Wet fowlpox or respiratory disease?

[SarahGfa]

Have others had this white stuff clogging their mouths? I'm suspecting a yeast of some kind. Do you have access to copper sulfate?

The dead turkeys had white stuff clogging their mouths. I can order copper sulfate online if it has not been banned in my state.

 

[SarahGfa]

Poor thing!
It does look like Fowl Pox. The thread linked below is long but you may find some tips for treatment in there. Sometimes you can give an antibiotic to help with secondary infection, but it's best to get some swabs/testing to find out what you are dealing with.

I agree, you are in CA and your State Lab system if one of the better ones out there as far as access and affordability. Contact them and see what they can help you with as far as testing and go from there. https://cahfs.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/

thank you for the link. what tests should i order? there are so many. I know the deceased turkey was fowl pox. The ones now have different symptoms (like the one with just raspy breathing), so I wanted to see if it might be early stage fowl pox or a different respiratory disease.

 

[SarahGfa]

Is the "wet dog" smell a symptom of canker? the healthy chickens do not have any smell, but the black hen in the first post smells strongly like wet dog.

 

[azygous]

It can be both. No law against having two disgusting diseases at the same time. Copper sulfate is a common mineral used to treat stock ponds and tanks. It kills yeasts and algae and also protozoa which can cause canker.

Amazon carries it. Order a small bag of copper sulfate penhydrate. A little goes a long way.
You will not be mixing the blue crystals directly into the drinking water, nor must the crystals in their dry form be anywhere near your chickens. You must take care not to breath any dust from them as they are extremely caustic. Wash off if any contact your skin. In the dry form copper sulfate is a dangerous substance.

However, mixed into water in the proper proportions, it is very safe. But first it's necessary to mix up a stock solution which you will use to treat the drinking water.

Stock solution (You will need to convert to Metric)

1/2 cup copper sulfate crystals
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 quart water

Allow an hour for the crystals to completely dissolve.

This stock solution will be used to add to the flock's drinking water at the following proportions (notice that it takes very little copper sulfate solution to treat water.) 1 1/2 teaspoons of stock solution in 2 quarts of water. This is what you will give the chickens to drink the same as they always drinks water.

 

[SarahGfa]

It can be both. No law against having two disgusting diseases at the same time. Copper sulfate is a common mineral used to treat stock ponds and tanks. It kills yeasts and algae and also protozoa which can cause canker.

Thank you, I will order that! I also have ronidazole powder 6% for pigeons and topical clotrimazole cream. can i use one of those until the copper sulfate gets here?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

thank you for the link. what tests should i order? there are so many. I know the deceased turkey was fowl pox. The ones now have different symptoms (like the one with just raspy breathing), so I wanted to see if it might be early stage fowl pox or a different respiratory disease.

Call your state lab and see if you can speak with the Pathologist in the poultry department. He or she can best guide you to what tests are needed when you describe symptoms, they may even want you to email photos too so be prepared for that.

 

[Eggcessive]

They sell acidified copper sulfate (which doesn’t have to be acidified) online at a number of places. Dosage is 1/4 tsp per gallon of water. Here is a good place:
https://jedds.com/products/acidified-copper-sulfate-animal-science#:~:text=Acidified Copper Sulfate is used,as a 1-lb powder.

 

[orelsi]

Dealt with wet fowl pox recently. There is no cure and it can be similar to canker to an absurd degree. I would give her Metrodinazole, if it's canker she will get better, if it's wet fowl pox she won't.

Is the "wet dog" smell a symptom of canker? the healthy chickens do not have any smell, but the black hen in the first post smells strongly like wet dog.

Canker usually smells like something borderline rotten in my experience. Vomit inducing. Sources say the smell can vary quite a bit though, so you can never be certain.

I know the deceased turkey was fowl pox. The ones now have different symptoms (like the one with just raspy breathing), so I wanted to see if it might be early stage fowl pox or a different respiratory disease.

Apparently wet pox can infect different areas, so one hen might have trouble breathing and make raspy sounds while in others it's only in the mouth/esophagus area and there's no respiratory trouble.

If you can do the tests that's great, if not, my advice is to treat the one with the white stuff in her mouth with Metrodinazole for canker and the one with the breathing issues for respiratory disease - usually it's mycoplasma and I use Oxytetracycline for that with great effect. You'll have to check what antibiotic near you has that ingredient, because trade names can be different.

 

[SarahGfa]

Dealt with wet fowl pox recently. There is no cure and it can be similar to canker to an absurd degree. I would give her Metrodinazole, if it's canker she will get better, if it's wet fowl pox she won't.

Thank you... do you remember how long wet fowl pox took to get better? And does it get a lot worse before it gets better?

If you can do the tests that's great, if not, my advice is to treat the one with the white stuff in her mouth with Metrodinazole for canker and the one with the breathing issues for respiratory disease - usually it's mycoplasma and I use Oxytetracycline for that with great effect. You'll have to check what antibiotic near you has that ingredient, because trade names can be different.

Thank you, that is a good idea. I have metronidazole and oxytetracycline in my medicine cabinet. How long do you give oxytetracycline? i found dosage but it does not say how many days https://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/oxytetracycline

 

[orelsi]

Thank you... do you remember how long wet fowl pox took to get better? And does it get a lot worse before it gets better?

Sadly mine did not get better. 2/3 chickens die from wet pox no matter what you do and since it's a virus antibiotics are useless unless there's secondary infection. It's up to their immune systems. If she doesn't get better in a week there's most likely no hope. Mine got progressively worse in the span of several weeks, she couldn't eat or drink anything by the end.

Thank you, that is a good idea. I have metronidazole and oxytetracycline in my medicine cabinet. How long do you give oxytetracycline? i found dosage but it does not say how many days https://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/oxytetracycline

5 to 7 days depending on the severity. If the rasp is gone by the third day you can stop at 5, if the rasp is there or there are other symptoms like being listless and staying in the corner I go for 7. You can also bet on being safe and go for 7 days no matter what.