Wet and Dry Fowl Pox - Graphic Pictures of Pus and Scabs

[MasAhora]

Extreme Dry Pox....really frustrated need a sensible straight talk about 7 chicks who survived their mama.
First off - I am in rural Paraguay ambulances for humans have zero equipment, vets are no good and I already saw one that wouldn't touch the chick I took to show let alone help with cutting out pox warts, vet just offered a herbal supplement Thuja.

The mama hen brought her 7 babies in from the paddock beg. Dec. all wonderful for 7-10 days but ALL have the dry pox, so far all mouths are clear of wet pox but some have one foamy eye. I gave supplements, vitamins, FF, scrambled eggs, applied diluted Bettadine once (twice to a couple) etc ..... Mama hen (my favorite old girl) died new years day and 2 of the chicks are in my bathroom so I can make sure they can see food/water and sleep with a full-ish crop. I only started anti biotics in their water and on their non-FF dry feed new years day.

I have bathed them in ash segregated them to a sprayed area (not easy to repeat without huge stress and have run out of pens given my other chicks/hens) but opportunistic parasites are present (just found 3 mini flea like things flicked into the water jar I held for one of the bathroom chicks). It never ends.
Everyone suggests culling - to me its fair after a good life then we eat them. It's not been a good life, its been a dreadful life and all 7 chicks are surviving and so far eating/drinking without being forced fed just some need lots of help to see the food/water.

I cannot cut their wart things... just cannot. Not found anyone who might do that with me being assistant - I can do that part.
I have read ALL the threads, what a great way to spend Christmas and drive your family nuts... am I being unfair to them, are they suffering? I know too little about chickens to guess this.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry about your chicks with pox. My understanding is that pox lesions should not be disturbed, since that can spread the virus. Chicks also seem to do much poorly with such a bad outbreak. Secondary infections can be very common, and with pox lesions around the eyes, mycoplasma and other infections may be problematic. Antibiotics such as Tylan (tylosin) or oxytetracycline may be useful to treat the secindary infections, but won't have any effect on the pox cirus. That has to run it's course over several weeks. Keeping the eyes clean with saline, and making sure they eat and drink enough is probbaly most important. Adding water to a small amount of chick feed to encourage them to eat, and higher protein treats such as bits of egg may help. Probiotic plain yogurt added to feed can help with immunity. Hopefully you have read through this whole thread.

 

[chickengr]

Extreme Dry Pox....really frustrated need a sensible straight talk about 7 chicks who survived their mama.
First off - I am in rural Paraguay ambulances for humans have zero equipment, vets are no good and I already saw one that wouldn't touch the chick I took to show let alone help with cutting out pox warts, vet just offered a herbal supplement Thuja.

The mama hen brought her 7 babies in from the paddock beg. Dec. all wonderful for 7-10 days but ALL have the dry pox, so far all mouths are clear of wet pox but some have one foamy eye. I gave supplements, vitamins, FF, scrambled eggs, applied diluted Bettadine once (twice to a couple) etc ..... Mama hen (my favorite old girl) died new years day and 2 of the chicks are in my bathroom so I can make sure they can see food/water and sleep with a full-ish crop. I only started anti biotics in their water and on their non-FF dry feed new years day.

I have bathed them in ash segregated them to a sprayed area (not easy to repeat without huge stress and have run out of pens given my other chicks/hens) but opportunistic parasites are present (just found 3 mini flea like things flicked into the water jar I held for one of the bathroom chicks). It never ends.
Everyone suggests culling - to me its fair after a good life then we eat them. It's not been a good life, its been a dreadful life and all 7 chicks are surviving and so far eating/drinking without being forced fed just some need lots of help to see the food/water.

I cannot cut their wart things... just cannot. Not found anyone who might do that with me being assistant - I can do that part.
I have read ALL the threads, what a great way to spend Christmas and drive your family nuts... am I being unfair to them, are they suffering? I know too little about chickens to guess this.

don't dilute betadine.

I gave whole black peppercorns to my chicks and it helped them to clear the scabs within few days. as your chicks look small you can crash peppercorns and put it in their feed.

 

[MasAhora]

don't dilute betadine.

I gave whole black peppercorns to my chicks and it helped them to clear the scabs within few days. as your chicks look small you can crash peppercorns and put it in their feed.

OK I have been adding fresh cracked pepper (think I read it somewhere on this thread) so will continue. Was uncertain about betadine...is it safe to dab on lightly every second day?

 

[MasAhora]

So sorry about your chicks with pox. My understanding is that pox lesions should not be disturbed, since that can spread the virus. Chicks also seem to do much poorly with such a bad outbreak. Secondary infections can be very common, and with pox lesions around the eyes, mycoplasma and other infections may be problematic. Antibiotics such as Tylan (tylosin) or oxytetracycline may be useful to treat the secindary infections, but won't have any effect on the pox cirus. That has to run it's course over several weeks. Keeping the eyes clean with saline, and making sure they eat and drink enough is probbaly most important. Adding water to a small amount of chick feed to encourage them to eat, and higher protein treats such as bits of egg may help. Probiotic plain yogurt added to feed can help with immunity. Hopefully you have read through this whole thread.

Thanks...yep read through the whole thread (gets a bit confusing) and have tried all but the saline & probiotic yogurt (can't find any) was hoping the FF would help with probiotics, will return them to FF when the anti biotic - oxytetracycline course finishes as I add it to their water and drizzle on their feed. Will try another pharmacy for saline tomorrow.

