Will fowl pox kill my 3 week old chicks?

[KatyAlondra]

Hello everyone so about 4 weeks ago I spotted fowlpox in my flock. Thankfully now it’s almost completely gone except one hen still has a wart near her eye.
now I hatched very expensive cream legbar chicks 3 WEEKS AGO. I’ve kept them inside to avoid them getting the virus.
They’re getting too big though! (they are 3 weeks old)
And I’m gonna put them outside (in a warm coop brooder)
But since it’s near my chickens I’m wondering will they get it ?!
they won’t be sharing waterers feeders or ever have direct contact with each other.
and if they do get it will they die?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Fowl pox is spread by mosquitoes, or by direct contact with the lesions. Do you still have mosquitoes around?

 

[KatyAlondra]

Fowl pox is spread by mosquitoes, or by direct contact with the lesions. Do you still have mosquitoes around?

Not that I’ve seen (since it’s getting colder) but there could be maybe some?, in addition the brooder will be fully covered by a sheet. What if they do get it, do you think they will die?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They should be fine as long as it's dry pox and it doesn't prevent them from eating and drinking. Wet pox, which is in the mouth can be deadly, but I personally have never seen that version.

 

[KatyAlondra]

They should be fine as long as it's dry pox and it doesn't prevent them from eating and drinking. Wet pox, which is in the mouth can be deadly, but I personally have never seen that version.

Yes it’s the dry version.
sorry All the questions but.. when will it be completely gone? Like when all the warts are gone? I only have 1 hen left with one on her eye. It’s been 4 weeks I’m just curious.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Generally fowl pox runs it's course in 4-6 weeks, so you should almost be done with it if no other birds have it.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try to keep the chicks away from mosquitoes. They can get huge scabs around their eyes and nostrils, where they have trouble seeing or breathing, and cannot get enough to eat and drink. It is more serious with small chicks than grown chickens. A screen would be good to keep enough ventilation, but make sure no predators can get in. I would consider keeping them in the house a bit longer.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

that said, foul pox stays in the environment for a good while - the dried scabs which fall off infected chickens as they recover are ALSO a source of infection - so even if you can screen your run against transmission via mosquitos, bringing your youngsters into the space occupied by your recently infected birds can be an infection vector.

and finally, how many flocks are near yours? If mosquitos picked it up from your flock and conveyed it to another, they can convey it right back to your uninfected birds at some future point.

The very slow progression of foul pox is what keeps it coming back, year after year. I'd keep your littles in their grow out pen absolutely as long as possible, so they get big enough to hopefully weather the infection without much incident, and trust that cooling weather will hopefully cut down on the chances of mosquito borne infection. Avoiding infection of your littles altogether is probably not achievable, only delayable - so mitigate, mitigate, mitigate.