Bad breath

[feather13]

Tonight I noticed that one of my three year old hens has bad breath. At first I thought something had died and I was looking for a body of some sort until I realized that the awful smell was coming from her mouth. It was nauseating (sorry to be graphic). She is otherwise healthy, but it has been extremely hot and uncharacteristically humid where I live in Los Angeles.

Could heat cause bad breath? All of the hens and chicks we have were panting really hard today. We have also started feeding the hens fermented feed. Is it ok to let fermented feed sit out all day? They love the new feed, but it has given them really loose stools. Just trying to rule out heat and fermented feed before moving on to some other cause. Is it ever normal for hens to have death-smelling breath? Thanks!

 

[Vampstorso]

I'm no chicken expert but with any other bird I'd think this was sour crop, I'm the past I've fixed it with plain live Yoghurt, as the good bacteria then out completes the bad bacteria making the smell.

Id wait for someone else to chime in but that'd be my first thought.

 

[mesafox101]

well bad breath is probably nothing but i would still search up diseases if it continued, i am new to owning chickens so dont take my word as law. if you have left any fruit or veggies out it might have caused the bad smell. chickens are weird where they will peck at things they are not supposed to but if it continues i would search up diseases and look for other signs and good luck with your chickens

 

[Crooked Chicken]

Bad breath in humans can be caused by a sinus infection. I suppose it could do that in chickens as well.

 

[ChickNanny13]

No clue about the "bad breath", have you tried searching it?

I've not known FF to give loose poop, quite the opposite. How much are you "leaving out all day"? Rule of thumb is scoop out whatever they'll eat in 20 minutes. I have 4 BOs that are 21 1/2wks, they get a couple scoops in the morning (7am), another scoop or two sometimes at lunch or early afternoon. Heat will make them drink more water which maybe the cause of loose poop. How long have you been feeding FF? What consistency are you working with? Are you using grain or crumbles/pellets?

 

[speckledhen]

Fermented feed is not always the panacea folks build it up to be. I had a friend who lost several birds and thankfully, was able to save a few, that developed severe sour crop due to fermented feed. It was verified by necropsy, before someone jumps on me over this, that the fermented feed was the cause. She called me at night in the middle of the crisis holding dying hens. I do not believe that an animal with a crop should be fed a fermented feed, not the way these people are doing it, letting food sit in wet conditions to sour and, well, mold. Chickens can die from moldy feed. Their crops can literally just quit working.

Bad breath like that is usually sour crop from feed fermenting in the crop because it is sitting in there. Fermented feed continues to ferment in the crop, it doesn't stop just because they eat it. Just one step too far and you have mold and they will die if you don't catch it soon enough.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It sounds like she has sour crop. Here's some info for you: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[feather13]

No clue about the "bad breath", have you tried searching it?

I've not known FF to give loose poop, quite the opposite. How much are you "leaving out all day"? Rule of thumb is scoop out whatever they'll eat in 20 minutes. I have 4 BOs that are 21 1/2wks, they get a couple scoops in the morning (7am), another scoop or two sometimes at lunch or early afternoon. Heat will make them drink more water which maybe the cause of loose poop. How long have you been feeding FF? What consistency are you working with? Are you using grain or crumbles/pellets?

Thanks for your response! I usually leave out one cup. Only about four of the hens really eat it up quickly and the rest (maybe 1/4) I let sitting there until it's gone. I am using recipes by the Garden Betty website and here on BYC--a mixture of grain and crumble.

 

[feather13]

Fermented feed is not always the panacea folks build it up to be. I had a friend who lost several birds and thankfully, was able to save a few, that developed severe sour crop due to fermented feed. It was verified by necropsy, before someone jumps on me over this, that the fermented feed was the cause. She called me at night in the middle of the crisis holding dying hens. I do not believe that an animal with a crop should be fed a fermented feed, not the way these people are doing it, letting food sit in wet conditions to sour and, well, mold. Chickens can die from moldy feed. Their crops can literally just quit working.

Bad breath like that is usually sour crop from feed fermenting in the crop because it is sitting in there. Fermented feed continues to ferment in the crop, it doesn't stop just because they eat it. Just one step too far and you have mold and they will die if you don't catch it soon enough.

Thank you for your response! I'm sorry to hear about your friend's chickens. I'm going to lay off the fermented feed. Everywhere I've looked it seems to be a good thing. It's already late in the morning here, so I'll check the Wyandotte with the bad breath's crop tomorrow. She's an odd bird that has always acted strange. I inherited her when a friend had to move and I don't think she's laid an egg in three years. She's also always been kind of slow, skittish and uninteresting. So it's hard to know if she's sick or not LOL

 

[feather13]

It sounds like she has sour crop. Here's some info for you: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Thank you. Am reading about it right now.