Fowl pox in chick?

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TexasHeifer

TexasHeifer

In the Brooder
5 Years
May 4, 2014
75
6
48
Texas
This pullet is about a month old and is one of 6 chicks. The others and momma are perfectly healthy, this is the only one with an eye like this (this is only in the right eye). There's no bad smell or puss, just bubbly discharge. She's eating, drinking, and moving around great and acts like she can see out of it. Could this be fowl pox? No one else has it and there are no other lumps or sore anywhere else on this chick's face or in it's mouth..



 
It showed up literally overnight like fowl pox would do. I've mixed Rooster Booster Vitamins & Electrolytes, and the Sav A Chick supplements in it's water. I don't have any antibiotics and my TSC doesn't carry anything stronger then these supplements and I don't have any vets around me that really work with birds to give me anything. I'm not sure what else to do for this chick..I don't want to just leave it and hope for the best and I don't want this to spread if it's a disease..
 
It could be fowl pox, but it also could be something such as mycoplasma (MG.) It would be easier to diagnose if there were pox lesions on a comb or wattles to see. Did you get the chickens from someone else or did you hatch them? Could there be a possible carrier of MG in your flock or from where you get them? MG can also be passed on through hatching eggs from carrier hens. If it is fowl pox, it is a virus that has to run it's course over 4-5 weeks. You should clean the eye with saline, and apply either Terramycin or neosporin ointment, or Vetericyn eye gel. The chick looks to have eye bubbles and eye and nasal drainage which can be signs of MG. Antibiotics such as Tylan and oxytetracycline can treat the symptoms of MG. It is a contagious disease that can make carriers of the flock, even when others don't show symptoms. Here is a link to read about MG and fowl pox:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/disea...ction-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/avian-pox-how-to-treat-your-chickens-for-avian-pox
 
Eggcessive said:
It could be fowl pox, but it also could be something such as mycoplasma (MG.) It would be easier to diagnose if there were pox lesions on a comb or wattles to see. Did you get the chickens from someone else or did you hatch them? Could there be a possible carrier of MG in your flock or from where you get them? MG can also be passed on through hatching eggs from carrier hens. If it is fowl pox, it is a virus that has to run it's course over 4-5 weeks. You should clean the eye with saline, and apply either Terramycin or neosporin ointment, or Vetericyn eye gel. The chick looks to have eye bubbles and eye and nasal drainage which can be signs of MG. Antibiotics such as Tylan and oxytetracycline can treat the symptoms of MG. It is a contagious disease that can make carriers of the flock, even when others don't show symptoms. Here is a link to read about MG and fowl pox:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/disea...ction-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/avian-pox-how-to-treat-your-chickens-for-avian-pox
Click to expand...

My Silkie hen hatched this chick, the original egg came from one of my EEs. I had a fowl pox outbreak about 2 months ago(before these chicks hatched) It ran it's course and my flock is healthy now. There's no nasal discharge and no raspy breathing.
 
Tractor Supply usually carries Tylan 50 injectable and oxytetracycline, but you would have to enter your zip code or call the store directly. They are located in the cattle medicines. Tylan 50 injectible (which requires a needle and syringe to draw it up from the bottle, can be goven orally to a chick--1/8 ml twice a day for 5 days by mouth is the dose. The oxytetracycline is for use in water--dosage is 2 1/2 tablespoonsful per gallon of water given for 7 days. Here are links to check for these meds--add your zip code:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/tylan-50-100-ml-elanco-cattle-treatment
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/durvetreg;-duramycin-10-6-2-5-oz
 
My flock is a closed flock, no other chickens are introduced into it. My flock is where it is now because I hatch my own eggs..No one else who has chickens has been in my yard either so Im not sure where this came from if it's MG..Can't they get it from wild birds?
 
Well if you still have mosquitoes it may well be pox. The little bumps around the eyelid look like it sometimes does. The antibiotic won't hurt, but I would use the eye ointment or gel, since other bacteria can cause infection in the eye during fowl pox.
 
Eggcessive said:
Tractor Supply usually carries Tylan 50 injectable and oxytetracycline, but you would have to enter your zip code or call the store directly. They are located in the cattle medicines. Tylan 50 injectible (which requires a needle and syringe to draw it up from the bottle, can be goven orally to a chick--1/8 ml twice a day for 5 days by mouth is the dose. The oxytetracycline is for use in water--dosage is 2 1/2 tablespoonsful per gallon of water given for 7 days. Here are links to check for these meds--add your zip code:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/tylan-50-100-ml-elanco-cattle-treatment
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/durvetreg;-duramycin-10-6-2-5-oz
Click to expand...

Aren't MG infected birds carriers for life also? And if that's the case wouldn't it be better to cull this chick?
 
MG can be introduced from wild birds, or even by tracking it in on shoes from other sources. If the chick is not sneezing or showing respiratory symptoms then I wouldn't worry about MG, but just wanted to mention the possibility. It sounds like you don't have that going on.
 
Yes MG can cause lifelong carriers. Simple testing can be done with a nasal swab or blood test by a local vet, and sent off, or testing at one of these centers: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
A necropsy can also be done by the state vet to test for MG. I would probably just separate the chick and watch it closely. Eye infections from pox are very common.
 

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