Is this Fowl Pox?

[snowydiamonds]

Everything I've read today says not to cull...that the slow progression of pox virus takes up to 3 months and that is our entire summer. Our weather this year is mostly foggy and today its sunshiny while it feels fairly nice about 60 degrees at most. We may get 80 degree weather twice a year.

It seems my BO flock which is now decreased to a trio of hens and the rooster have no scabs yet. Neither do my two separate bantam flocks. It is so far only in my middle flock, the EE flock.

My bantam hen with a three day old chick are out in the pen for the first time today. Three other bantam hens are sitting on eggs due to hatch anytime this month.

What would you do?

I've also got six geese and five ducks. Just let the virus run its course and chalk it up to this being a hard year for a lot of reasons? Cull to protect my small but wonderful BO flock that I may have chicks hatching in the incubator any second and protect the two bantam flocks?

Change the mindset and say I am protecting my flocks by allowing them natural protection by having pox?

My backyard neighbor has a small flock of RIR hens and misquitoes are out. I just gave a young couple a small flock who live out in the country and now need to warn them theirs may come down w/pox (dry- so far). I gve them a young EE roo, with these hens: 2 BO, 2 GLW, 1 RIR.

Are the eggs still safe to eat? Do I toss the eggs for three months? Feed them back to the birds after cooking the eggs?

Another thing is that I have to leave my birds for about a week, starting the 18th or 19th to attend my second son's wedding on the 25th. I'm preparing to lessen any stress on all the birds now, by moving my pens onto clean and vegetated land, stockpiling feed, etc...

 

[Tuffoldhen]

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[Tonopah Pati]

My 3 boys are getting the black scabs also, one of them now after one week looks awful, I found mites on him this morning, he has missing feathers behind his comb and he now has the scabs all over his head, lost feathers on his chest sore looking red on his feet, and around his behind. I sure hope it is not POX. I bathed him today with dog flea and tick shampoo and have been putting neosporin on it. I am going to the feed store to get some kind of dust. He is a feather footed Silkey. You should look for red or white very tiny mites. I live in the desert in AZ. and did use a mist one day all day and I usually hose the pen down at least 1 time a day. I don't know if this started the mite problem. Only my Roosters have the scabs on their combs.

 

[Jameberlin]

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I think the lice and mites can cause feather loss, i hear lice especially love the vent area in roosters (i haven't had any yet, so i don't know have first hand experience). Since you have more than one rooster they're probably squabbling and causing the scabs on the combs, when i had more than one rooster they were constantly giving each other comb and wattle scabs. I don't know if the moisture caused the mites, probably not... but make sure that you allow the coop and run to dry out before wetting/misting it again, since excessive moisture causes a lot of respiratory problems in birds. Chickens already produce a lot of moisture so you want to make sure the coop is completely dry after you wash it before you put litter back in. Even though it's hot here (i'm in Phoenix, myself) you still need to make sure their area is allowed to dry completely for most of the day. Chickens can get skin infections if they are constantly exposed to too much moisture (like how soldiers used to get boot rot in the jungle). I also know feather footed breeds have a tendency to retain moisture on their legs and feet which can cause skin irritation that may let staph get in and cause infection (chicken boot rot!), maybe this is what's going on with your silkie? I have a shallow trough i clean and replenish with cool water once a day, all my birds take turns cooling their feet off under the shade of the orange tree, this way the ground stays dry while they cool off so their feet can dry.

 

[Brandi_H]

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[my first peepers]

I am not experienced at all with chicken disease but I do know that my rooster and girls had the same exact thing last summer and they are still fine. They didn't have any other symptoms and it never got worse than what your picture shows so I didn't treat it and it seemed to go away over the winter. Of course if it gets worse or you see other symptoms you should take more action!
Good luck.

