Is this wet pox, canker, or something else? Please help.

[Breezed]

I've dealt with pox before and many other issues but never a severe case like this. This hen started having respiratory issues and we gave her basic respiratory medicine and she seemed to do better for a little while and then my husband noticed she went downhill fast. We haven't been able to catch her until today because I think she is so weak now. Her tongue is basically pasted to the bottom of her mouth due to the lesions or whatever it is. It smells really bad and she can't move her tongue at all and has bubbling come out of the sides of her mouth. Do I need to remove the lesions? If so any advice/suggestions on how to safely to do this/ is there a way to soften it up so she can move her tongue? I've read lots of mentions of using iodine, is this ok inside the mouth and do you apply it afterwards or something? I'm not sure what to do in such a severe case so please any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[azygous]

I agree with @MysteryChicken it's canker. You must treat it by scraping the lesions from the mouth. It will not be easy as it will tend to bleed, but it's necessary so the chicken can eat and drink. Otherwise, death can result.

Order this https://jedds.com/products/metronidazole-20?_pos=1&_sid=e746df0b8&_ss=r Treat the whole flock.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I've dealt with pox before and many other issues but never a severe case like this. This hen started having respiratory issues and we gave her basic respiratory medicine and she seemed to do better for a little while and then my husband noticed she went downhill fast. We haven't been able to catch her until today because I think she is so weak now. Her tongue is basically pasted to the bottom of her mouth due to the lesions or whatever it is. It smells really bad and she can't move her tongue at all and has bubbling come out of the sides of her mouth. Do I need to remove the lesions? If so any advice/suggestions on how to safely to do this/ is there a way to soften it up so she can move her tongue? I've read lots of mentions of using iodine, is this ok inside the mouth and do you apply it afterwards or something? I'm not sure what to do in such a severe case so please any help would be greatly appreciated.

That's a pretty bad case of canker.

 

[MysteryChicken]

@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@azygous

 

[Breezed]

@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@azygous

Thank you.

 

[azygous]

Call around to feed stores and see if they have copper sulfate penhydrate. It's used to treat stock ponds and water troughs. (It's also used to treat our drinking water reservoirs.) If you find some, I'll instruct you how to make a solution to treat the chickens' drinking water. It kills the canker. Then when the med comes, you can finish off what's left of the canker. with it. Amazon would also have copper sulfate, and you can buy the smallest bag they offer. Only a very tiny bit is used for the solution. A small bag will last a lifetime. If you have Prime, it could arrive very quickly.

Canker is spread by pigeons. Do you have a lot of pigeons hanging around? If so, treating any standing water around the premises on a regular basis can keep canker under control so this doesn't crop up again in your flock.

Using copper sulfate requires carefully following instructions, so don't just open the bag and dump it directly into the water. It's a little more complicated. I'll give you instructions.

 

[Breezed]

Follow my directions. Just leave out the ACV when making your stock solution.

Perfect, that's what I thought. Thank you so much for all your help. I did find several of your helpful responses to other people's posts and I really appreciate that.

 

[azygous]

Good work! Canker is treatable and there's no need to cull unless you've simply not got the time to administer the treatment. You've been handling it great.

The objective is to control the source of the parasite. Eliminate communal drinking sources that pigeons have access to. They are what spreads canker. Any puddles or other water sources the chickens may stumble on, try to treat with the copper sulfate to keep the parasites from colonizing it. Think of the protozoa as miniscule mosquitoes.

 

[Breezed]

Good work! Canker is treatable and there's no need to cull unless you've simply not got the time to administer the treatment. You've been handling it great.

The objective is to control the source of the parasite. Eliminate communal drinking sources that pigeons have access to. They are what spreads canker. Any puddles or other water sources the chickens may stumble on, try to treat with the copper sulfate to keep the parasites from colonizing it. Think of the protozoa as miniscule mosquitoes.

Hmm, I've been trying to get creative with the water issue. But in SWFL we are very wet and rain season is about to start so always have puddles, etc. The main puddle right now is a drainage grate from our water system that overflows in the yard sometimes so I poured a batch of ACS on it last night, thinking even if there isn't always standing water in it, it's still there at for a little bit. I'm glad you said that it an option. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you.

You're welcome.