Is this canker, or wet pox?

[Gene Neill]

 

[theoldchick]

https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/07/06/avian-trichomonosis-canker/

 

[Gene Neill]

Yes, I've read that article, along with just about everything else on the www. I'm still not sure.

What do YOU think?

 

[theoldchick]

I'd suspect canker. Though I would swab the lesion and look at the cells under the microscope to be sure. Ask your veterinarian to do this for you.

 

[Gene Neill]

My veterinarian is a quack.

But I do have a microscope. That's canker in your pic?

 

[ChicNmom]

How does her breath smell? I went through this recently and it seems the determining factor was the bad breath that comes from the necrotic tissue in canker.

 

[Gene Neill]

Honestly, I didn't think her breath was that bad.

We started giving her metronidazole, but if it's pox we're wasting our time I guess.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you see any fowl pox scabs on the combs, wattles, or faces of other birds? If you don’t see any dry pox scabs, it is probably canker. If there is pox, and I don’t see anything in your picture so far, it probably is not wet pox inside the beak.

 

[Gene Neill]

Thanks! I see none of those telltale signs on her comb or wattles, or any of the other birds. I'll continue the metronidazole.

In the meantime, do the experts around here recommend treating all the other birds too, just for prevention?