Fowl Pox questions

[Picklesquidly]

I've recently noticed that my entire flock (two OEGBs, a wyandotte, and two EEs) have developed white/yellow/black "warts" on their wattles and comb, which if I recall correctly, is a symptom of cutaneous fowl pox. I've never had to deal with sick birds before except when my chicks were down with coccidiosis, and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to go about taking care of them. I'll just list my questions:

1. is fowl pox fatal/deadly or do most birds recover from it?
2. Is there anything I can do to make the infection pass, like what I can use to treat them?
3. Can fowl pox reoccur later on?

Thank you in advance!

 

[jasondgarza]

Following this thread as my flock of 4 easter eggers have it too. Black spots on comb around eyes and wattles. Had it for about week or so now and less spots than before but have 8 week chicks I'm waiting to introduce. Just worried they will get it.

 

[PixieAndDust]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...x-xxx-rated-graphic-pictures-of-pus-and-scabs

 

[Eggcessive]

Fowl pox is a virus carried by mosquitoes, and there are 2 more common types--dry or cutaneous pox and wet or diphtheretic pox, which is more serious. There is no real treatment except to make sure chickens are eating a drinking well, and to treat eyes with Vetericyn eye gel or Terramycin ointment if there are scabs close to eyes. In wet pox there can be yellow spots or patches inside the mouth, throat, trachea, and esophagus which make breathing difficult and eating painful. Chickens become immune to the particular strain of pox for life, but there are more than one strain. There are vaccines available for chickens not yet exposed. Some like to apply iodine to scabs, but be careful not to disturb scabs since it can spread the disease. However if there are yellow patches inside the beak, they should be removed, and iodine applied to the area. Most chickens with dry pox recover, but the more lesions, the more serious it is. Pictures of pox lesions are always welcome.

 

[Picklesquidly]

Here are pictures of some of the hens, if it helps. I couldn't get any good photos, since they were moving around a lot.


This one has some scabbing on her comb.



Photo is a little blurry, but you should be able to see the yellowish bumps on her wattle



Tiny white spots on her wattles, still in its early stages Im assuming

 

[Eggcessive]

That may be pox, but it looks fairly mild so far. Here is a good link or two about pox:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/195/fowl-pox/

 

[SoldierSailor]

as you can see in the picture she has a pretty gnarly almost tumor grown over her eye. Reading up on fowl pox it says the lesions will heal.

It just seems like it will heal up but be this huge scar, blister looking tumor thing. Will it shrink?

 

[MrsBachbach]

as you can see in the picture she has a pretty gnarly almost tumor grown over her eye. Reading up on fowl pox it says the lesions will heal.

It just seems like it will heal up but be this huge scar, blister looking tumor thing. Will it shrink?

Goodness! Is her eye under that? I would think that thing needs to be popped out. Is it pox?

I watched a vet show on tv once and he was treating a chicken with a swollen eye just like that. Now, they didn't say it was pox, just an infection in the eye socket. He said chickens don't have runny pus, but their pus solidifies. He actually pushed and squeezed a bit until he was able to grab the solid mass of pus with tweezers and pull it out of the eye socket. Ugh. The chickens eye still looked normal to him after pulling that mass out. So, if that isn't pox, you may be dealing with a solid pus mass in there that needs to be removed.

I am editing to add if it is a tumor you can't proceed in that way.

 

[Eggcessive]

Goodness! Is her eye under that? I would think that thing needs to be popped out. Is it pox?

I watched a vet show on tv once and he was treating a chicken with a swollen eye just like that. Now, they didn't say it was pox, just an infection in the eye socket. He said chickens don't have runny pus, but their pus solidifies. He actually pushed and squeezed a bit until he was able to grab the solid mass of pus with tweezers and pull it out of the eye socket. Ugh. The chickens eye still looked normal to him after pulling that mass out. So, if that isn't pox, you may be dealing with a solid pus mass in there that needs to be removed.

I am editing to add if it is a tumor you can't proceed in that way.

Here is SoldierSailor's previous thread with an earlier picture: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1047792/week-old-cream-legbar-chicks-eye-warts