Runny noses and swollen eyes- oh my!

[punkyo]

I'm new to chickens. We got our flock about three weeks ago, eight birds from the feed store and three from a local farm. The Sicilian Buttercups, all from the feed store, are not doing well. One died within a few days. Another one died yesterday, and the remaining two have swollen eyes and slightly runny noses. The eyes are weird- they aren't just swollen, but have big lumps on the eyelids. They also both have raw spots on their combs. We rinsed their eyes with some saline and dabbed a little neosporin around them- the one that had both eyes shut can at least see out of one, now. Both birds are a little lethargic. I'm worried that one of the americaunas is starting to look a little red around the eyes as well. They don't smell weird, and the poop looks normal. We noticed some little white mites on one bird but not the others. Help a newbie?

I don't know if these photos are clear enough to help. Thanks so much.

This one is the worst- though those white bits are just some feed that got stuck to the neosporin- but this eye is completely swollen shut.

 

[Ksane]

It certainly looks like Fowl Pox to me.

 

[Dudu]

OK, from another newbie.... To me, the things on the eyes look like dry pox. Which is very treatable. The discharge from the nose is something different, but acting lethargic might be normal with such a condition - the two we had that had BAD dry pox, were also acting very quiet and disinterested. The first one we put down as we had no idea what was wrong. (Talk about lack of knowledge... I have leared tons since then from this forum and other articles online and our vet now also) The small chickie that got it, I continued treating him as he just wouldn't die, and what I did from reading up online and my own incentive (and later my vet told me that's the way to go also) - swab the lesions with a q-tip dipped in iodine (careful enough not to put it inside the eye, have to hold them pretty good but gentle and safe) and for the night I put on Fucidine cream all over the shut eyes. Then in the morning I began to wipe their eyes with cotton pad dipped in strong black tea or camomile, just to soak it - I would just gently brush the cotton over the shut eye and make sure it soaks it a little. Then fucidine (trouble with Fucidine is that his mommy was trying to pick it off of his eyes, but I quickly stuck him under his mommy for the rest of the day). I changed thus, sometimes iodine and sometimes soaking and Fucidine. (Apart from this treatment my vet for our next Dry pox victims prescribed Ganadexil (enroflaxicin) 1 ml / 1 litre for 5 days in drinking water, but I have a feeling they would have been fine without it perhaps.)

I also read to confine the birds in a small cage to find water and food readily, so that's what I did (my worst chickie with his mommy, his litter sister was better so she was left in the same room with others who also had some warts on their combs but not nearly as bad.) Anyways, the little one's eyes began to open, little by little. I believe for a couple of days he was eating only VERY little on his own, if at all, but one morning I brought him some boiled and mashed up egg and just put a piece in his mouth as he couldn't see, and boy did he begin to eat (I held it right in front of him so every peck would render at least something in his beak.) Little by little he began to improve and now he's grown so much you can never tell he had a problem. We called him Salvu, and his sister - Mercy, for it was not just our efforts for sure, someone "upstairs" gave us a hand.

Here is a pic of him.

And here's a pic recovering, 10 days later:

I really hope it's just dry pox, but do a search for Wet Pox on this forum and you'll find how people treated that and also how it looks (their mouth, from what I understand, needs to be cleaned good to get out all the stuff that grows there).

I also know that dry pox can come in a combination with something else - recently in a litter of naked necks we saw coryza symptoms PLUS definitely dry pox on their skin.

Good luck to you and I'll be looking forward to other posts to see what the more knowledgeable people will make of the symptoms you desrcibe.

 

[punkyo]

Thanks for all the help. I've read up on pox and it certainly looks like that is what this is. I have the husband tasked with segregating birds and disinfecting waterers while I am at work today, and will pick up some betadine on the way home. There haven't been any mosquitos around here though, it has been too cold. I'm guessing one of the birds already had it? What is the incubation time on this?