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Urgent Foul-smelling poop

Matto

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One of my linnies has recently been having very foul-smelling poop, as in the entire room stinks. I've never seen this before. She is currently sitting on eggs and is eating a diet of breeder pellets. What could this be?
 

greys4u

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gas????
 

Mockinbirdiva

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How does she eat those pellets. Dunk them in water? My green cheek is a dunker but the crimsons are not. Are these new pellets to her diet? If she is a dunker you may want to change her water frequently, may want to add some ACV ( Bragg's with the mother in it) to her water. But most importantly I'd want to collect a fresh sample in a culture tube and drop it by the vet to check for any bacteria. They don't poo as often when they are in the nest so it gives time for bacteria to brew in the intestines. Get that poop checked.

Also... if her water cup is near the pellets and she's taken a bath and gotten the pellets wet this could be a cause for issues too.
 

Matto

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Well, she doesn't really eat out of the bowl when she's in the nest. The cock is eating and regurgitating to her. He's a very slight dunker. Her poops have always been MASSIVE (even by linnie standards) and even occasionally smelled bad right when she did it, but this smell lingers.
 

Matto

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Come to think of it... this all started when I added breeder pellets to her diet. I might change her back to regular and see if it goes away. Especially now that she's done laying eggs and not yet feeding chicks.
 

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Well, she doesn't really eat out of the bowl when she's in the nest. The cock is eating and regurgitating to her. He's a very slight dunker. Her poops have always been MASSIVE (even by linnie standards) and even occasionally smelled bad right when she did it, but this smell lingers.
I would still have it checked out.
 

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Come to think of it... this all started when I added breeder pellets to her diet. I might change her back to regular and see if it goes away. Especially now that she's done laying eggs and not yet feeding chicks.
What is the difference between the breeder pellets and the pellets you fed prior to breeding? Ingredient list..
 

Matto

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What is the difference between the breeder pellets and the pellets you fed prior to breeding? Ingredient list..
THey're both roudybush. I think it's the same ingredients, just different amounts.
Regular:
Ingredients: Ground Corn, Ground Wheat, Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, L-Arginine, Niacin, Silicon Dioxide (anti-caking aid), Citric Acid (Preservative), Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Vegetable Oil, Rosemary Extract, Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Yucca schidigera Extract, Dried Yeast, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Propionic Acid (Preservative), Ammonium Hydroxide, Acetic Acid, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Tartaric Acid, and Natural Apple Flavoring.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min.) 11.0%
Crude Fat (min.) 6.0%
Crude Fiber (max.) 3.5%
Moisture (max.) 12.0%
Ash 3.0%
Calcium 0.42%
Phosphorus 0.41%
Available Phosphorus 0.17%
Sodium 0.15%
Chloride 0.23%
Iron 250 ppm

Breeder:
Ingredients: Soybean Meal, Ground Corn, Ground Wheat, Alfalfa, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, L-Arginine, Choline Chloride, Salt, Dried Yeast, Niacin, Silicon Dioxide (anti-caking aid), Citric Acid (Preservative), Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Vegetable Oil, Rosemary Extract, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Yucca schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite, Copper Oxide, Propionic Acid (Preservative), Ammonium Hydroxide, Acetic Acid, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Tartaric Acid, and Natural Apple Flavoring.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min.) 20.0%
Crude Fat (min.) 3.0%
Crude Fiber (max.) 2.0%
Moisture (max.) 12.0%
Ash 5.0%
Calcium 0.91%
Phosphorus 0.83%
Available Phosphorus 0.61%
Sodium 0.15%
Chloride 0.22%
 

Matto

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Perhaps the breeder pellets went bad? They were stored in an airtight container but they are a few months old.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Perhaps the breeder pellets went bad? They were stored in an airtight container but they are a few months old.
That certainly could be true. Ditch them as soon as you can and get fresh. I had no idea Roudybush offered breeder pellets. Still.. check the poo out before those chicks hatch. Call your vet and ask if you can drop off a fresh sample to look under the microscope for any signs of bacteria. Should be very inexpensive and avoid stressing your hen out by an unnecessary trip if all checks out fine. Are you feeding any additional fresh foods? I'm sure she must come out at some point to eat as well. If you aren't sure set up a web cam. Have you checked the nest box and marked dates for when the chicks will hatch?
 

Matto

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I offer chop but this pair will only occasionally nip at it. I tossed the breeder pellets in their cage and replaced them with fresh regular ones. I also have a spare bag of breeder pellets somewhere. My vet is out of town but I can see if there's another one around here that can do that. Eggs should start hatching in 5-6 days.
 

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She is holding her poop because of sitting on a clutch. Many laying hens have stinky poop because they hold it. It the same reason that many birds have one stinky morning poop. They held it overnight. :)
 

Matto

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She is holding her poop because of sitting on a clutch. Many laying hens have stinky poop because they hold it. It the same reason that many birds have one stinky morning poop. They held it overnight. :)
But her last clutch wasn't anywhere near this level of stinky.
 

Macawnutz

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But her last clutch wasn't anywhere near this level of stinky.

I'm not saying it's not cause for concern. I will vet check anything abnormal. I'm just saying that laying along with your recent diet change could be the issue. Bacterial infections do have a certain odor. Take a sample to your clinic, they can do a gram stain even if your vet is away.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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I offer chop but this pair will only occasionally nip at it. I tossed the breeder pellets in their cage and replaced them with fresh regular ones. I also have a spare bag of breeder pellets somewhere. My vet is out of town but I can see if there's another one around here that can do that. Eggs should start hatching in 5-6 days.
What is your chop? Maybe you need to change the ingredients? What about your spare bag of breeder pellets... are they still in the use by date?
As Sarah said... your vets office should still be able to run a gram stain.
 

Matto

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I'll call them tomorrow to see if they can run it. If not, there's a good number of avian vets in my area.
The spare bag of breeder pellets should still be good, the expiration date is in 2019.
 

Birdbabe

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She is holding her poop because of sitting on a clutch. Many laying hens have stinky poop because they hold it. It the same reason that many birds have one stinky morning poop. They held it overnight. :)
Right!
 
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