Smelly chick...

[chuckachucka]

I have a little Booted bantam cockerel, seven weeks old, who was a single chick from a bad ebay batch. He lives in the house for now and is still on chick crumbles with some grit added until I start him on grower soon. He wears a little homemade nappy.

He seems healthy and happy but I can't help noticing he is very smelly! I've had a house chicken before and never had this bad smell. It sort of emanates from his face and also his poop seems particularly malodorous. Sort of a sweet stink. I've experienced enough chicken poop to know it doesn't smell normal.

Could he have a recurrent mild form of sour crop? Is there anything I can give him to improve this?

He eats and drinks fine and his poop LOOKS normal, plus his crop empties overnight and doesn't feel squishy like I've heard sourcrop. He's just a stinker! He's been this way on and off for weeks.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We think our boys in our stag pen are stinkier than the gals for some reason.

Chick starter is actually fine... but *could* be the cause of some extra stink.... extra protein is extra stinky when being excreted... especially of not being fully utilized.

Botched hatches with single chicks are a real bummer. He's a little cutie!

 

[chuckachucka]

Hmm. You might be onto something with the chick food. I will try switching him onto grower but will have to crush it a bit as he is still quite small.

I was thinking maybe probiotics could help as well.

 

[chuckachucka]

Also I'm going to give my rooster a good sniffing tomorrow to see if it is a boy thing

 

[Eggcessive]

Some feeds nowadays contain probiotics now, but you can buy animal probiotics, or use just a tsp of plain cultured yogurt a couple of days a week. Hopefully, he can have some flockmates soon, and go outside.

 

[oregonkat]

Hmm. You might be onto something with the chick food. I will try switching him onto grower but will have to crush it a bit as he is still quite small.

I was thinking maybe probiotics could help as well.

Try putting some apple cider vinegar in his water. This will help with his gut if he is having intestinal stuff going on.

 

[chuckachucka]

I'm thinking of rehoming him when he reaches puberty if I can find someone with some pullets for him to be with. I don't know if he would ever be happy with my current flock after being raised indoors. I do take him out in the garden for supervised time as much as possible. It's a shame because there were two eggs that developed but one died mid incubation. I always think what if...about that one. But he never seemed that lonely luckily, he's been one of the family.

 

[chuckachucka]

Try putting some apple cider vinegar in his water. This will help with his gut if he is having intestinal stuff going on.

Yes! That's what I was trying to think of but couldn't remember. I will try apple cider vinegar.