ETA I did a search on mycoplasma and see no evidence in my flock other than the couple of chicks with one bubbly eye so I assume it is not already present, these chicks are from parents that were in perfect health on the property for at least 2 years before the pox.

That the chicks are surviving is amazing to me (4 do not have it so bad)... do you mean they will do poorly even after this dreadful disease passes? Am I setting them up for a short life of poor health?

 

[chickengr]

Thanks...yep read through the whole thread (gets a bit confusing) and have tried all but the saline & probiotic yogurt (can't find any) was hoping the FF would help with probiotics, will return them to FF when the anti biotic - oxytetracycline course finishes as I add it to their water and drizzle on their feed. Will try another pharmacy for saline tomorrow.

ETA I did a search on mycoplasma and see no evidence in my flock other than the couple of chicks with one bubbly eye so I assume it is not already present, these chicks are from parents that were in perfect health on the property for at least 2 years before the pox.

That the chicks are surviving is amazing to me (4 do not have it so bad)... do you mean they will do poorly even after this dreadful disease passes? Am I setting them up for a short life of poor health?

I had some problems with my laptop so I could not check this thread earlier.

betadine is safe, you can put it 2-3 times a day.

bubbly eye is from the scabs, just put any antibiotic ointment in their eyes and they will be fine. as I live in a mosquito haven my chickens were expected to end up with pox. they all survived and have never had any health issue due to pox. I wish I had known about black peppercorns earlier.

you don't need to give them antibiotics unless they have a secondary infection.

 

[Eggcessive]

E.coli and staph infections of the eyes may be common in fowl pox. Antibiotics are recommended by some vets to help prevent secondary infections, not to treat the pox virus. Povidone iodine (betadine) does come in different strengths. 10-12% is commonly found in first aid aisles for wound care and hospital use, while 5% seems to be recommended for animals and chickens. Betadine scrub contains 7.5% and is used with water for handwashing. 0.3% is used in some other hygiene products. Some sources say to avoid using it repeatedly, since it may prevent wound healing, can burn, and in large amounts could potentially be toxic. For repeated use, something like plain normal saline for cleaning the eyes might be a better alternative. Here are some good links to read:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/195/fowl-pox/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/07/fowl-pox-prevention-treatment.html

 

[MasAhora]

E.coli and staph infections of the eyes may be common in fowl pox. Antibiotics are recommended by some vets to help prevent secondary infections, not to treat the pox virus. Povidone iodine (betadine) does come in different strengths. 10-12% is commonly found in first aid aisles for wound care and hospital use, while 5% seems to be recommended for animals and chickens. Betadine scrub contains 7.5% and is used with water for handwashing. 0.3% is used in some other hygiene products. Some sources say to avoid using it repeatedly, since it may prevent wound healing, can burn, and in large amounts could potentially be toxic. For repeated use, something like plain normal saline for cleaning the eyes might be a better alternative. Here are some good links to read:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/195/fowl-pox/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/07/fowl-pox-prevention-treatment.html

Thanks I had not seen the 2nd link before.
I dread my youngest layer chicks only 2 weeks old getting it, and also all my 2 month old mix of layer and meaty chicks, it was starting out as a great season for this newbie....but, unfortunately the pox continues to spread, another bird now infected, I've isolated as much as I can but I know it will spread. I made changes to give greater free range access by separating mamas into another 2.5 acre paddock hoping its adds a health benefit and accept the hawk risk. Hopefully new cases will be milder and no need to use anti biotics again as I am seeing less puss type wart things and more scabs falling off with a little bleeding....yuk.

The response from you folks has been calming, so I appreciate the time given to me and I've taken more notes and made a few changes. I will continue to keep in my bathroom any that may not be able to see water and food and that can be treated with minimal stress to them...miss my clean bathroom and my previously simple feed and clean routine! Today none are knocking on deaths door despite the very hot humid days and I no longer feel the pressure to cull until I am certain a chick is failing to respond....not the case so far ALL love scrambled eggs with cracked pepper!

 

[chickengr]

Thanks I had not seen the 2nd link before.
I dread my youngest layer chicks only 2 weeks old getting it, and also all my 2 month old mix of layer and meaty chicks, it was starting out as a great season for this newbie....but, unfortunately the pox continues to spread, another bird now infected, I've isolated as much as I can but I know it will spread. I made changes to give greater free range access by separating mamas into another 2.5 acre paddock hoping its adds a health benefit and accept the hawk risk. Hopefully new cases will be milder and no need to use anti biotics again as I am seeing less puss type wart things and more scabs falling off with a little bleeding....yuk.

The response from you folks has been calming, so I appreciate the time given to me and I've taken more notes and made a few changes. I will continue to keep in my bathroom any that may not be able to see water and food and that can be treated with minimal stress to them...miss my clean bathroom and my previously simple feed and clean routine! Today none are knocking on deaths door despite the very hot humid days and I no longer feel the pressure to cull until I am certain a chick is failing to respond....not the case so far ALL love scrambled eggs with cracked pepper!

unfortunately we can do nothing to stop spreading pox. but at least once it is over they will never get it again.


betadine I buy here is 2%. it seems different countries have different products.

 

[MasAhora]

unfortunately we can do nothing to stop spreading pox. but at least once it is over they will never get it again.


betadine I buy here is 2%. it seems different countries have different products.

Yep, we get a product one day and then.....not for a long time. Sometimes I miss peanut butter! So it is tricky even for simple meds.
The saline solution available is perfect for a drip with a human on the end, not so great for a little chick eye needing repeat applications.

I am interested no one suggested that culling is kindness, while they want to eat and drink and chirp I was hoping they were OK, but I am not very experienced.