Possible fowl pox in bantam rooster

Pics
Date sort Score sort
P

pasofan

In the Brooder
Oct 24, 2019
6
3
39
Our approx. 1 year-old bantam appeared to have an injury to his eye about a week ago. I got some terramycin and purified water and began to wash the eye and apply terramycin. We have isolated the rooster and he is eating and drinking normally. He seems to have some trouble breathing. A few days after the eye injury, we noticed that he was beginning to develop lesions below the eye. It seems to me that they had a yellow appearance and they have now turned black. Meanwhile, the area around the other eye seems to be swelling. After having done some research, it appears that this is the dry form of fowl pox, despite the fact that he seems to be having trouble breathing. They can't have both types at the same time, can they? The information online is really scary; I have 34 laying hens and six other bantams. Does anyone think that I need to innoculate the rest of the flock? Is the vaccine available to non-vets? Is it expensive? Any advice would be much appreciated.
20191024_175624.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 20191024_175646.jpg
    20191024_175646.jpg
    419.4 KB · Views: 9
Fowl pox really is tough to treat. About the only recommendation I can come up with is to paint all blisters with Betadine a few times a day, even the eye. Betadine can cause the eye to hurt, but it won't damage it. (I know this because I have gotten it into my own eyes.)

I would definitely look into buying the fowl pox vaccine and inoculating the rest of the flock. https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=63c9bff7-0ae9-41a5-bce7-773d195ee78c
 
Welcome to BYC. Where are you located? Can you get another picture of the left side of the face? Do you have other roosters or hens who may have pecked his face? I cannot say if it is fowl pox or not for sure, but it could be. Have you had a lot of mosquitoes recently? Can you see his eye inside on the right side, or any pus in there? It can be possible to have fowl pox and a respiratory disease, such as MG at the same time. Can you take a flashlight and look inside his beak and throat for any yellow patches, next time you are with him? If he has the sniffles, I would try to get some Tylan or oxytetracycline. Sometimes you can find Terramycin Scours tablets 250 mg (oxytetracycline) at Tractor Supply, and you can crush those into water to treat him for MG. Dosage is 10-25 mg per pound daily. If he has fowl pox, it is a virus spread by mosquitoes, and lasts about 3 weeks. There is a vaccine available online for those who have not been exposed. Here is a link about how th vaccine is given:
https://www.drugs.com/vet/fowl-pox-vaccine.html
 
Last edited:
Eggcessive said:
Welcome to BYC. Where are you located? Can you get another picture of the left side of the face? Do you have other roosters or hens who may have pecked his face? I cannot say if it is fowl pox or not for sure, but it could be. Have you had a lot of mosquitoes recently? Can you see his eye inside on the right side, or any pus in there? It can be possible to have fowl pox and a respiratory disease, such as MG at the same time. Can you take a flashlight and look inside his beak and throat for any yellow patches, next time you are with him? If he has the sniffles, I would try to get some Tylan or oxytetracycline. Sometimes you can find Terramycin Scours tablets 250 mg (oxytetracycline) at Tractor Supply, and you can crush those into water to treat him for MG. Dosage is 10-25 mg per pound daily. If he has fowl pox, it is a virus spread by mosquitoes, and lasts about 3 weeks. There is a vaccine available online for those who have not been exposed. Here is a link about how th vaccine is given:
https://www.drugs.com/vet/fowl-pox-vaccine.html
Click to expand...
I am in Texas. We have had mosquitoes up to last week, but they have not been bad. They were much worse earlier in the year. We originally thought he might have been pecked, but are at a loss to explain the scabs that appeared on his face that we don't recall being there before. I have looked inside his beak and didn't see any yellow patches; haven't tried looking down his throat. I will try to post better picture of the left side. Thanks for your help.
 
It probably is fowl pox. There can be multiple tan lesions that turn dark brown and thicken in one area over the eye, and it can cause the eye to swell shut. Since the eye is closed, the chicken will need to be fed and kept near food and water, possibly in a crate. When scabs dry and fall off, they can turn powdery and still spread the virus over several months. Most chickens are immune to the virus after an outbreak. Here are a couple of links to read more about pox with various pictures:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/fowlpox/fowlpox-in-chickens-and-turkeys

upload_2019-10-25_17-13-19.jpeg

This picture by casportpony has a severe case of pox, and needed to be fed and watered due to not being able to see.
 

Similar threads

I
    • Like
Wet & Dry Fowl Pox or Canker?
Replies
8
Views
390
IntiInti
I
T
Fowl Pox??
Replies
1
Views
347
DLA
DLA
PossiblyPekin
    • Like
Fowl Pox, Pecking or Mycoplasma
Replies
3
Views
797
PossiblyPekin
PossiblyPekin
H
Sick Rooster
Replies
9
Views
910
Wyorp Rock
Wyorp Rock
K
Is This Fowl Pox?
Replies
2
Views
1K
dawg53
dawg53

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom