Hen has a bad case of fowl pox-eyes swollen shut. What do I do??

[nekcihc13]

Have been medicating with vetericyn 3-4x daily, but seems to be getting worse-totally blind and sometimes snuffles like she has a stuffy head. One other hen (of three) has been throught it and is fine. #3 shows no signs of the virus.
Help me make my girl see again!

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Can you post picture of her?

I also have pox going through my flock at the moment. Most of them have dry, but some have wet and it got into one pullet's eyes pretty bad. I thought she'd lose one, but it appears to be clearing up.
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Weigh your hen. Can you feel her keel bone sharply? Does she look emaciated? If the answer is no, that is good. Weigh her every day and keep good records of her condition. She needs to be eating and drinking, otherwise she won't make it. Open her beak and check to make sure pox has not gotten inside her throat/tongue at least once a day.

Use tweezers to pick off all pox scabs at least once a day. You can put a little neosporin on them to prevent secondary infection. Open her eyes at least 2-3 times a day and rinse with saline solution. If you have eye drops or something like that, use them in the eye

If she is not eating you will need to crop feed. I use a syringe and catheters. Don't overfeed; feel the crop to see how much is in. I like to weigh before and after.

You need to isolate her from the others, if she isn't already. Even if they already have it, keep her separate; it is easier to keep her weight up and her from getting bullied especially since she can't see well.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask more questions, I'll try to help if I can!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have been medicating with vetericyn 3-4x daily, but seems to be getting worse-totally blind and sometimes snuffles like she has a stuffy head. One other hen (of three) has been throught it and is fine. #3 shows no signs of the virus.
Help me make my girl see again!

Welcome To BYC.

Can you post some photos?
Do you have vet care available?

Don't pick off scabs they are considered hot debris. You can apply some Iodine to scabs on combs and wattles to help dry up the pox scabs.
For wet fowl pox, which is what it sound like you are dealing with (photos will be helpful) you may need antibiotic treatment. Do they have lesions or canker inside the beak as well?

Clean and sanitize your water stations and separate the sickest ones for treatment. Encourage them to keep drinking and give them some poultry vitamins.

Let us know how they are doing.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/07/fowl-pox-prevention-treatment.html

 

[nekcihc13]

Thanks for the info, but not picking scabs off. I feel it's best to let that take it's course. She's really sensitive around the face due to her condition, buy will try irrigating with saline or water to loosen things up. She won't like this...
She eats well, but light on the water, but she does get lots of grapes and watermelon daily, along with her crumble, grit, etc...

 

[nekcihc13]

Thank God it's dry. Growths are dry, hard and scaly. She scratches at them and they ooze a bit.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Ok.

I found that picking the scabs off helped mine heal MUCH faster. To test it I picked off the scabs off one side of a rooster's face and left the other alone. Within a couple days the side I had removed the scabs from was almost totally healed; the other was still bad.

One the pullet with eye problems, it helped her be able to keep the eye open resulting in her healing better.

Just my experience.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the info, but not picking scabs off. I feel it's best to let that take it's course. She's really sensitive around the face due to her condition, buy will try irrigating with saline or water to loosen things up. She won't like this...
She eats well, but light on the water, but she does get lots of grapes and watermelon daily, along with her crumble, grit, etc...
Quote: Does she have pus in her eyes? Photos of her condition would really help.

IF she has pus or discharge in the eyes, then flush with Saline or Sterile Water. You can apply Terramycin eye ointment or Vetericyn Eye Gel to the eyes to help with bacterial infection. You can also ask your vet about testing / they have better eye medications than we can get OTC.

Picking off the scab can possibly make the virus spread, so I agree with you to leave them be. You want the scabs to dry up, so Iodine works well for this.

Try to encourage her to drink.

Keep us posted.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

That's true about removing scabs making the virus spread more; I do it especially in severe cases, otherwise the bird will not be able to see etc. And it is important to make sure they are cleaned & dry. Like Wyorp Rock said iodine is good.