Fuoleum Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Hello everyone. I'm terribly worried. I was feeding my hens and I dropped and shattered the glass jar which had their food in. Anyway, I scuttled off for a moment to get a brush and pan and lo and behold when I returned they had finished their treats and were picking up bits of glass. As far as I could tell they picked up a few bits each and the jar broke in such a way that it wasn't pointy shards of glass but more like small chunks. Does anyone one have any experience of their ladies eating anything stupid? I've spotted that rubber bands and hair bands seem popular but glass..? Thanks - any experience would be really reassuring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Oooh Er! All you can do is keep a careful eye on them, and take them to a vet if they seem unwell. It it smashed into little diamond like bobbles, perhaps they will go through without causing damage. Good luck. Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 are you able to phone your local out of hours vet service for advice? If you phone your local vet it will either divert or give you an ansa phone message with the OOH number on it, or at least most do. I hope they're going to be okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Our friend's chicken was eyeing up, and about to eat some nuts and bolts before being lifted to safety. They are very silly sometimes. I'm not sure how bad it is, as they do eat grit. I had visions of elastic bands knotting up Katy's digestive system, but she had no ill effects You could always try practical poultry forum if no answers turn up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arowland17 Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 I don't think mine have ever eaten glass before, but they have been digging up their run so the whole thing looks like it's sunk into the ground now and they dug up a big piece of glass once - I removed it as soon as I saw it and hope they've not found other bits and tried to eat them - also found a piece of plastic the other day which had obviously been deeply buried! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 I discovered after my chickens had been delivered that the area I'd carefully prepared with bark-chips had some bits of glass in ... don't know how I didn't see them when I was getting it ready! I think it was broken greenhouse from the previous owners of my house. I didn't spot it for a few days, so I don't know if they'd eaten any or not - they do peck at shiny things. That was back in February and they are still going strong! Given that they swallow grit, I'd have thought small bits of glass, if not too sharp, might just go through. Is there anything you could feed them that might sort of help it through - bread soaked in olive oil or something? Sorry I don't have any direct experience of this. Hope they are still doing ok this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuoleum Posted October 16, 2007 Author Share Posted October 16, 2007 Thanks for all your input. Up to now the hens seem perfectly normal! I'm going to continue to keep a close eye on them. I think I'm making them feel uncomfortable as I keep fussing over them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
