Fowl pox in the mouth

[Bree99]

About a month ago my rooster had the dry form of fowl pox. He got better and no one else got it. Well, last week one of my hens started acting lethargic and not eating or drinking well but then got better after a few days. When I went to check on everyone yesterday she was just huddled up not moving and had foam coming from her mouth. So I looked and she has the wet form of fowl pox. She has been separated and won’t eat or drink now but still fights me when I try to catch her. Today another hen has started to act off but doesn’t let me catch her. She’s also been separated. What to do? They’ve been kept in a clean, dry coop and I’ve never had birds with fowl pox before.

 

[Bree99]

I have been syringe feeding the one who has it the worst. She isn’t cooperating well and spits most of it out but I got her to eat some last night.

 

[Eggcessive]

Canker in chickens looks very much like wet fowl pox. Unless you noticed dry fowl pox lesions from mosquitoes, which would have been rare in your area in late winter/early spring, I would suspect canker or something else. Many respiratory diseases can also cause cheesy oral lesions. Canker supposedly has a very bad odor. If you have pictures of the lesion inside the beak, post a picture. Here is a link about canker:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker


If you think it could be canker, FishZole (metronidazole, Flagyl) is a good drug for treatment of canker and other protozoa. Dosage is 250 mg daily given orally for 5-6 days. Here is a link for FishZole: https://www.chewy.com/thomas-labs-f...QwYU23EGVc7Xmrs5ViprbOyBiSZPxq5IaAqx8EALw_wcB

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some canker pictures:

 

[Bree99]

Hers doesn’t look like canker. It looks like the photos of wet fowl pox. My rooster for sure had the dry form. We’ve had chickens with canker before and I’m pretty sure it’s not that. We’ve been having mosquitoes for almost a month now. it’s been in 70s-80s since the beginning of April

 

[Eggcessive]

Pictures would be helpful. There is no treatment for wet pox. Is there a bad odor? The biggest problem they have with wet pox is the pain inside the beak, esophagus, crop, and they don’t want to eat or drink.

 

[Bree99]

There isn’t really an odor. I just got off of work so I can’t take pictures until tomorrow. But my mom works at a vets office and I asked their advice and the vet told me what I could use in case it wasn’t wet pox.

 

[dawg53]

If there is no foul odor, then it's pox. You can remove the lesions in the mouth with tweezers, there will be blood. Use iodine to swab the mouth afterwards. If there are lesions in the esophagus or trachea, there's nothing you can do. The bird will die from starvation or suffocation. I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

[Bree99]

So I went out to look at everyone today. Hen #1 is rapidly losing weight and has become more lethargic and hen #2 has stopped eating and developed cheesy eye but acts very energetic. I gave them the medicine suggested by the vet and when I was doing so I noticed that hen #1, that has all the sores, has a foul odor coming from her mouth.

 

[dawg53]

So I went out to look at everyone today. Hen #1 is rapidly losing weight and has become more lethargic and hen #2 has stopped eating and developed cheesy eye but acts very energetic. I gave them the medicine suggested by the vet and when I was doing so I noticed that hen #1, that has all the sores, has a foul odor coming from her mouth.

I'm sorry to say it's canker due to the foul odor. I shouldve mentioned before that birds with canker are carriers for life.
I recommend that you follow Eggcessive's instructions in the second paragraph in post #3.