Smelly Chicken -- not poop, breath and feathers!

[BodhiRoc]

Hi all -- We have 4 3-mo chicks. Everyone's doing fine, but our salmon faverolles is STINKY! The others (dominique, sussex, brahma) smell nice (chickeny but nice). We can barely stand to handle the faverolles, though. She smells like rotten fish... not her poop, necessarily, but her breath and feathers. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[noodleroo]

Check for parasites. Other than that, she may have an infection somewhere....

 

[Qi Chicken]

I agree that that is not normal. Kind of strange that it is only one breed but I think there is some type of health issue. If the smell seems to be emanating from the face I would look inside the mouth. check for mites etc. Look for discharge from the nostrils. Check the bottom of the feet. Good luck with the stink pots!

ETA Oh, I think I misunderstood. I thought you had a few of the same breed that were stinky. If it's just one I definitely think there is something up with her.

 

[azygous]

Sour crop, maybe? I hear that emits a bad odor.

There have been accounts on this site of people cutting open the crop, cleaning it out, then Super-gluing the wound shut - with very positive results.

If it is sour crop, you might also look into this solution:

COPPER SULFATE SOLUTION

Use this solution as a treatment for mycosis (mold infection) in the crop. An alternate name for the condition is "Thrush." Use the solution as a "follow-up" treatment after flushing with epsom salt solution--refer to the section for LAXATIVE SOLUTIONS.

Dissolve .5 lb copper sulfate and .5 cup vinegar into 1 gallon of water for a "stock" solution. Dispense stock solution at the rate of 1 oz per gallon for the final drinking solution.

An alternate method of preparing the solution is:

dissolve 1 oz copper sulfate and 1 tablespoon of vinegar into 15 gallons water.

Use either solution as the sole water source during the course of the disease outbreak. Copper sulfate is often referred to as "bluestone".

 

[BodhiRoc]

Hi All -- Thanks for the advice. Somehow the stinky chicken is a lot less stinky. Perhaps it was just something she ate? Anyway, thanks for all the advice. If it happens again, I'll look into the sour crop remedy. Best, Greg

 

[Resolution]

Catch every bird with malodorous breath and stuff a chewable vitamin C down their gullet- once a week for ~ three weeks. These small bantams tend to be more susceptible to choryza than many other breeds- even if its getting better don't hesitate- acting with precaution is better than acting too late.