wet pox/dry pox..how long to keep her alone

[mybirdslovetofly]

Hi,
All 3 of my birds have fowl pox. Two have dry pox and one may have wet pox. This girl has the "bubble eye" and is acting very lethargic, in addition to having the blisters on her wattles, comb, and eye. I'm not seeing anything on her tongue, and I don't see anything coming out of her nose, but her eye runs profusely. I discovered her today sitting inside the dark roost, just hanging out. When she came out, she stayed close to the wall and held herself low with her tail pointed down. She was disinterested in bread crumbs, unbelievably. She was so much quieter than normal when I pulled her out of the coop.

Brought her inside and made her a little hospital room in a dog crate. She ate a few bites of scrambled egg mixed with yogurt, olive oil and bread crumbs. But she keeps holding herself strangely and closing her eyes. Her poo is runny and white. I don't think she's been eating her feed, based on the looks of it.

I want to keep watch and keep her out of the cold dampness to alleviate her physical stress, but I'm worried that having her apart from her flock may cause emotional stress.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tracydr]

Once she's feeling better I'd put her out with the others. She's not contagious as fowl pox is only spread through mosquitoes. Seems an odd time of year for fowl pox, though.

 

[mybirdslovetofly]

Yes, it does seem a little late. We had a late mosquito season around our house. We are in a severe drought in North Texas and were on watering restrictions all summer, so we didn't see much mosquito activity. Then, when fall finally hit in November we had a couple weeks when they came out in force. One of the girls had a tiny little black spot on her comb for a week or two before the pox showed up in earnest. The only other way I can think they may have gotten it was from me not washing my hands after handling a shopping cart at the feed store, or I carried it in on my person some other way. We are in a residential neighborhood where nobody else has chickens (that we know of), although there are some small farms about a mile or so from the hood.

Anyways, she finally drank some water this evening. She drank like she never tasted anything so good in her life. Then she had a little brown poo! I told her "yay!" If her tail feathers pick up a little tomorrow, I will take her back to her friends.

Thanks for your input!

 

[welasharon]

The fowl pox comes from the mosquito bites initially and then can spread but is mostly mosquito borne. When dry they hardly seem to notice at all. Wet pox can be serious although I don't know that you can do much other than manage the symptoms and try to keep them comfortable. Mine have only had the dry forms and it just goes away on its own.
sharon