Off smelling finch

[Bmac27]

Hi AFFers ,
This might be an odd question but what would cause a finches breath to smell like off milk ?
I picked up a couple of finches not too long ago and I noticed when I got them home that there was a strange smell emanating from the carry box .
I didn't really think too much about it , I put them in the holding cage where they still are and the smell stayed , I took them out today and had a look at them both and realised the smell was actually coming from one of them and that its the birds breath ?
Its that bad that when you're 2 meters away from the cage you can still smell it .
They look healthy , are eating/drinking well , and they've been in with a pair of blue caps that I'm bonding that show no signs of ill health at all , what could the cause of the smell be ?
I have read on the net that it could be bacterial ? Or possibly vit A deficiency ?
I'm puzzled that its only one bird , I've never experienced anything like this .... anyone have any ideas ?

[Craig52]

Mate,all i can say is that i am jealous,i lost my sense of smell in a cancer op a few years ago.
Maybe the bird needs a bath or has been restricted from bathing for a long time.Place a shallow dish of water in there and see what happens. Craig

[Bmac27]

Bugger , sorry to hear Craig .
Thing is it isnt the feathering thats smelling off , its the breath , its only a youngster and not even coloured up , I had thought maybe the same before I took it out n gave it a sniff test so I put in a larger dish for it to bathe but the smell never went away ?
It really is a bit of an offensive smell , and for it to pong up my garage when i shut the roller ?
Its been in with the other 3 birds long enough that if it were contagious I would assume the others breath would be so rank ...
Its got me stumped !

[Craig52]

What sort of finch is it? I remember some birds did smell more than others,eg Cut throats and their nests were putrid. Craig

[iaos]

Could it be a yeast infection? I think they can have an odour.

Cheers Ian

[arthur]

crop congestion.jpg

Hope this is readable . .

From an old book "Bird Diseases" Heinz-Sigurd Raethel

May be of some help . . Myzo no doubt could add more

I have had odd lorikeets with fungal/ yeast problems and they always responded to 'Nilstat' or 'Fungalin' treatment

But dosage for a finch . . ??

Never any associated 'pong' though

[Myzomela]

The smell just indicates that something is rotten inside the bird ie decay.
It could be bacterial or yeast/fungal or even parasitic ( for example the description Arthur put up for the budgie is a classic for the "canker" parasite Trichomonas).

The smell could be coming from the crop, mouth or even sinuses/choana.

Any chance you can shine a pentorch down the bird's beak (assuming you can get it open) for a look? Any cheesy looking areas may suggest yeast or possibly Trich.

BTW the nilstat dose for a finch is 1-2 drops 3-4 times daily.

I would be interested to know if the bird feels thin at all Bmac. It may look ok but I hope it's not just hiding something from you.

[Bmac27]

Hi Myzo ,
I had a bit of a look yesterday at the esophagus but couldn't see any kind of obstruction nor cheesey looking substance , though the bird was struggling and it wasn't a very thorough inspection I'll have a better look tomorrow .
Its a WH Nun , has a healthy body mass , quite solid , no oozing liquids from beak or nostrils , eating well normal appetite , drinking without issue its vent is clean and the faeces appear normal .
Its active and I've spied on it from a vantage point to see if it would "fluff up" as an ill bird would , but .... nope it seems quite happy .
Im perplexed to say the least .
If no symptoms are present other than the foul breath odour would you suggest a broad spectrum treatment ?
Or just go straight to nilstat ?
Should I isolate the bird even if the others in its company show no similar symptoms ?
Thanks for the responses guys above , appreciate it