What are these growths?

[Trevorusn]

One of my splash Brahamas woke up looking like this. They are over her eye and on top of her beak. What are they and how do I treat them?

 

[azygous]

If you still have mosquitoes annoying you and the chickens, it's probably fowl pox, carried by mosquitoes.

There is no quick cure, but it will eventually clear up on its own. It's contagious, so other chickens may turn up with it.

You can dab iodine on the lesions to help dry them up, but that's about all you can do. Keep a check on the inside of her mouth in case they show up inside. They can make eating and drinking difficult and in extreme cases, the chicken may need assistance getting enough food and water.

 

[azygous]

I can't tell you how the affected chicken feels since I haven't observed pox in my flock. The lesions fester according to whether it's dry or wet pox, so I would imagine it has to be at least somewhat uncomfortable, especially the wet version.

The way to tell if such a condition is causing pain and itching is to watch the chicken. Any discomfort would be met with head shaking as if to "shake the painful thing off". Or you might see the chicken try to scratch it, trying to rid themselves of it.

The iodine can provide some relief.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is very strange in this time of year, but that appears to be fowl pox, the virus carried by mosquitoes. Do you have other poultry in your area? Pox scabs are infectious, and once they dry up and fall off, they can be inhaled to cause pox later on in chickens who haven’t had it before to achieve immunity. Fowl pox lasts about a month. Don’t bother the scabs, although some paint them with Betadine to help dry them out. Since your hen has scabs around eyes, I would put Terramycin eye ointment into her eyes twice a day to prevent a secondary infection. Most chickens survive, as long as they can see to get food and water. If you see any yellow material inside the beak or throat, that can be a more serious form, wet pox. Here is some reading about pox:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/fowl-pox-backyard-flocks

 

[Eggcessive]

I just also wanted to mention, that I think that you have posted before about possible Mareks disease in the flock. Sorry if I am mistaken. But Mareks has a skin form that can cause skin lesions. That could possibly be a reason for the scabs, but it sure looks like pox.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Poor thing! @azygous, is it painful?

 

[Trevorusn]

We are approaching near freezing temps, so mosquitoes are almost nonexistant if not dead for the season. So far, no scratching, though on top of the beak there is a bit of blood, almost like they are scabs.

 

[Trevorusn]

I just also wanted to mention, that I think that you have posted before about possible Mareks disease in the flock. Sorry if I am mistaken. But Mareks has a skin form that can cause skin lesions. That could possibly be a reason for the scabs, but it sure looks like pox.

I do have Marek's positive flocks, if it is related how can I treat it?

 

[Trevorusn]

Just ordered terramycin from Amazon. I haven't checked internally yet, but for wet pox what are the treatments?