Cankers, Fowl Pox, or ???

[chickenmomma16]

Here was my original thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...what-could-it-be.1232645/page-3#post-19785575

Please see the original thread for the details I provided so I don’t have to type it out twice. It will be very much appreciated!

@Eggcessive said to look in their mouth on Wednesday 4/4 and I did but obviously the one I checked I must have missed it or it wasn’t bad yet see pictures below for what I found. I feel terrible for missing it! But some birds have the noticeable lesions and some don’t. It doesn’t help that I’ve had tons of things going on so I’m more distracted than usual. Ugh...

So, here’s what’s going on. On roughly Friday, I went out to fill their feeders up and I realized that most of my Wheaten Ameraucanas were not eating after running out of food. First red flag.


They are currently on Corid and nothing else for suspected Cocci but in light of my new findings I decided to create a new thread.


I can’t decide if the spots look like fowl pox or peck marks. I do have the 2 roosters together and they spar from time to time. They are a hot mess!!! Oh, and please excuse the roosters beards. The hens prefer their boys “clean shaven”

Rooster #1

One of the hens

The worst rooster. I honestly thought I was going to loose him. He does perk up if he sees the mealworm bag.

And for control purposes, here is rooster #3 housed in a separate area, with no access to outside YET. (our new run/coop extension is almost done!! He was being a jerk so elected himself for the bachelor pad) it may have saved him. He shares a wall with the rest of the gang.

 

[chickenmomma16]

Bits and pieces of my original thread Incase you don’t read it...

1) What type of bird(s), age and weight
They are all 2 year old, Wheaten Ameraucanas. Just checked, they are a good weight.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Puffed up, head pulled in, lethargic, pretty weak, roosting during the day. Occasionally picking at something, but not always eating it.
All the sick ones are drooling too. One of the roosters has dried drool on his shoulders where he had his head while sleeping. Mouths are slightly open too.

3) How long has the bird(s) been exhibiting symptoms?
3-4 days

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
Yes, 4 for sure, 2 roosters and 2 hens. A couple others will be looking better one day then look terrible the next. Now they are looking bad again. In the same coop 4 sexlinks 1yr old, seem completely unaffected.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.



*I have had my Ameraucanas from day olds from a local (3 hr drive one way) breeder that does not vaccinate. The gold sexlink chicks came from Privitt hatchery through a mom & pop type feed store. Honestly I don’t know if they are vaccinated or not, I can call and ask. Those girls are just over a year old. No other chicks or adult birds have come here. The sex links are 100% fine. And one Ameraucana rooster is fine but he is in a completely separate area. One of my 5 Am hens seems okay, but she was part of the sick crew originally.

*Our weather was FINALLY warming up a tad but we’re are back to cold and rain. Or place is very wet, the wild ducks hang out in the pasture it’s so wet.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It looks like fighting wounds to me, they will heal up until the next fight.

 

[chickenmomma16]

It looks like fighting wounds to me, they will heal up until the next fight.

If those are bite marks and not related to the mouth lesions then can I assume my birds have cankers? Am I right thinking that? And metronidazole to treat those. Right?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Not really familiar with canker, but what I read it's deadly and highly contagious. It causes cheesy masses in the mouth and throat. Birds can't eat or drink. It's transmitted by pigeons.

I don't know if that's canker in the mouth, I don't believe it's pox, that is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Black scabs about the face and beak in roosters is often caused by fighting, so to me the external stuff looks more like wounds potentially.

It also could be thrush, something else I haven't seen or dealt with, but it also can cause cheesy substance in the mouth.

Wish I could be more helpful.

 

[chickenmomma16]

@oldhenlikesdogs I hope it’s not cankers... I am not sure how to pinpoint what they have so I can treat. I do have TONS of wild ducks that roam the pasture and my birds free range when I’m home. They are under lock down right now though not sure when I will let them out again. Also, the robins, crows, and these small black birds are back. No pigeons.


So far my options are:

Fowl Pox
Cankers
And now Thrush


On a side note they seem a bit perkier after 48 hours of Corid. Maybe just a coincidence...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Could be the mouth sores have nothing to do with the other symptoms. They could be separate issues. Coccidiosis is more prevalent in spring. I hope you continue to see improvements.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that the black scabs look like peck wounds. Canker, wet pox, and some respiratory diseases can cause the lesions seen inside the beaks of your chickens.
Canker (trichomoniasis) a protozoan infection can be treated by metronidazole (Fish zole available online, and Flagyl available from vets) 250 mg once a day or 125 mg twice a day is a good treatment. Your vet may do z culture to confirm the disease. I would disinfect all of your feeders and waterers with 10% bleach, and make sure water is clean.

 

[chickenmomma16]

I will try the metronidazole after the Corid treatment. One thing at a time. I will probably just do 3 days of Corid so Sunday I’ll stop Corid and start the Metronidazole. I found a tropical fish place that has it and they literally just opened Tuesday. Good timing hu? The only vet willing to see a chicken is 1 hour away and $63 for an office call. Not including any lab. So I’m just going to do my best and try and clear this on my own.



If it is cankers, how is it going to be going forward with new chicks and selling birds?

 

[chickenmomma16]

*UPDATE*
My birds seemed to be improving on the Corid so I decided to give it to them for 5 days instead of the 3. The really sick rooster is MUCH better. Eating now and his mouth sores have gone down. I was going to get on here and give a positive they are all better update but I happened to come home from grocery shopping and it was just before dark and I noticed one of the hens laying down. Dang! She had a purplish comb and is pretty weak. She was doing so good!!! This is one of my top hens that was supposed to be the foundation of my Wheatens! I’m so upset! With her possibly out of the picture it makes me want to get rid of all my Wheaten Ameraucanas and try a different variety.

Could she just have been too far gone? Doubtful she’ll make it the night.

With everyone getting better on the Corid I thought cocci it was the issue. Was I wrong in doing 2 more days of Corid instead of switching to the metronidazole for the suspected Cankers? So many questions!



I’m switching to metronidazole tomorrow. What’s the dosage? This is all I found locally:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Seachem-...34491&wl11=online&wl12=24863746&wl13=&veh=sem

I don’t have a scale but I’ll guess my hens are 5 pounds and the 2 roosters about 6.