One evening, while turning over some old straw used to mulch the garden beds, a plethora of slugs was revealed. Slugs have no good business in a garden, but chickens do love to eat them. I carried the straw over to the chicken run and offered the tasty treat to Carol. She was delighted and gobbled up the first batch in no time flat. I took the cleaned straw back to the garden and selected another slug filled batch to please Carol’s appetite. She was waiting for me with bated breath. I put the straw down as she hopped up and down trying to hurry the process. Quick as slug slime, she began devouring the slugs.
Then Carol did something I’ve never seen a chicken do. She started reaching her head to the sky, mouth open, tongue out, gagging. I didn’t figure chickens could throw up, having a craw and all, so I started to feel concerned. She ignored my warning to drink some water. I stood and watched her until she seemed OK again and decided she’d had enough treats for one day. I later learned that chickens sometimes do that gagging routine to get the food down into their craw. You’d think with all that slime, slugs would just slide right down.