Fowl Pox

[T Jordan]

I had fowl pox go thru my entire coop. Lost a few but mostly all did fine. Some still have some small black spots but are on the mend. I want to order more chicks for the spring however and want to prevent them form getting it. I normally wait till I have a broody hen and just give the chicks to her when they arrive. Is it possible to vaccinate a day old chick for fowl pox? I have see it done with older chicks. I found a link online that said you could at two days but it would need to be re vaccinated at 8 weeks It would be impossible for me to keep them separate from my older chickens as we free range. And all my enclosures are in same area. Any advice would be great!

 

[SIMZ]

If you're asking if you can keep the chicks from getting pox while you're flock still has it, I would wait until you are SURE the fowl pox has completely gone through. We had it here and it was 3+ months (at least) until we no longer saw any signs of it or new cases. One of our broody hens got it right before she hatched her chick and he had a terrible case of it, which resulted in serious permanent problems. Other older chicks, whose mother did not catch it, fared much better, even though one actually contracted pox from the flock.

The vaccine is fine, I'm sure, but I wouldn't chance it with new chicks in an actively infected flock.

 

[T Jordan]

Thank you For your reply! I feel like I am in a pickle. I have a hen that has been on a nest for some time and I don't know what to do now. If they hatch I'm afraid they wont make it. But I don't want to take the eggs away from her for the fear of loosing them. I read online that it can live in the soil for up to 3 years. That was the reason I was looking into vaccinating. I was hoping I could sneak them away the first night and vaccinate and return to momma hen. Then vaccinate any I order before giving to segregate momma hen. So far we lost 3 younger pullets. Older hens and roosters seem to be on the mend. Still have the black spots but seem to be getting smaller by the day. What kind of permanent problems did you have? How did you add to your flock after it cleared? Will any new birds contract it from older birds because of them being carriers? Sorry for so many questions. I feel lost and our Vet was NOT helpful at all. Said there was nothing that could be done. I'm not buying that...

 

[SIMZ]

In a way the vet is probably correct, since it's a virus it just has to run its course.

Is your broody hen somewhat separated from the others? There is a good chance she may not even get it and transmit it to the chicks. My hen (long story) refused to be moved from the most popular nest box, and (again, long story) set and hatched right in a central flock location. She also became pretty ill - lesions and probably wet pox - just a day or two after her chicks hatched. I think the timing and situation created the perfect storm with the new chicks. She hatched two and one died in an unrelated freak accident. (Note: we do not normally have this kind of reckless trauma with broody hens. This one had several tries and fails that summer.) The second chicks contracted pox around one week old. He had terrible lesions, ended up with severely stunted growth, and seemed to have some type of brain damage. He just ran around frantically peeping - always. We ended up culling him after about a month when it was evident he wasn't going to pull through.

Our other chicks were all older when pox went through. Maybe 4-6 weeks, but still with the hen. That hen contracted a milder case and one chick also came down. That chick had pretty severe lesions, but still functioned well and had no lasting effects.

My understanding is that all of my chickens that had pox are now forever immune. New ones could come down with pox if exposed, but the immune ones will not. So, the vaccine would protect any new chickens. Although, what I'm reading looks like you vaccinate chicks when they're older. I'm not sure about it staying in the soil - I thought it was spread through mosquitoes, actually.

If I were you, and you aren't afraid to cull, I'd let your hen go ahead and hatch her chicks and see how it goes. By nature, hens usually keep their chicks away from close contact with the flock anyway, although this can be spread through the water and feed.

 

[T Jordan]

Another question. Do chicks hatched from hens that have had fowl pox have immunity to it? Or will they still get it at hatch?

 

[SIMZ]

That I don't know... Sorry!

This article says that day old chicks can be vaccinated!

http://www.hyline.com/aspx/redbook/redbook.aspx?s=5&p=35

 

[T Jordan]

Thank you! And yes of course she set up camp in the most prized box. I think I will try what you have suggested. I will clean coop real good before hatch date and see what happens. Our local farm coop is said vaccine for day olds does exist only draw back is you have to re do at 8 weeks of age. So if they are able to get it in time I will use but if not we'll just see. Thank you. I'll post how it comes out.

 

[SIMZ]

Yes, please do! I'd love to know for the future. Our fowl pox experience was horrible and really caught us off guard!