Choking is quite a serious medical emergency and should not be taken likely.
However, what may seem like choking to you, may not actually be choking.
This article looks into how to tell that your chicken is choking and what to do
Table of Contents
Chicken looks like its choking:
Here are a few ways to tell that your chicken is choking:
Coughing and wheezing:
A choking bird will have difficulty breathing and will thus wheeze because it is short of breath.
The bird will also cough, to try to get the object that is causing it to choke, out of its throat.
Opening the beak:
Your bird will open its beak only when it has good reason to, and good reason may be choking.
The bird will open its beak while choking to try to get the blockage out
Stretching the neck:
Neck stretching seems to help chickens get objects that are stuck in their throat out.
A choking bird will do this and will look uncomfortable doing this.
Wing flapping:
The more distressed your bird is, because of the blockage in its throat, the more erratic the bird will act.
Erratic behavior may look like the bird flapping its wings and generally being in distress.
What to do:
If your bird is choking and has been given a few seconds to get the object out on its own, then you’d need to intervene.
Stay calm and open the bird’s mouth, look inside to see if you can see the object.
If you can see and reach the object then you can pick the object out using your fingers or a pair of tweezers.
If picking the object out doesn’t work then try the Heimlich maneuver.
To do this, secure your hands at the bird’s waist and quickly thrust inwards and upwards.
If the above two solutions don’t work then take your bird to the vet.
When it isn’t choking:
If your bird is stretching its neck, but isn’t showing any of the other signs of choking, then the bird may simply be adjusting its crop.
The bird is simply doing this to move food down its digestive tract.
What to do:
Keep an eye on the bird to make sure that it is not choking.
There is nothing wrong with a bird adjusting its crop so you don’t have to worry about the bird in this case.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Baby Cockatiel Not Begging For Food, Baby Chick Losing Weight, Why Is My Chicken Not Gaining Weight, Chick Not Gaining Weight, Baby Chick Feathers Not Fluffy, Chicken Trouble Swallowing, How To Help A Choking Chicken, Baby Chick Having Trouble Swallowing, Chicken Can’t Swallow Food