Crusty feathers and stinky off smell

[Bufflady90]

Hi I noticed my buff orpington had some crusty feathers this morning and a horrible smell coming from her it is mostly near/under wings also on neck. I can’t see any bugs and she also has a discharge in nose which is slimy. Any ideas what’s going on? Any help would be appreciated as we don’t have any avian vets near by.

Thanks

 

[sourland]

Do you have a rooster? It almost looks as if she may have been injured by a rooster's toenails or spurs while being mated.

 

[Bufflady90]

Do you have a rooster? It almost looks as if she may have been injured by a rooster's toenails or spurs while being mated.

No roosters and all my chickens are young under 4 months. Most of my other chickens are showing signs of discharge in nose and sneezing too so I thought they just had a cold but the smell is really bad and I only noticed the crusty feathers today. Her bum looks ok I can’t see discharge near cloaca

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you added any new birds in the last weeks? There could be a respiratory disease, such as coryza. Could they have been pecking each other?

 

[Bufflady90]

Have you added any new birds in the last weeks? There could be a respiratory disease, such as coryza. Could they have been pecking each other?

Yes I did add a chicken about a month ago before this started and had a bit of dirty feathers but I thought it was just chicken poo. Not long after that I noticed the others all with a discharge in nose and sneezing but seem to be eating drinking ok so I thought they just had a cold or something. I’m not sure if the smell is coming from beak or wings where the feathers are all gross.

 

[Bufflady90]

Yes I did add a chicken about a month ago before this started and had a bit of dirty feathers but I thought it was just chicken poo. Not long after that I noticed the others all with a discharge in nose and sneezing but seem to be eating drinking ok so I thought they just had a cold or something. I’m not sure if the smell is coming from beak or wings where the feathers are all gross.

 

[Bufflady90]

I’m starting to think the feathers may be dirty from her cleaning her face and beak with all the discharge

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like there's lice nits on her neck. I'd re-check for lice.

Clean the feathers/dirty area under the wing(s) really well. You can use soap/water or a solution like Hibiclens (Chlorhexidine). See if that helps with the odor and you should be able to see the skin better with the feathers wet. See if there is indeed bruising and/or wounds under the wings.

Possible she's rubbing her face/nostrils under the wings and that's where the dirty feathers are coming from...

Look inside the beak, any lesions or signs of canker. When you look in the beak, take note if the face/breath is what smells.

Could be infectious Coryza, hard to know. Do you have an antibiotic on hand? If you do, what do you have?

 

[Bufflady90]

Looks like there's lice nits on her neck. I'd re-check for lice.

Clean the feathers/dirty area under the wing(s) really well. You can use soap/water or a solution like Hibiclens (Chlorhexidine). See if that helps with the odor and you should be able to see the skin better with the feathers wet. See if there is indeed bruising and/or wounds under the wings.

Possible she's rubbing her face/nostrils under the wings and that's where the dirty feathers are coming from...

Look inside the beak, any lesions or signs of canker. When you look in the beak, take note if the face/breath is what smells.

Could be infectious Coryza, hard to know. Do you have an antibiotic on hand? If you do, what do you have?


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Hi thanks for the advice! I will recheck her feathers later today and try giving her a wash. I don’t have any antibiotics but I will pick some up from fodder store. What would canker sores indicate?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi thanks for the advice! I will recheck her feathers later today and try giving her a wash. I don’t have any antibiotics but I will pick some up from fodder store. What would canker sores indicate?

Canker sores would indicate Canker, (Trichomonosis) which is caused by protozoan.

You may be able to find meds at your local store, hard to know. Most of the time you would need to order online, but you really need to nail down what you are dealing with so you can give the correct treatment.