Geez, thought it was a little pecking but it's fowl pocks!

[Kewlhanded]

Well at first I thought it was a my hens were pecking at each others combs cause I see them do it. After doing research, I suspect fowl pocks, or know it's fowl pocks, the dry from of it. I read though the forums on it and believe I have the proper Chicken care of plan, I'm in the health care field so this is what I do, well on humans... Basically I plan of warm water cleanings, H202 rinse, and the application of neo-sporin of the affected areas. I saw people are giving LA200 injections, and wondered is this completely relevant or an extra prophylactic. My friendliest of the chicks has it the worse while some are not showing any signs and others have a spot or two. Also I didn't really see anything on how contagious it is and I wonder since it's a pock, supposedly, if it has a relation to the herpes zoster family. Lastly has any one tried wrapping the chicken in a towel for treatment, I handle my everyday but as soon as I start cleaning the head, they freak out! I think I might try that? Any extra advice or recommendations would be appreciated. Mahalo in advance!

 

[elmo]

My flock is going through fowl pox right now, too. Yes, it's a virus in the herpes family. Mostly, you just need to watch out for secondary bacterial infections and watch to see if all of your birds are still eating/drinking normally. If they get lesions in their throats (wet pox) then you do have problems.

I've decided not to try to treat the scabs on the combs, though. I've read that you can sometimes inadvertently give your bird additional lesions (in their eyes, for example) by messing around with the scabs, because the scabs themselves are infective. If treatment is terrorizing your birds, it might actually be better for them just to let nature take its course. Fowl pox goes away without us having to intervene, just like chicken pox does in humans.

Fowl pox is transmitted by mosquitoes, but it can also be transmitted from bird to bird through these scabs. If you can easily separate the birds that have it from the birds that don't, you can avoid the risk of catching the disease through pecking up a scab. Also, sometimes a sick bird will get bullied by the rest of the flock. Our favorite bird has the worst case of pox and we had to intervene to protect her for a couple of days last week. Now, she's feeling better and is back in with the rest.

 

[kcravey]

Our vet suggested putting the worst ones back on the medicated starter feed for a couple of weeks and giving them .5 cc of sulmet for a couple of days. Mine that were still on the starter got the least effects of the pox. Maybe a spot on one in the flock but no other symptoms. Also, L-Lysine is supposed to make it go through faster and less severe. The worst ones I isolated and crushed a tablet of L-Lysine and put it in yogurt with vitamins and apples. Everyone is getting over it. Eyes that got sealed shut we treated with warm water and a paper towel to moisten the crust and to reopen the eye. I was treating the eyes with neosporin but that seemed to make the mess worse. Eyes were back to normal within a few days with just warm water. Im also a nurse and Aloha! You from Hawaii??

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

No, fowl pox is NOT a herpes virus; it is avipoxvirus. ILT and Mareks are herpes viruses; fowl pox is not. Herpes viruses never go away once they have infected an individual, even when the clinical case of the illness is over. Avipoxvirus runs its course and does not remain in the system; it is gone.

If I need to treat a chicken for just about anything (including grooming, such as toenail or beak trimming) I often wrap the bird in a towel.

While I do not discount the idea of a prophyllactic antibiotic, I think injections are significantly well beyond that scope, and they certainly will have no affect on the viral disease itself.

I do not think this is a case where hygrogen peroxide makes much sense, and I am an advocate of using it for certain things such as deep wound cleanings. Listerine (original nasty tasting kind) or iodine make far more sense as they both have anti-microbnial properties.

Biting insects (mostly mosquitos, but do not discount mites, lice and biting flies) are the primary vectors of the disease, but contact of an open wound with the virus can cause infection. The scabs remain infective for months, so a very thorough cleanup and disinfection after the disease has run its course is necessary. I am not think that a bird eating a scab ("...catching the disease through pecking up a scab") would be likely to transmit the illness, but I do not know that for sure--the digestive process of a chicken is pretty good at screening out bad things. Of course if they had a cut inside their mouth or throat, ...

Humans cannot get fowl pox.

 

[CMV]

I had a very mild outbreak of dry pox this year with only about half my hens showing signs of the disease. I opted not to treat them at all because my hens do not like being handled and trying to care for the lesions was stressing them more than just letting them be. All the infected hens recovered pretty quickly and without incident. It looked much worse than it was.

Good luck.

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Is the fowl pox accompanied by a runny nose? I have a recently acquired roo that came down with a runny nose that lasted about 7 days, treated with gallimycin. Came from a farm where there was one case of reported fowl pox.
This has been an interesting thread. Thanks!
Peep

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Well, I guess my vet is wrong, then, or perhaps you are?

Chicken pox (the kind humans get) is also a herpes virus. It does not recur, either.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I've wondered how it is that birds get wet pox in their throats. Certainly it isn't likely that a mosquito could fly into their mouth and bite them. Of course some chickens do eat mosquitoes, so perhaps that's how it happens. The only other thing I can think of is the pecking up scabs thing.

My vet has seen a lot of wet pox in wild birds like morning doves, ground feeding birds.

 

[Kewlhanded]

Thanks for the responses! The towel worked perfect... but I don't think I'll use the Neosporin anymore cause their taken those lovely dirt baths and it's help'n the dirt stick to wound, so kinda defeating the purpose. I mixed a little h202 in with the h20 as a added antibacterial measure. They almost seemed to appreciate the cleaning. Three seem unaffected, 3 with a minor case, and one looks pretty ugly. I'm glad it looks worse than it is... They all seem to have no change in behavior or appetite. I did check out the LA200 which is a broad spectrum anti-biotic, basically only good for a bacterial infection; not intended for a virus. 'If' it went to the respiratory I would use it to prevent a nasty lung bug. Herpes zoster ='s chicken pocks.... a one time deal for humans then natural active immunity for life (well for most people, ex. shingles). Does anyone know if it works like that for the chick's or can this keep coming back, I'm in a very strong mosquito vector! Also instead of using a med. starter feed again, I'm going to try natural probiotics yogurt and possible a little kombucha... FYI- I'm not from HI but lived on Oahu, for three years, loved it and miss it... Shaka!

 

[chickenbottom]

half of my flock had it a little bit ago a few weeks maybe even a month or more and the rest of my flock who didnt have it last time now have it but are doing okay ive got to let it run its coarse and when its done its done.