 

[MandyH]

Quote:
Your chicken in that post looked exactly the way my rooster did that died about 8 months ago. He was the first one I got, and seemed healthy at first. Then he just started getting a runny nose and wheezy. One day I went out and his face was swollen right up, especially around the eyes. It looked as though there was an inner tube under the skin around the eye, just perfectly and evenly swollen in a ring. Then he started to have trouble breathing and when I looked in his mouth it was all swollen, including the tongue. There was lots of discharge in his mouth and nose, and bubbles in his eyes. I don't remember if he had the black specks because I didn't know to look for them. There was just so much swelling and goo that I didn't notice any scabs. Of course I tried to find info online to help him, and tried whatever medicine I could find at the farm supply store, but after about a month he died. It would seem as though he was getting better, then go downhill again. I wanted to end his suffering several times, but every time I went out to do it, he was seeming like himself, only with a swollen face. He wasn't giving up, so I didn't think I should either.
Now with my chickens, the grey rooster had a runny nose last night, and some of the hens are very wheezy. There is definitely something wrong here. If my chickens have got what that first rooster did, then can I only sit here and watch them all slowly die? Can someone please help me figure out what is wrong with them, and how I can make them better? I'll be heartbroken if I lose another one...

Does the facial area have a bad smell to it?

 

[NotTheMomma]

Quote:
Your chicken in that post looked exactly the way my rooster did that died about 8 months ago. He was the first one I got, and seemed healthy at first. Then he just started getting a runny nose and wheezy. One day I went out and his face was swollen right up, especially around the eyes. It looked as though there was an inner tube under the skin around the eye, just perfectly and evenly swollen in a ring. Then he started to have trouble breathing and when I looked in his mouth it was all swollen, including the tongue. There was lots of discharge in his mouth and nose, and bubbles in his eyes. I don't remember if he had the black specks because I didn't know to look for them. There was just so much swelling and goo that I didn't notice any scabs. Of course I tried to find info online to help him, and tried whatever medicine I could find at the farm supply store, but after about a month he died. It would seem as though he was getting better, then go downhill again. I wanted to end his suffering several times, but every time I went out to do it, he was seeming like himself, only with a swollen face. He wasn't giving up, so I didn't think I should either.
Now with my chickens, the grey rooster had a runny nose last night, and some of the hens are very wheezy. There is definitely something wrong here. If my chickens have got what that first rooster did, then can I only sit here and watch them all slowly die? Can someone please help me figure out what is wrong with them, and how I can make them better? I'll be heartbroken if I lose another one...

With so many people posting about the symptoms of their own flock, I'm not sure if you're the original poster of this thread or not, cause it's on page two, and I'm too lazy to go back and see.

Anyway, if you are, please change the title of this thread to CHICKENS WITH WHEEZING, & RUNNY NOSES. That will get you LOTS more responses. Those tiny black spots on the comb, nothing to worry about. The wheezing, runny roses, respiratory problems, DEFINITELY IS SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT! Especially since you had a rooster die a few months ago with the same symptoms. This, in my non-professional opinion, sounds like one of the contagious chicken diseases that we all want to avoid.

You need to have the state vet check for MG in your flock. I would get ONE of the chickens that is showing symptoms to either a vet that KNOWS poultry and is willing to treat, AND/OR get the state vet to run some tests. Many of the poultry diseases can spread to your friends' chickens, your neighbor's chickens, and infect any new birds you bring onto your property. Some can even spread the disease into the eggs, thus your hatching chicks will be diseased!

This is serious, and should NOT be ignored.

If you are NOT the original poster of this thread, please start a thread of your own with the title I suggested, and lets see if we can get some help for your flock.

My prayers are with you and your flock.

HUGE HUGGLES!

 

[NotTheMomma]

I'm posting a few links for you to read and see if anything matches what you personally are seeing in your flock. Without us being there, it's possible that something you don't is signficant to mention here, could be an actual symptom of something going on.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t0756e/T0756E08.htm

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/toc_200000.htm

The merck vet manual link shows all poultry topics. You'll have to browse through them to see what 'could' match.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS044

Excellent link, IMO, that helps with self diagnosing.

BTW, I'm seeing NOTHING that indicates to me that you are dealing with fowl pox. Again, I'm no vet, just a backyard chicken owner as yourself.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

I would agree it could be fowl pox and is the dry pox

either way I would give the bird a good dose of Vetrx and rub it in the head area and 1 drop in the eyes
and under the wing

also give 1/2 tsp per day down the throat

then put 1 tsp of Vetrx in gallon of water
just in case it is fowl pox

it is getting to the time of yr for fowl pox

treating the head area will help the birds wounds heal

also give wet mash probiotic daily while the bird has theses spots

any questions email me