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Fowl pox is running through flock-one really bad bird I need help with

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TajMahalChickens

TajMahalChickens

Songster
9 Years
Mar 22, 2010
211
2
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I currenty have what I think is fowl pox running through my flock. I have seen a couple dots on a couple chickens a month or two ago, but it wasn't getting worse or spreding so I just left them. about two weeks ago it really started to take off, and about 12 of my 20 hens have at least a dot or two.

I understand that there is no treatment, so do I just let it run its course?

Any other things I should know about fowl pox?


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This is my Wellsummer that probably has the worst fowl pox. Notice the black circle to the left of his wattle, and the black blob to the lower left of the wattle. The lower left blob extends all the way under her face, but not all the way to the other side. She is lethargic and droopy, So I am getting a little worried about her. She still goes outside but she usually just sits down. Her comb is a little paler than the rest. She has been a little "different" for about 10 days, but just two days ago she has started to be this lethargic. Any ideas to help her get better? Is her droopiness from the fowl pox?

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These two are my other most affected birds. Just thought I would add them for reference.

Any advice or info about this?
 
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Mine had fowl pox but I couldn't tell any difference in their behavior. They just had some spots. There is a form of wet pox that can be horrible. It makes sores in their mucus linings...like mouth and such. You can search on here and see some. I don't know what to do about the wet form. Maybe try making sure that she gets some extra nutrition like scrambled eggs and yogurt to see if she needs a boost? Keep an eye out for other symptoms too.
sharon
 
Hey
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My birds got fowl pox last November (2009), and it really scared me. Everything I was reading said this and that about the dry form but then mentioned the WET form - which is really the worst part. Thankfully, my chickens only got the dry form, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. If I remember correctly, I applied iodine to the scabs at least twice a day, with a Q-tip. On large scabs near the eyes I used triple antibiotic ointment without pain reliever. (It's a good idea to keep a tube of this on hand just for the birds, it's great for all sorts of stuff) I did take a few of the more affected birds and look inside their mouths every couple days to make sure the wet form wasn't setting in.

If the scabs make their eyes get all closed up, you're going to need to wash them out the best you can. Two of my chickens had problems with the scabs and their eyes - one has recovered fully and the other has a very slight vision loss in one of her eyes.

None of my birds had any side effects really..For the most part they acted about the same, but your hen is probably suffering from the stress of the sickness and the cold weather, depending on where you live. Try making sure she gets enough good food. The disease really does have to run it's course, but do you have, say, an empty pen? You could put birds that aren't showing any signs of pox in there to hopefully keep them healthy. If they eat the same food and drink the same water as the sick birds they're likely to get sick too. The good news is, once they've had it they can't get it again. (That's what I hear)

Hope your birds fully recover and get better soon!
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P.S. is that a Buttercup in the second to last photo?
 
What Debbienmousey said sounds good. Yes the wet form is way worse and has a high mortality rate. The dry form, what you have, is not so bad. I will say that seeing the scabs is a good thing. That means that they are healing. In the past I use a pill to treat, but I can't remember what it was called. Once they got scabs you really don't have to do anything they are healing, but if they appear on the eyes or mouth you will have to remove them. They doing a search on fowl pox and (AKA) wart head.
 
I just used Neosporin once. I did have one hen get a lot of lesions on her head, and her face swelled some and she did get some additional attention.

One morning about 3 weeks after it all started, I went out to find all the lesions gone. Overnight.

And yes, they are immune for life afterwards. Mine had it summer before last; no problem with it this summer.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The disease really does have to run it's course, but do you have, say, an empty pen? You could put birds that aren't showing any signs of pox in there to hopefully keep them healthy. If they eat the same food and drink the same water as the sick birds they're likely to get sick too. The good news is, once they've had it they can't get it again. (That's what I hear)

The truth is, I actually have an empty coop right now. Do you think that isolating the non- sick hens would prevent them from getting it? Since they have all been exposed, would separating them still help? I guess since they wouldn't drink the same water. I am totally willing to do it, I just don't want to do something that isn't going to help.

And yes, that is my sweet little buttercup. She's my smallest bird, and lays my smallest egg, but at least she lays pretty well.

Did you find that the iodine/ triple antibiotic ointment helped?

I will say that seeing the scabs is a good thing. That means that they are healing.

Ok, good. Most of what they have are the scabs like my wellsummer has.

I just used Neosporin once. I did have one hen get a lot of lesions on her head, and her face swelled some and she did get some additional attention.

Did you use something like the first product on this page? Did you find that that helped?
http://www.neosporin.com/firstaid/neosporin.asp?sec=0&page=15#Neosporin
Ok, somehow it does link directly to the page, so you will have to copy and paste it.

Thanks so much for your help!!!!
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It might. I didn't have the space to do that with my birds, but not all of mine got sick anyway. I would say it's worth trying if it isn't going to be too much of an extra bother.

Did you find that the iodine/ triple antibiotic ointment helped?

The iodine was more effective at drying up the scabs then the ointment was. I think the ointment helped to soothe them. The iodine worked really well.

And yes, that is my sweet little buttercup. She's my smallest bird, and lays my smallest egg, but at least she lays pretty well.

I thought so
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I have a trio of Buttercups and they're great. Mine lay good too. And yours is very cute!
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Betadine on the affected areas and a round of antibiotics are good.I had a few birds go through it a while back.Most of them had dry pox,but I ended up with 3 roosters and a hen come down with the wet.The lesions had moved into their mouths and airways.It causes a rather cheesey substance that builds up and can block airways.If this happens you need to scrape the buildup best you can inside the mouth and passage.A round for chlortetracycline works.I used Baytril but in some regions that may be a bit pricey and hard to get from your vet.Only one rooster ended up with some issues.He got ir real bad around the eyes,so I believe his sight is impaired a bit on one side.Otherwise everyone came through well.I was at the point of culling them,thinking they were gonna die anyway.Luckily I've worked in the clinic and wildlife rehab for so long that I know not to give up on anything.
 
None of mine have any near their eyes or mouth, so that's good.

The iodine was more effective at drying up the scabs then the ointment was. I think the ointment helped to soothe them. The iodine worked really well.

Did you dilute the iodine?

My wellsummer didn't get on the perch last night so I am going to separate her and feed her some eggs, use iodine, maybe put some apple cider vinegar in her water? Any other suggestions?

Betadine on the affected areas and a round of antibiotics are good.

Maybe I should do Betadine instead? If Betadine is better, I'll use iodine until I can find some Betadine. Oh, and antibiotics.. in the water? Sorry, I'm not familiar with using medicines with chickens!

Ok, so I guess I should start checking for wet pox. I haven't heard any weird breathing yet though.

Thanks!​
 
Betadine undiluted was what was suggested by my boss.I used a foam brush to brush it on to the affected areas.The betadine is better than ointment because it does not have the oily base which does not allow moisture to escape. You should be able to find Betadine at Walmart in the Pharmacy/Health area.It runs around 6 bucks here for the non brand.

As for the wet pox, I never heard anything out of the ordinay.I noticed because I was checking all of the birds closely and saw several had sores near the mouth.Upon closer look they had the buildup into the mouth.I caught it before it really got to affect their airways.I had to scrape it out some and swabbed betadine all around the face and mouth area.
 

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