Fowl pox? Or injury

[NewishChickenMama]

I have a pullet who’s got a rough, black bump on her comb. It’s pretty large, however looking through some old photos, and it seems like she’s had black on that part of her comb, since she joined us back in July of this year and the black spot is larger because her comb is(including photos from July 15th)? I also noticed she has/has had a small black spot on each side of her face that resembles fowl pox. They have not changed much in the past 3 weeks or so. It’s weird to me that it would be just the one spot on each side of it were fowl pox. And no one else has any bumps. I just got through looking everyone else over. Now that her comb is larger, it’s weird that it’s black like that, and I assumed it was just from injury when I first noticed. She is the lowest in the pecking order. I thought she was a roo for awhile because she’s my shadow when I’m out there, and has the mannerisms of a cat when it wants pets.

More information: I just took a chick to the vet (wtf so expensive) for a respiratory issue with one sided swollen sinus, so we could get antibiotics for the whole flock. Quite a few came down with rattles and a cough after our first heatwave, and everyone has been being treated per vets recommendation. The sinus swelling went away, but the rattles are still there sometimes, I assumed the infection running it’s course, and trouble with the antibiotic in the water due to our temps being in the 100’s. However now I’m thinking wet fowl pox?
I just need some additional options.
I added photos from last month first, and then photos from today. One of each side of her head.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like a scab, perhaps from rubbing on wire on from a feeder.
Could be a papilloma, hard to tell.
You can paint the scab with Iodine if you wish, but if it's not changing, then I'd be inclined to just monitor it.

Wet Fowl Pox - do you see lesions inside the beak(s) of your chicks? Generally with Wet Form of Fowl Pox, you'd see lesions on the sides of the beaks, lesions/mucousy crud inside the beak and around the eyes.

If you've ever had respiratory infection/disease in your flock(s) before and they got better, most of the time the birds still remain carriers and can pass the illness on to others. This could be a reason why you are dealing with some respiratory symptoms in the youngsters.

 

[NewishChickenMama]

Looks like a scab, perhaps from rubbing on wire on from a feeder.
Could be a papilloma, hard to tell.
You can paint the scab with Iodine if you wish, but if it's not changing, then I'd be inclined to just monitor it.

Wet Fowl Pox - do you see lesions inside the beak(s) of your chicks? Generally with Wet Form of Fowl Pox, you'd see lesions on the sides of the beaks, lesions/mucousy crud inside the beak and around the eyes.

If you've ever had respiratory infection/disease in your flock(s) before and they got better, most of the time the birds still remain carriers and can pass the illness on to others. This could be a reason why you are dealing with some respiratory symptoms in the youngsters.

Thank you for all the information!

I’m hopeful it’s a scab. It seems to be in the same positioning as 3 weeks ago. Do you happen to know a general timeframe on how long it would take to heal? Or how long until I should consider it not being a scab? I’ll have to do more research on papillomas, can they be black like that?. Scared myself with this read, though I don’t think this is what is happening

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1592467

Im glad to hear it’s most likely not wet pox. No lesions in any beaks I could check. Some of them are pretty feisty so it’s a pain.

So when I got this flock, they actually came with a few runny noses, rattles, and slight cough. I chalked it up to the stress of moving and gave them vitamins which seemed like it helped until I saw one of the baby chicks with a swollen eye(separate area, but this chick is also bottom of the pecking order), so I took her to be seen and told them both problems so I could get antibiotics at the same appointment. The little ones do not have any symptoms except that one baby with the swollen sinus, which got better with the eye drops and antibiotic. It’s still acting off, has a slight balance problem sometimes, but they’re also the one that’s always getting knocked off the roost, or pecked it’s always my favorites.

We did have a respiratory problem with similarish symptoms. That flock is housed out in the pasture (at least a football field and an half away) and these ones are around our barn. I check them on different days and none of the first flock are showing any symptoms, but I guess that’s typical. I thought practiced good biosecurity but after just doing more research, it seems it could also carry in my hair/nose; my hair is always up but I don’t wash it every day.

