Weird smell

My macaw has developed this odd smell to his breath. Is almost a sour/sweet smell.... kinda smells like icing :/

His diet is the same, his droppings are normal with no smell, eating and drinking and acting normal.... just his breath is off..

He regurgitates a lot but only around me, that's not new though, but I have noticed it abit more. His weight is the same and his feathers are beautiful. And he empties his crop like normal.

I'm calling the vet tomorrow to make an appointment. But does this sound like yeast? When I got him originally he had an infection in the crop and they gave him doxy, and retested 6 weeks later. He was normal.

Forgot to mention... he himself smells normal. It's just his breath...especially when he regurges....

Gotta let us know what the doc says about Rhage! Hope he gets good test results.

Whatever it is, if anything, you likely caught it early! Great job lining up for a vet consult. Hopefully nothing!

Had the same thing with Bella a while ago and it was indeed yeast, should be fine if caught and treated early

It was strange to see this posting as I noticed Arika's breath smelled a bit sour when she regurgitates showing her affection.
She is eating, drinking, and behaving normal. Also weight is holding steady at 930g.

I just called her vet but they are booked till May 5th!!!, however we have the option to go in as an emergency though and will do anything for our baby.
We left a voicemail with her Dr to see if we can get the ball rolling by collecting some of her regurge ?? and also have a gram stain done by dropping off some samples.
Waiting on a call back shortly and will advise on what happens.

Please keep us updated on Rhage. Hoping they find the problem and can resolve it quickly.
Forgot to ask, do you use Apple Cider vinegar in their water?

Hoping you were able to get Rhage to the vet.
We wanted to check in to see if you have any updates.

We are not trying to hijack the thread but since Arika is experiencing identical symptoms, we thought we would post what we did and treatment from the vet.

We did take Arika in today. Had to pay the emergency fee but it was worth it.
They did gram stain and crop sample. She is on antibiotics for 7 days because gram negative bacteria was a bit high and concerning.
Crop sample analysis will take longer to obtain results.
Glad we took her to the vet.

We highly recommend anyone else experiencing this abnormal smell in their fid's breath to seek veterinary advice ASAP.

Please let us know how Rhage is doing.

Unfortunately I couldn't get him in till this upcoming week. I have very few CAV in my area, and my vet was on vacation I will definitely keep you all updated when I have him seen

LoveMyConlan said:

Unfortunately I couldn't get him in till this upcoming week. I have very few CAV in my area, and my vet was on vacation I will definitely keep you all updated when I have him seen

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Glad to hear you have an appointment and we look forward to hearing the results of his visit.
Hopefully his "breath" has not gotten worse.
Did you catch my previous mention about Apple Cider Vinegar? Our vet recommends 5ml ACV per 1 liter of water.

Check with your vet on their recommended dose.

Arika gets that in her water every day. Even still somehow she got something in her system. Fortunately it was caught early.

I've heard about the ACV but never had a 'dose' to go on. I'll definitely give it a try now until his appt in a few days

So Rhage had his appointment a little over a week ago sorry for the delay, ifhe been crazy busy and was sick.

We had the vet do a gram stain and a crop and a us swab for yeast and bacteria as well as his basic look over, minus bloodwork for now.

Turns out he has some yeast going on, but lab results show no overgrowth of any crazy bacteria! So he's being treated for yeast and we will retest in a few weeks to be sure we got it

Our vet was super impressed with his feathers and beak and feet and his pipelia.... totally spelled that wrong lol. Said other than that bit of yeast he's perfect! He will go in July for his yearly bloodwork check and 'yearly appointment'.

Rhage, of course, was a totally dork the whole appointment ROFL. Laughing with the staff and being a ham . They adore him.

I always get compliments on his behavior. They towel him for safety reasons, but he just reclines like he's in a hammock at the beach. No fuss.

@WakaWaka..... the vet definitely recommended the use of ACV for him. 5ml per liter of cold water.. just like yours!

But over all he is a happy healthy birdy... just with some bad breath that will hopefully go away with his meds lol

BTW... Does anyone else have their vet do heavy metal testing with their blood work? I usually do just to make sure they are safe... but others have said it's a waste unless your bird shows possible signs.... your opinion?? Am I being an over protective mom?

I'm so sorry to hear that you have been sick too ! Hope you are feeling better.
Rhage needs you to take care of him
Glad to hear you got him to the vet and nothing major showed up.
Hopefully all will be normal when he finishes his meds.

We wish Arika would have been that well behaved. Unfortunately it was a traumatic visit for her but she has settled down since.
They did not recommend another crop / gram test unless we noticed her breath smelling sour again.
Since she finished her meds we are also giving her the minimum dose of Bene-Bac probiotic per her vets recommendation to promote the good bacteria growth again.

Thanks very much for the update!! We were getting concerned since we did not hear back.
Please keep us updated on Rhage and yourself as well

Just wanted to check and see how you and Rhage are doing.
Hope that both of you are feeling better.