Do Chickens Fart

Something that most people have never thought about, but an important fact (or at least interesting) to know for any chicken keeper. Chickens need to have a healthy system and for the chicken keeper, it is important to know how a healthy chicken should function. So, the question is, do chickens fart?

Chickens definitely fart. Chickens have a digestive tract that is similar to any other living organism including humans and other animals. In the process of digestion, there are gasses that can get trapped in the intestines. The healthy and natural way to pass this trapped gas is by farting.

Chickens are more complicated than one might think. Making sure you know as much about them as possible will help you to become a successful chicken keeper. The rest of this article will take a deeper look at why chickens fart and how the process works.

Do chickens fart

As mentioned above, chickens have a digestive system that works similarly to any other living organism. When an organism ingests a food source they need to break it down so that the body can absorb the energy.

The digestion is done in mostly the intestines and the stomach. During the eating and digestion processes, there can be gases that get trapped in the intestines and the stomach. These gases need to be expelled to avoid bloating and the main way to expel the gas is by farting or burping. This process is the same for all organisms.

Chickens will therefore fart multiple times throughout the day as they carry on eating and digesting. They will also burp from time to time, but farting is a more foolproof way to pass the gas.

Related Article I wrote was on do chickens pee, check that out if you’re interested.

What do chickens farts smell like

The fart of a chicken might catch you by surprise. This is because their farts smell pretty bad. It might even be quite noxious.

There is nothing that a chicken fart can be compared to so it is hard to say what it smells like for someone who has not experienced it. If you are a chicken keeper you will know the smell. It is mostly hydrogen and methane with some odours of the food that they were eating.

In a chicken coop where there are many chickens being kept in a small space, this smell can become very apparent. It is always a good idea to keep things as well ventilated as possible.

Why do chicken farts smell

The reason for this bad smell is that chickens are omnivores as well as scavengers. They scratch around the ground and eat whatever they can find. They are not very picky eaters at all. This mix in diet can cause some bad-smelling gases to come out of them.

It is perfectly normal for chickens to have a bad smell to their farts and it is no reason for concern. Just keep things nicely ventilated and all will be good.

Related Article I wrote was on Do Chickens Smell Bad, check that out if you’re interested.

What happens when a chicken farts

It is a very important activity for a chicken to fart. If chickens do not fart there will be a build-up of gas in their intestines and it will cause bloating. The same thing happens with humans, some humans have more bloating problems than others and they constantly need to pass gas.

As mentioned above, in the eating and digesting processes there is a build-up of hydrogen and methane gas in the intestines and stomach. These gases will naturally move towards the back of the chicken (for farting) or towards the front of the chicken (for burping). Either way, the gas needs to escape in order for the digestive process to continue smoothly.

Wrap Up

So, Do Chickens Fart? Chickens do fart, and they smell! They release trapped gas but like most animals do.