:05 »
thank you for your advice i will certainly try and get them back on to pellet. i didnt like the thought of them being hungry as they werent eating the pellet and would chase me for food when put down they would walk away and none of it was gone all day.

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hillfooter

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2010, 12:42 »
thank you for your advice i will certainly try and get them back on to pellet. i didnt like the thought of them being hungry as they werent eating the pellet and would chase me for food when put down they would walk away and none of it was gone all day.

Last Christmas we looked after another keepers birds for her while she went away.  We did this as a favour it's not something we do regularly.  She was a bit of an old fuss pot and had a list of things they would and wouldn't do which she was very particular about.  We were told they definitely wouldn't eat pellets as she'd tried them several times.  Unfortunately she didn't bring enough mash to stretch so we weened them over and they were happily eating pellets when she returned.  She was amazed and immediately put it down to the type of pellets we fed and went out to buy Spillers.  However I'm convinced any pellets would have worked.  Do it gradually and persist and they will learn to eat pellets making your life easier and they won't starve I promise you.
Hf

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pigeonpie

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Re: chicken vomiting?
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2010, 14:59 »
I must admit I'd never really thought about chickens vomiting until I picked up one of mine yesterday and she was promptly sick all down me.  It went everywhere when she shook her head!
This is one of the ex-bats that we have been sure many times would die but each time she seems to perk up and battle through.  A few months ago we noticed her comb was very pale, almost white so I took her to the vets.  A few days of antibiotics and being fed her favourite treats away from the others and she was back to a healthy red and running around like the rest of them.  However, last week I noticed that she wasn't eating much so brought her in to see if I could tempt her to eat.  Her crop was barely noticeable it was so empty.  She wolfed down some bread, sweetcorn, strawberries and anything else soft but wouldn't touch any food or wheat although did try a few sunflower seeds.  I gave her a bit of olive oil to see if it would help and she seemed to really enjoy that.  I've been bringing her in every day and each day her crop has felt empty and each day she has enjoyed some treats then gone happily around the garden again.  Yesterday I picked her up and was surprised her crop was huge, about the size of my fist but it felt like a water balloon.  I brought her in the house but she wouldn't eat a thing and as I went to take her outside I noticed some straw coloured liquid coming from her mouth.  She seemed to be struggling to breath then all of a sudden she shook her head and a load of what was essentially water and semi rotted grass came flying out and covered me, all down my jeans and even in my hair!!!
I decided to spend some time massaging her crop and by tipping her up managed to get some more liquid out, including the odd sunflower seed and some more grass.  She really looked like she was going to die but did perk up as soon as I put her on the floor.  She then ran to join the others but spent the rest of the day looking like death, but running for her life everytime I got near.  This morning I was surprised to see her making her way round the garden with the other girls eating yet more grass and wolfing up a strawberry I threw her.  She is just skin and bones but seems perfectly happy although I'm pretty sure she's not eating any food, just grazing for soft stuff.  Perhaps I will get some mash for her and see if she will eat that.
As for the jeans, I think I might have to hose them down before I put them in the machine!!!



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