Smelly Nest Box

[Animalzoo]

Hi All,

I've just done a nest check on my zebras and their nest box totally smells horrible. They have 4 x 14 day old chicks in there doing very well, but their poops must be making it very smelly.
Anything I should do?

Thanks, x

[debbie276]

Bird nests should not smell so I would think there is some sort of problem, watch closely.
If your birds will tolerate it you could change out the nesting material.

good luck

[lovezebs]

Animalzoo

I agree with Debbie.

The nest box (with only 4 chickies) should not smell so terrible.

Is it possible that there is an unhatched egg in there, that is rotten and has broken? Or possibly a dead chick, that Instead of drying, has decomposed in there?

At 14 days, they should be pretty close to fledging. So if you're going to do a more thorough nest check, or change the bedding in there, be very cautious that your babies don't make a break for it.

[Animalzoo]

Hi guys,

It won't be an egg or dead chick. Sadly there was a loss early on which I removed. They had 5 eggs, all hatched etc. Hmmm, I've been at work all day today and they were already to bed when I got home. I will take a closer look tomorrow morning. I've noticed excessive poops everywhere and even some on the nest entrance. Perhaps mum and dad haven't been cleaning very well?

I check them once a day everyday so was taken back at the smell this morning. I have another nest with 5 chicks and they're fine. I can tidy up and change the nesting material just as long as mum and dad won't abandon them?

[debbie276]

Smelly droppings are a definite sign of trouble. Bird droppings do not smell.

[Animalzoo]

Good Monring,

Well this morning I removed the nest and the material. It was caked in poops and smelt very high! The box too underneath is a little saturated and I feel that simply from the original nest build there wasn't enough nesting material. When I took the babies out, they were more or less sitting on the bottom of the wooden box with the nesting material around the edges but mostly to the front of the entrance. It had created a sort of step down into where the babies sat. The box at the bottom showed signs of getting damp too.

So I've placed tough kitchen tissue folded up at the bottom to create a barrier and then rebuilt the nest from there up. It was a good opportunity to inspect the chicks closely as I havent had them out the nest before. They were fine, well fed and clean looking. Each one in turn pooped on my hand and the colour and consistency looked fine as well.

Mum and dad look a pause to inspect what I had done and stood on the nest entrance a while but eventually both have been in and carried on feeding. Mum is trying to re-arrange my work but I dont care just as long as nothing gets chucked out and it smells much better.

I dont think there is a health problem here, just poor nest build from the beginning.

All is well.

Untitled by Sue Campbell, on Flickr

[ac12]

I found that if the chicks poop does not dry out, it will smell. Maybe from the parents drinking a lot of water, the specific food given to the parents (to feed the chicks), or limited ventilation in the nest.

[monotwine]

I'd also be tempted to add a little apple cider vinegar in their drinking water. It can do wonders.

[cindy]

smelly droppings can also be the signs of coccidia watch them carefully after fledging for signs of going thin.

ACV as Monique suggested is a good idea also. 1 1/2 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons per gallon of water.

I found that despite putting plenty of timothy grasses and straight sections of coco fiber down some pairs remove everything and raise the young on very little if nothing on top of the paper toweling or paper. I usually will add more under the young short after hatching.

[lovezebs]

Animalzoo

Well, I'm glad the chicks and nest box smell better.
Had a chuckle over the babies pooping in your hand, doesn't it make you feel special? LOL . (My babies always poop on me when I hold them, I think it's mandatory baby behaviour).

Good luck

[ac12]

BTW, I have had that situation where the birds, probably the males, would "burrow" down into the nesting material until he hit the box itself. Seems he wanted a solid bottom for his nest.

But of course, now then there was nothing to absorb the wet poop from the chicks, until they were big enough to get their butts to the sides where the nesting material was.

So now I have several layers of corrugated cardboard at the bottom of the nest, primarily for insulation. But the cardboard will absorb some of the wet poop.

[Animalzoo]

Many thanks for all the tips. I had them out for cuddles again yesterday and the paper towels around the edges were wet and dirty so I changed this one layer. As I would like to handle them more I'll simply do a daily check and clean them up a little bit each time. No more smells which is the important thing.

And Elana, I agree its good to feel special

[ac12]

I think I discovered one cause for smelly wet poop...fresh egg food.
It seems that my birds that are eating and feeding egg food in a significant amount, have chicks with wet poop. So, it might be a case of just too much water.

[yourcharmedlife]

I JUST went through this today and decided to pull the nest down, w/babies inside. mine was a VERY old bad smelling egg. I scooped out all the old eggs and smell went away

[Raleighwheels]

I went through the same thing with my clutch of eight. As they got older, the nest started to smell. They did have a lot of wet poops in there that stayed moist, and I was giving the parents lots of eggfood to feed them.