Plz HELP! Combs & Wattles are possibly diseased

[Nellie601]

I noticed about a week ago that two of my girls were getting specks on their combs & wattles. Then it got worse and now all six of my girls (including my 3 RIRs but theirs aren't as bad) have them. Some are white and some are black. Their behavior hasn't changed that I've noticed. They all seems to be as lovely as always. Also, one of my girls didnt really have specks on her comb at first but it began to get real pale, turning almost to a pink color instead of the vibrant red color it normally is. I'll have to check her out today to see if it's still that way or not. Hadn't really paid attention to that part the last couple days. But can someone plz help me. I'll try to attach a picture to this post to better help y'all help us. Thanks in advance for your advise. My family and I are still rather new to raising chickens.

 

[casportpony]

That looks like a mild case of dry pox to me. Check the insides of their mouths for a yellowish plaque/pus, that would be wet pox.

-Kathy

 

[Wyandottes7]

Could be the beginning of Fowl Pox. Fowl Pox is a disease caused by a virus (its not related to Chicken Pox in humans). Fowl Pox does not have a treatment, and runs its course in about three weeks. It isn't usually deadly in the dry form, which your bird appears to have. However, it can be deadly if it progresses to the wet form, which causes lesions and scabs in the throat as well.

Fowl Pox is quite contagious, so keep infected birds isolated from other birds. The main carriers of Fowl Pox are mosiquitoes, flies, and other flying insects. To reduce the spread of the disease, treat your chicken area for flying insects. This will eliminate most of the carriers.

Keep them as stress-free as possible to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. Give electrolytes and probiotics, and make sure that they eat and drink. You might want to put them on a course of antibiotics. Oxytetracycline like Duramycin, Terramycin, and Tetroxy HCA-280 is a good antibiotic, as it is broad-spectrum. Make sure that you don't give probiotics, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, or other dairy products while using antibiotics, as they will interfere with the success of the antibiotics.

To help the scabs go away, you can put some iodine on them. Putting some vaseline on the comb will soften the scabs, and might make the birds more comfortable. If you want, you can mix some sulphur with the vaseline, which will help repel flies and other flying insects.

Birds that recover from Fowl Pox will be immune, but can still pass the disease to others. To prevent Fowl Pox in the future, you might want to vaccinate. The Fowl Pox vaccine is relatively easy to find, and easy to give. You can buy it at http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies....d34279a8d4fc77a34e81&keyword=fowl+pox+vaccine.

 

[casportpony]

FWIW, I have had some luck treating wet pox by removing the pus, applying iodine, giving Baytril and tube feeding those that were losing weight. The one I lost was too dehydrated by the time I found her not roosting.

-Kathy

 

[Nellie601]

Thanks for the responses. They really set my family and I at ease. All of my girls have cleared up but the one that was the worst still has just a little healing to go but for the most part she's clear. I noticed the girls would pick at the scabs on the combs of the other chicks so the scabs would bleed from being picked off too soon. But like I said, all is well now. Thanks again everyone.