Avian Pox (Dry?) question

[amcstay]

For those of you whose chickens have had dry avian pox I have a question. My RSL, Ariel, seems to have dry avian pox. SO far it has followed the usual course ( I think), first I noticed white bumps on her comb and wattles, then the bumps got bigger and more wart like. Most recently they have started to turn black. Just now, she was on my lap adn I noticed that some of the bumps looked slightly bloody, almost as if she had been trying to "pick" them off. I know she can't actually pick them off, but if she rubbed her comb on teh ground or against something this might explain it. Do you think she did this or is it normal for them to look this way?

Here are some pictures I just took;

Side with black bumps and blood:

Side with no blood:

Back view of side with bloody bumps:

These are the best pictures I could get. Any advice would be great. Should I put neosporin on her bumps or just let it run it's course? What else can I do for her so she doesn't get worse or fall sick?

BTW, my vet here says you can't vaccinate them after they are 3 days old, so he refuses to do so for my other non poxed hens......

 

[welovechickens]

The bumps look pretty normal to me, at least with what I've seen with my chickens. I will try to take some pictures so you can compare with your chicken's spots. I think the lesions on my chickens look a lot worse than the ones on yours......the ones here have actually had the scabs come off and they do bleed. They don't seem to be bothering the chickens, though.

The only time I treated the spots was when my Baby (bantam) seemed to be getting a respiratory problem. I used Betadine ointment, which is iodine in ointment form. Since she has recovered, and my other chickens haven't acted sick at all, I quit treating the lesions.

Hope this helps!

I'll take some pictures shortly and come back to post them.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Looks absolutely normal for avian pox. My hens (18 of them) all eventually got it; only 2 got the wet form, thankfully. One of them didn't make it.

It took about a month for the pox to heal. Good luck!

 

[threehorses]

That looks like every case of pox we've had here, too - except the hen looks quite lovely and bright eyed.

Boost her immunity: best food, cleanest water, some probiotics, maybe some egg yolk (boiled) as a treat.

 

[CMV]

Thanks for posting such great pictures. I am pretty sure a couple of my girls have it, too. I was wondering why they were looking so scrappy, but I have never had avian pox before and didn't know what I was looking at. One of my hens had it earlier in the season and was barely marked by it, so I thought it was something transient and she healed up in about 1 month. The 2 new cases are much more pronounced, and I was worried. Once I saw your photos I looked up all I could on wet and dry pox. Thanks.

 

[amcstay]

Thanks for all the advice. So far I am just watching her, but within the last 2 days, she seems a little "off". The Delaware seems to have contracted it as well, but nowhere near as badly as my RSL.

I don't know where I can find probiotics here, so I will just make sure that she get boiled egg yolk, maybe some extra cottage cheese, and of course lots of attention. Other than clean water, good food, and extra protein(yolks, cottage cheese), is there anything else I can do to make her more peppy?

One of the other hens seems fascinated by her bumps and was trying to peck them yesterday, is this normal? (I can't separate her as I have no means to do so) The RSL, just stood there as if she almost liked it - wierdo. Then again, maybe it feels good to get picked at?

Again, thanks so much for all the advice.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Looks like avian pox to me too. It is quite prevalent here, and I have a bottle of iodine and a paintbrush, the type you find in children's water color kits works wonderfully. I bring my babies into the kitchen soon after they've roosted for the night whenever I notice that their comb has a sooty look on the edges (looks kind of dirty). I set them on an old, clean towel (iodine stains) and apply the iodine onto the entire comb and even the wattles on the affected bird, making certain to take a dry paper towel and wipe off any iodine that runs to the beak or eyes while applying and then blot the entire "painted" area when done with the paper towel to prevent any dripping into their nostrils, eyes or beak.

She could easily have scratched off her scabs or may have had them pecked at by others in the flock, chickens are funny that way, they'll peck at anything that doesn't look normal to them. If the others are picking at her sores, that would increase the possibility that your other chickens will get the disease.

Pay close attention to your baby. When you are NOT holding them, listen for rales (a raspy or bubbly sound ). Observe them, are they stretching their neck and opening their mouth as if to breath? Do they open their mouth as if to "speak" and nothing comes out? These could be signs that the disease has gone to the "wet" form, a much more serious, and life threatening condition.

Hope she gets to feeling better soon.

 

[threehorses]

Probiotics are easy. Plain yogurt at the grocery store. Most grocery stores also have acidophilus tablets in their vitamin section, too. (Now it's all the rage for humans - go figure).

 

[amcstay]

Silly me! I knew yogurt had "good" antibodies in it, but it never dawned on me that it was a "probiotic"! Guess I am covered on that front as my girls love yogurt and they get it at least 1x a week.

The iodine is a good idea, I'll have to get some and start painting. DH is going to freak when he comes home and sees me painting the chickens! I bet he will think I have lost all my marbles now....

"No honey, really, painting chickens is all the rage right now...."