Newbie facing fowl pox + pictures

[Plants]

Hi all!!
I'll try to give the details here and the questions and how we handle it below.

The hen Nix is about 22 week old, 1,5kg, believed to be Leghorn or mix. Has not started laying. We have 3 other hens, one came with Nix and is a younger Campine about 18 weeks. The we have our over 1 year old hens. No sickness on the rest of the flock thus far.

June 1st we notice the spec on the comb.
June 3rd vet visit confirms dry Fowl Pox
June 5th we notice swollen face and a white mass in the mouth, probably turning into Wet fowl pox?

We had the hen for over a week but we have not noticed anything weird. The only change is that today she was quite vocal, more than the usual, but maybe she was a bit shy. The vet said that we should not worry unless the hen starts to hide or just look sick. If so, give it Metacam. My concern is that we were told that the mouth was clear and it looked like dry pox, so now I am wondering if the same would apply with the wet.


Since it's our first time dealing with this, we have checked some information and experiences around here, so I have a few questions.

1. Is it weird that so fer there is only one dry pox spec? 1.1.Should I expect more dry pox to appear or, once the specs start drying the virus is in recession?

2. Can this virus cause both, first as dry and then as wet pox?

3. If the hen stops eating, should we force feed with syringes? (Always taking in consideration not hurting the hen/completely blocked)

Regarding the care, we try to feed them wet mix grain and oats, some leaves and grass and whatever they find, mealworms, and pumpkin&potato cream. Indeed fresh water every day. Is there any food or plant that is good for them while sick?

I have also ordered a mosquito light to keep the zone free, as we have had some heavy rains lately. For now we keep the area closed with mosquito nets and our broody hen aside.

We will try our best here!

Edit: we have vet visit planned June 7th

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hard to say if that's Fowl Pox or not, hopefully when you got the next vet visit you will get more information.

Dry Form of Fowl Pox can certainly turn to Wet Form. If there's a bad odor, then you are more than likely dealing with Canker instead of Fowl Pox.

As for feed, feed what you normally feed your chickens, check to see that she's filling her crop, if not, then you can try enticing her to eat wet mushy feed, bits of egg or canned fish.

You may find the article below helpful.


https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

 

[Plants]

Hey Wyorp, there is no foul smell for now, but I'll keep that in mind. And thanks for the link too, it is really helpful and clear!!

Hard to say if that's Fowl Pox or not, hopefully when you got the next vet visit you will get more information.

Dry Form of Fowl Pox can certainly turn to Wet Form. If there's a bad odor, then you are more than likely dealing with Canker instead of Fowl Pox.

As for feed, feed what you normally feed your chickens, check to see that she's filling her crop, if not, then you can try enticing her to eat wet mushy feed, bits of egg or canned fish.

You may find the article below helpful.


https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

 

[Plants]

I went to the vet today and confirmed it's pox but there isn't much to do besides waiting and taking care.

The vet tried to remove the mass inside the mouth with his hands but he couldn't because it was too tight. I don't really know if that's standard procedure, but is it normal to try to remove it like this? New scabs can still appear if the hen is sick, so I don't really get why he tried it . The hen was clearly in pain and crying loudly.

Besides that, Nix is doing really good, even gained some weight since Monday, sitting on 1,5kg, and all of us hoping for the best!

 

[FrostRanger]

I would also suggest vaccinating the rest of your flock, you can order the vaccine from valley vet and it's cheap and easy to use. Won't help your sick bird but it'll keep everyone else from getting sick

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I went to the vet today and confirmed it's pox but there isn't much to do besides waiting and taking care.

The vet tried to remove the mass inside the mouth with his hands but he couldn't because it was too tight. I don't really know if that's standard procedure, but is it normal to try to remove it like this? New scabs can still appear if the hen is sick, so I don't really get why he tried it . The hen was clearly in pain and crying loudly.

Besides that, Nix is doing really good, even gained some weight since Monday, sitting on 1,5kg, and all of us hoping for the best!

Glad you were able to see the vet.
Not sure if it's standard to try and remove the lesion(s) from inside the beak or not with Fowl Pox. I've only dealt with Dry form and it runs its course over several weeks.