HELP.... Pretty sure this is the Fowl Pox.... can someone confirm??

[DebB11]

This hen is the worst...




But my other one..Twix (NOT ONE PICTURED HERE) has almost nothing on her comb but her eye looks bad..... it was watery/oozy today and she keeps it closed....just sitting around.

I know there isn't much to do but we are leaving town Sunday for a week and our neighbor was going to feed/water and take care of them. Just basic stuff. Guess all I can do is PRAY nobody gets worse.

any suggestions?

Deb

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Yea, it looks like the pox to me. Not the worst case I've seen.

 

[DebB11]

will they all have it?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

will they all have it?

Fowl pox is a slow developing disease, but It sounds to me like it has spread to your other chickens. It spreads in many ways and is extremely contagious. Misquotes spread fowl pox by biting an infected bird and then biting a non infected bird. It can also be spread by casual bird to bird contact etc. Since fowl pox is a virus infection, antibiotics are ineffective in treating it. If your birds succumb it will likely be because the pox spreads to their internal organs.


This is a bad case.
There is also a vaccine but I think it only comes in the 1,000 dose size.

 

[DebB11]

I have read about dosing them up on vitamins to help boost their immune system..... is it really that helpful???

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I am a realist. IMHO a bird with fowl pox is best destroyed, the body burned, and the physical plant, such as it is sterilized. In my book it is better to raise healthy chickens. I think than it is cruel to breed more fowl pox viruses so that they can infect your healthy birds.

Finally when you restock only buy vaccinated birds. Even then I think there are some strains of Fowl Pox for which there are no vaccines. Ask someone else how they would treat a victim of fowl pox. I am the wrong one to ask.

What about it folks, how do you treat for fowl pox?