SOS! What on earth?

[orangesplash]

Please see this video and tell me what to do?
I’m freaking out

 

[Eggcessive]

It helps to have some detailed information, but the video appears to show that the chicken has fowl pox, and seems weak. Pox comes in 2 types, the dry pox which causes scabs on the face, comb, and wattles, as well as the wet type. The wet pox can cause yellow painful lesions inside the beak and throat. Pox is spread by mosquitoes and dried fallen scabs, and it lasts about 3 weeks. Most chickens can recover, but the eyes can get messy, and need to be cleaned. Antibiotics will not treat fowl pox.

 

[orangesplash]

so what should my treatment regime be?

there is an ointment for the eye that contains bacitracin and polymyxin. should i apply that?

how do i take care of the eye if it gets messy? or what to do to prevent it from getting to the messy side.

i am really really worried

 

[Eggcessive]

The eye can be treated with saline to wash the eye, or a clean damp cloth. Then you may apply the ointment into the eyes if they are affected. There is no treatment for the scabs on the skin, but some people have applied povidone iodine to help them dry up. This is a good article:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

 

[Birdie mom]

I don't know what to do either. Id say separate her from the others. By what is read it's contagious. Keep her warm in a draft free area. Maybe give her moist food so she can eat it better. Fluids are always good for a sick chicken. I really hope she gets better and the other chickens don't get it as well!

 

[Homesteadermomma6382]

Yep I would definitely freak out too!! I keep a very large cat carrier to put my quarantined or tlc girls in.

 

[orangesplash]

The eye can be treated with saline to wash the eye, or a clean damp cloth. Then you may apply the ointment into the eyes if they are affected. There is no treatment for the scabs on the skin, but some people have applied povidone iodine to help them dry up. This is a good article:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

Thank you very much, i will start doing this.

also, should i give paracetamol or Ibuprofen

 

[coach723]

Pain meds are generally not necessary for this. If it's pox it's viral and has to run it's course.
Generally I don't isolate for pox, but since this bird appears to be so weak I would, just to make sure she is safe from attack by the others. A wire crate in the run so they can all see each other is generally less stressful. If it's pox, they have all been exposed. When pox lesions are near the eye then sometimes a secondary bacterial infection can happen, so thus the flushing out and treating with the ointment. The weakness is concerning, do check inside the beak and throat to see if there is matter or lesions there that are stopping her eating. I would hand or tube feed and hydrate (hydrate first) until she gets stronger and starts feeding well on her own. I can't see clearly enough in the video to say for sure it looks like pox, so a respiratory infection is possible too. Examples of pox below.

 

[Rose66]

I agree that some more details would help but this does look like dry chicken pox to me also. Her weakness could be because she is not eating and drinking. It is important that you get food and water in her or she will die. If she is not eating her chicken feed, then I would see if she will eat a scrambled egg. If you can put her in a small pen by herself then its easier to tell if she is eating and drinking. Another thing to do is open her mouth to look for any yellow lesions. If you do see some, then she probably has the wet type pox and unfortunately chickens do not do well with the wet type because it hurts too much to eat and drink.

Take heart in that usually chickens get over dry pox. If she is eating and drinking like normal, then it will just take time to get over it. One of my hens had the worst case of dry pox I've ever seen and two poultry professors at the nearby University said it was the worst case they had ever seen too. It covered her entire face so much that they did not think she would live through it. It took almost two months but she did get over it. She did lose the sight in her right eye because of it but her left eye was fine. She was six years old when she got the pox and she lived three more years without any problems.

 

[orangesplash]

Pain meds are generally not necessary for this. If it's pox it's viral and has to run it's course.
Generally I don't isolate for pox, but since this bird appears to be so weak I would, just to make sure she is safe from attack by the others. A wire crate in the run so they can all see each other is generally less stressful. If it's pox, they have all been exposed. When pox lesions are near the eye then sometimes a secondary bacterial infection can happen, so thus the flushing out and treating with the ointment. The weakness is concerning, do check inside the beak and throat to see if there is matter or lesions there that are stopping her eating. I would hand or tube feed and hydrate (hydrate first) until she gets stronger and starts feeding well on her own. I can't see clearly enough in the video to say for sure it looks like pox, so a respiratory infection is possible too. Examples of pox below.
View attachment 2202425
View attachment 2202426

So this is pox ofcourse that my chicken has.

also, how can I tube feed?