Will fowl pox kill newly hatched chicks?

[smott]

Fowl pox is making it's way through my flock. Several of them have blisters and scabs on their combs, and a couple have it on their eyelids. I have put iodine and Neosporin on them and they all appear to be doing ok, but I am concerned about the fact that my broody hen has it as well. The eggs she is sitting on are just a few days from hatching. I don't have an incubator, so I can't take them from her. Should I isolate chicks from her when they hatch? How will it affect the newly hatched babies?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It can. The thing to be worried about is how long has it been in your flock. Incubation period is up to 14 days and it may spread vertically from hen to chicks through hatching eggs. So if the hens were infected when the eggs were laid, the chicks will already have it.
Some recovered birds are immune but remain carriers and can be reinfected during times of stress like when molting.

 

[smott]

It can. The thing to be worried about is how long has it been in your flock. Incubation period is up to 14 days and it may spread vertically from hen to chicks through hatching eggs.
Some recovered birds are immune but remain carriers and can be reinfected during times of stress like when molting.

Starting about a month ago, I noticed my older flock with a few black spots here and there, and even one roo had a big scaly patch on his comb. Wasn't sure if it was just mosquitoes or pox at that time. They all look fine now, but a few days ago, I noticed blisters and scabs on my bantam roo, and it appears that most of the 10 in the pen with him have it as well. (I have 3 pens, but they all free range together, so there was no point in trying to isolate any one bird by the time I figured out what it was.)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Vaccination is possible but there is a separate vaccine for chicks.

 

[smott]

update:
Went and bought incubator this morning. Was planning to take the eggs from beneath the hen with the pox, but one hatched before I got home with it. Should I let the remaining egg hatch in the incubator and take that chick from her or has it already been exposed enough that it wouldn't make a difference? I also want to clarify that the hen that laid the eggs she is sitting on does not and never did have any fowl pox lesions.

 

[Eggcessive]

Pox is usually spread by mosquitoes. Since the hen doesn’t have symptoms, I would leave the chicks with her, and bring them away from any mosquitoes. The chicks still could get the disease down the line from shed scabs in the chicken yard, that become powdery and inhaled, but I would try to prevent them from getting it now. Pox scabs on baby chicks can get very large obstructing nostrils or eyes, and they can starve to death. Here is some info on fowl pox:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

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

 

[smott]

Pox is usually spread by mosquitoes. Since the hen doesn’t have symptoms, I would leave the chicks with her, and bring them away from any mosquitoes. The chicks still could get the disease down the line from shed scabs in the chicken yard, that become powdery and inhaled, but I would try to prevent them from getting it now. Pox scabs on baby chicks can get very large obstructing nostrils or eyes, and they can starve to death.

The hen who was sitting on the eggs has it pretty bad. Eyes are crusted and oozing. (I was clarifying above that the hen who laid the eggs was not ill since someone had suggested a passage from mom to chick as the egg was laid.)
I opted to remove the chick and the unhatched egg since mom is actively shedding secretions and everything I read says it’s very contagious via secretions and scabs . Now I have a lonely chick... what are the odds of it developing pox just from a few hours of exposure to the sick mother? Would really like to sneak it in with my other broody hen’s newly hatched babies but really don’t want to spread the pox to my other coop!

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh, okay, I misread which hen had pox. I don’t know that pox is shed in secretions, but it can be shed when scabs fall off and become aerosolized and inhaled. So, what have you done with the other egg? It would be hard to raise a single chick alone. I had only one egg hatch from a broody, and she accepted 5 other baby chicks from the feed store, and raised all together. Are you in a tropical area? Once chickens get pox, they are immune to the strain in the future. There is a vaccine, but it takes a couple of weeks to become effective.

 

[smott]

Oh, okay, I misread which hen had pox. I don’t know that pox is shed in secretions, but it can be shed when scabs fall off and become aerosolized and inhaled. So, what have you done with the other egg? It would be hard to raise a single chick alone. I had only one egg hatch from a broody, and she accepted 5 other baby chicks from the feed store, and raised all together. Are you in a tropical area? Once chickens get pox, they are immune to the strain in the future. There is a vaccine, but it takes a couple of weeks to become effective.

Sorry I somehow missed seeing your comment. I bought an incubator and hatched the other egg plus 3 that another broody quit sitting on after her first 3 chicks hatched. So I have 5 babies inside in the brooder, and thankfully the first chick has not shown any sign of infection . How old do they have to be for me to vaccinate them? Wondering if I can vaccinate them before they are exposed to the outside where I’m sure the scabs will be laying around forever

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a link for the fowl pox vaccine and it is for chicks 8 weeks old:
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...MIuJqBxtaD7QIVTNbACh3YPQzPEAQYASABEgKWEfD_BwE