What can cause foul smelling feces?
Animal’s feces can say a lot about its health. How often they go, and how much waste they expel, can indicate the general digestive health.
The digestive tract contains more bacterial cells than there are cells in the entire body. It's very important that the bowels work well to absorb necessary nutrients but also keep out any foods, chemicals and germs that could do harm.
It's an essential body function that can tell if something is wrong. A change in bowel movements could be due merely to a change in diet, but it could also mean the body is fighting an infection or dealing with a serious condition. There are several ways to indicate that something’s wrong with the feces. One of these ways is the odor..
Feces are made up of undigested food, bacteria, mucus and dead cells. It usually smells bad because of the bacteria and parasites, but it also can have compounds that produce an especially unpleasant smell.
For example, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines, can occur after eating food contaminated with:
- bacteria, such as E. coli or Salmonella
- viruses
- parasites
Soon after developing the infection, animals experience abdominal cramps and then have foul-smelling, runny stools.
This can be of high danger of your animals health and life. So next time you enter your barn, maybe take a deep sniff in?