(I rotated my first flock to a portable coop away from this one, when I learned what they probably had. It has all their own supplies, gear, boots, overalls. Sanitized every inch of our barn a few weekends in a row (our chickens coop is a converted barn stall). And gave it over 5 months to be chicken free before I added new flooring/bedding and our adopted flock with its own set of everything. Even food bag and toys. Each flock has their own days that I’m in the coop with them. Never on the same day. Except I tend to the babies every morning and on the days I’m with the new flock.)

 

[dawg53]

Smell inside the mouth of the hen with lesions in the nares and the nares themselves for a foul odor. You might be dealing with sinus canker.
Overall, it's possible your birds might have Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG.)

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree, that looks like a common site of injury on metal feeder or wire fencing. Betadine works well on such as
n injury. It should heal in time. It is also good to rule out other possibilities. Edited to say, it does sound like there may be a canker or respiratory issue with the one chick. Canker is something I would separate and cull for because it is very contagious.

 

[NewishChickenMama]

Smell inside the mouth of the hen with lesions in the nares and the nares themselves for a foul odor. You might be dealing with sinus canker.
Overall, it's possible your birds might have Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG.)

I’ve just checked the Wyandotte with the black bump on beak, and she does not have any foul odor from nares or beak, (are you able to describe the scent or relate it to anything so I can know what I’m looking out for?)
Also, nothing unusual in upper or lower beak, as well as throat.
MG is a $200 test if I want to have it done (probably on someone with rattles if I choose to go that route)
so I’m hoping to just get there by process of elimination, but I am leaning towards having mg in my flock as well, and until I know it is not, I’ll continue to treat it like I do.

I agree, that looks like a common site of injury on metal feeder or wire fencing. Betadine works well on such as
n injury. It should heal in time. It is also good to rule out other possibilities. Edited to say, it does sound like there may be a canker or respiratory issue with the one chick. Canker is something I would separate and cull for because it is very contagious.

I think you’re correct about the fencing! Looking through the videos closely, it looks as though part of her comb got sliced off and left it white(like a fresh wound). It must have been during the chaos of catching them for the drive over since I only have a good view of the comb from the first day they joined us.

Looking at information on canker, would It still be possible if I don’t see anything in her beak or throat? I’ll have to look at night, but that baby chick (Macy, lavender Orpington, 8weeks old),does not have a wheeze or cough, or swollen sinus anymore(that I can tell). The last time i picked them up during the day, it freaked out and went wryneck; head back and turned at awful angle and weak legs, couldn’t stand on her feet. I gave her a drop of nutridrench followed by dipping her beak in water and she was fine within a few minutes.

There is Definitely an upper respiratory problem going around the babies and the new flock.

For macy, My immediate thought was vitamin deficiency or brain damage from getting pecked in the head. So I did separate her, She is in her own enclosure&coop inside the large run. I didn’t want to isolate her completely and make bullying worse.

My thought process was: since they’ve been around each other since hatching under our hen, and were always all together up until last night after her episode, I assumed if she was still sick they would all be infected already anyways.

I have droppings boards and there have been no abnormalities for anyone.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If they had Canker, you would know by lesions and a foul odor.

If you are dealing with respiratory disease, then treat those that are symptomatic with an antibiotic like Tylan/Tylosin.

 

[NewishChickenMama]

If they had Canker, you would know by lesions and a foul odor.

If you are dealing with respiratory disease, then treat those that are symptomatic with an antibiotic like Tylan/Tylosin.

Foul like rotting? dirty feet? Feces? Or it’s own smell and Just super bad?

I have the antibiotic pictured below, per vet recommendation 5ml per gallon drinking water.
However I do also have tylan50 I could give individually if the other isn’t working.

 

[dawg53]

Foul like rotting? dirty feet? Feces? Or it’s own smell and Just super bad?

I have the antibiotic pictured below, per vet recommendation 5ml per gallon drinking water.
However I do also have tylan50 I could give individually if the other isn’t working.

A foul odor that would gag a maggot.

 

[Eggcessive]

Personally, I would use the Tylan 50 3 times a day—1/4 ml orally for 3-5 days. But oxytetracycline does work. It’s just that the product is an injectable form used in cattle and swine. It is either given just once, or as a daily dose just under the skin in the back of the neck.