Dry fowl pox? Help!

[ash_en_em]

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Blue Australorp (two showing symptoms), feel normal weight of about 8lbs, about 8 months old.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Eating and drinking normally. It in the yard free ranging as normal. It's cold here in Central Ohio at the moment so I'm not sure if that's why laying has stopped or because of this.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
A week (maybe two at most that I've noticed)

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
Just my two blues. My 2 black Australorps are still giving me an egg on warmer days occasionally.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Not really signs of trauma. Some scabs around face and comb (pictures below)

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
It's been raining a lot so they have been drinking from random standing water? It's cold off and on though so I haven't seen many mosquitos but on warmer days?

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Mainly grower crumbles with grit and oyster shells on the side. I have two EEs (no signs) that aren't quite to laying age yet. Also whatever they find in the yard.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Normal poops.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
ACV in water (it's that time for the monthly add in to the water) and today I added Ropadair today. Recommended doses per gallon

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I would prefer to treat myself, but there is a very I can go to if needed.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Housing is large. Coop has two square ft per bird and raised two feet off ground. Attached run is 4ft x 14ft, but they're only in there in the early morning and at night. The EEs still hang out in there most of the day by choice.
Bedding is 90% pine chips and shavings with some straw sprinkled in for entertainment on rainy days where it is fairly cold. I clean the poop board daily, and spot clean as needed (picking up stray poops). I add new pine shavings as needed. Did my deep cleaned two months ago before the cold set in. I plan on pulling everything out again this weekend and replacing all bedding with pine chips and shavings and only leaving straw in nest boxes this weekend since I suspect fowl pox.

I think it's dry fowl pox as I don't hear any respitory issues. I only have two of my 6 showing signs. I think it's early so I don't see any symptoms side from the white spots and scabs. All help would be appreciated.

Do I let this run its course? Do I keep doing what I'm doing now? Should I change anything?

Temps in the coop at night stay about 5° warmer than outside, and humidity stays about 10-20% less than what's outside at all times. Sometimes even better than that. Food and water are removed from the coop/run area each night.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I see a couple of scabs, is that what you are asking about?
It could be a peck wound or possibly a Fowl Pox scab, sometimes they are hard to tell apart unless a bird has a lot of Pox scabs.

I would leave those alone. If it's Fowl Pox it will resolve in a few weeks, if it's pecking wounds, well, those will resolve in a few weeks too.
As long as the birds are eating/drinking and active, they should be fine.

Here's an article that has some photos:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

 

[ash_en_em]

I see a couple of scabs, is that what you are asking about?
It could be a peck wound or possibly a Fowl Pox scab, sometimes they are hard to tell apart unless a bird has a lot of Pox scabs.

I would leave those alone. If it's Fowl Pox it will resolve in a few weeks, if it's pecking wounds, well, those will resolve in a few weeks too.
As long as the birds are eating/drinking and active, they should be fine.

Here's an article that has some photos:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

Yes those scabs and the white looking spot above her eye. It's raised. The other one has the same thing. By her eye and a few on the comb. If it will resolve on its own then I'll just leave them be and clean out bedding materials.

Thank you for the link.

 

[TheBeardie]

I just went through fowl pox myself with my bantam flock. At first I thought it was a small pecking injury on one of my roosters, then it got worse. Here are some pictures of the worst and first of the infected.

It sucked and about half of the flock got infected outwardly. One of the hens had a good portion of her comb completely covered. She's a OEGB with a tiny comb and it took up about 1/3 of her comb. I didnt get any pictures of her though.

I would honestly leave them alone. I put some non-pain-relieving antibiotic cream on the worst of them. I would also take a look at they're mouths and throats just incase its wet fowl pox. That's a different ballpark that I have no experience in. Just look for look for sores and lesions in the mouth and throat.

Fowl pox is usually caused by mosquitoes and other carrier insects, who bite the chicken and infect them.

Fowl pox is spread by the scabs that fall off of the infected, they shed pox particles, scabs, onto their flock mates or into their coop environment and infect them. Separating would be a good idea to keep it from spreading if it is fowl pox.

 

[casportpony]

It's good that you're so attentive and noticed, this can be easy to miss until it gets worse. Keep a close eye on them and make sure they're still eating and drinking enough.

 

[ash_en_em]

@Wyorp Rock wanted to give you an update (and for anyone else who is a first year chicken keeper who stumbled on this). Turns out you were right about new feathers. About a week after this post new feathers came up all over on the two blue Aussies faces. Then they lost almost all neck feathers and about half the tail. Now that all of these feathers are shiny and new, my black ones have begun a partial molt too. Same style as my blues. Dry looking patches on the face, pin feathers where neck ones have began falling out, and some loss of tail feathers. I wasn't aware there would be a partial molt at 8 or 9 months. I feel silly now being such a worried, but I've learned something new so that's what counts!

Chicken keeping is never dull, that's for sure.

 

[casportpony]

If that is pox it is the mildest case I have seen. If mine, I wouldn't worry at all.

 

[ash_en_em]

If that is pox it is the mildest case I have seen. If mine, I wouldn't worry at all.

It's getting more pronounced. I just saw it early and had a feeling that's what it was. The white spots are starting to get black scab looking things now, and more spots are coming in. Hoping it stays mild, but I spend a lot of time around my girls so I notice little changes.

If there was something I could do, I wanted to know early

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's getting more pronounced. I just saw it early and had a feeling that's what it was. The white spots are starting to get black scab looking things now, and more spots are coming in. Hoping it stays mild, but I spend a lot of time around my girls so I notice little changes.

If there was something I could do, I wanted to know early

If you would like, post some updated photos.

With Dry Fowl pox, it's best to leave the scabs alone.
If the scabs are close to the eyes, watch for signs of eye infection (watery or pus filled eyes).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's hard to tell, could be just dry skin or the beginning of Favus.
Do you see new feathers coming in underneath that dry patch?

You can put a little anti-fungal cream on it if you'd like, it won't hurt her.