Possible Fowl Pox?

[chrismahon]

Having read that Fowl Pox is in the UK and there are outbreaks in the Midlands I was a bit worried about our Basil. I thought these scabby areas were the result of squabbling with Frankie through the wire mesh. But they are very slow to mend and after two weeks we've started applying Teatree cream daily with minor improvement. What do you all think?





Also noticed a funny growth on the side of Claude's comb. It''s very hard and I wondered if it was an ingrowing feather or some other kind of growth?



He's eating fine and full of beans. No sign of his Canker returning. His tongue is still dead at the end but as he is absolutely fine with it there will be no operation for removal.

 

[Chuck]

Most of my males are battered like this as they're always having minor skirmishes. War wounds I think !

 

[chrismahon]

Claude's 'hard lump' on the side of his comb has all but disappeared. He had something similar at the back of his comb a few moths ago and that just disappeared as well. I think it is an ingrowing feather that has just popped out and the skin has closed around the hole. No infection fortunately. He's back to his incredibly handsome self!

 

[chrismahon]

Basil's scabs are not healing, but not getting any worse. Bottom has got one as well. Either they are both run down or it's a fungus or virus? Giving them both Cod Liver Oil today and have started to apply Zovirax cold sore cream to Bottom's scab to see what happens. Bit of a long shot, but still got Fowl Pox in the back of my mind. They do look more like cold sores, rather than scabs over cuts.

Rosie has just done a bit of research. Fowl Pox is spread by mosquito bites -we live next to the canal and it's full of them. ACV and vitamin tonics help but it seems to be like Myco in the respect of their being no actual cure, just assistance given to their system to fight it off. Scabs normally heal in 4 weeks. Basil has had his for nearly three weeks now.

 

[Tim]

Hi Chris,

I can see why you're worried. If they are not fighting (and you'd see some fresh wounds from time to time and blood if they were of course) then, yes there's a chance I'd say.

I don't know much about Fowl Pox but Richard Jackson @Chickenvet did write about it here a few months ago: Fowl Pox

There are a few tips for how you can support them which might help.

 

[chrismahon]

Thanks for that Tim. Yes these are a brownish colour as Richard describes. They are mostly at the site of minor injuries not from fighting but charging at the wire towards another cockerel. Basically they have scabbed over but not healed. Basil now has one forming on the top of his comb as well. Bottom's responded extremely well to Zovirax (or the cheap Morrison's equivalent) so we'll start using that on Basil. They do leave a pale scar when the scabs eventually drop off. There is so much wildlife here its difficult to know where it came from. But a Moorhen has taken residence in Basil's run? As there are no injuries on any of the hens it hasn't been transmitted. But it is now in the area I think. Fortunately we run all our flocks separately so it only potentially affects Basil with the Gold Laced Wyandottes at the moment (long story how he ended up with them). The two other cockerels have had their wounds (cannibal hens) treated with Stockholm Tar immediately.

I will proceed on the basis it is Fowl Pox.

 

[chrismahon]

Basils scabs actually got worse and then stabilised. But until we used Zovirax they showed no real sign of ever healing. All the crusty bits have gone now, 5 days after Zovirax, with just a thin brown skin on the surface and white scars where it has dropped off. He's better in himself as well as his voice is back to normal -it did drop a few notes. See if we get the same problem with any others.

 

[chrismahon]

We went onto Sudocream but it had absolutely no effect at all after a week, the thin brown skin scab remained in place. So bought more Zovirax and three days later they are nearly healed. No signs of any new outbreaks but there is obviously an underlying problem so we'll see what happens if he gets cut again. Have three tubes of the stuff in stock now.

 

[chrismahon]

Over a month now. We stopped the Zovirax 5 days ago and the sores have returned! The one on his beak is worse than the photo. The one on his wattle, which was completely healed, has started to form again. We are now trying Gentian Violet on the basis that it's not viral Fowl Pox but actually a fungal infection contracted from the soil after his earlier injury. Scabs are as described for Fowl pox, when formed are pale brown and they scar white when they fall off, wheras normal grazes scab blood red and fall off to reveal healed pink skin.

 

[chrismahon]

Another two weeks on and the scabs have responded well to Gentian Violet. Just a very small bit left on his comb which will be treated for the last time tonight. I conclude that, although the scabs are apparently the same in nature and condition as fowl pox, as the scabs are not spontaneous, in other words they don't just errupt anywhere for no reason, Basil has been suffering from a fungal infection of two earlier injuries which have spread rather rapidly until treated. We are getting on for two months now since I noticed they were not healing and started to worry. Its taken a further two weeks from applying the anti-fungal GV to effect healing. The scabs remain pale but have reddened to some extent so he still looks a handsom chap!

 

[chrismahon]

Worth updating this post. Pity we haven't got photos.

The scabs on Basil's wattle healed but the one on his comb got worse. We tried everything on it- Gentian Violet, E45, Valderma, Germoline, Zovirax cold sore cream and plain salt water. In September the export vet kindly overlooked it but it had apparently consumed the front part of his comb and I was certain it was fungal and not Fowl Pox. He did look a real mess and the area continued to slowly grow. The treatments continued over here without any effect so they were discontinued. I wondered if amputation (partial 'dubbing') was going to be the only way to save him?

The 'cure' arrived by accident. The three Gold Laced Wyandotte hens in with him started eating his new feathers. Basil was separated into an adjoining coop and run and clearly welcomed the isolation from them.

After two weeks in the UK I went to see how his comb was. A bit pale at the front with one point missing but no scabs. I had to get the torch to check as I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A week later and the colour has returned to the area -once again he is an incredibly handsome chap.

My conclusion is that the treatments didn't help much as he was inherently stressed with his company, although he didn't show it. His dad hates Wyandottes. Once relaxed his own immune system was restored to full efficiency and fought the infection off unaided. Something I will be aware of in the future. A bit of TLC has a similar effect in my experience -lowering inherent stress and allowing the immune system to function with greatest efficiency.

 

[Margaid]

I'm inquisitive Chris - what breed is he? If he isn't a Wyandotte why were there Wyandotte hens in with him? I'm not being rude, just trying to learn.

 

[chrismahon]

He's a Buff Orpington and the son of our pet Bottom. The hen to cockerel distribution just worked out that way Margaid. Frankie should have been in with them, being a Gold laced Wyandotte as well, but he was employed looking after some of the Blue Laced. Basil had three Buff Orpingtons like himself (his sisters) but got rather enthusiastic and they had to be moved one by one. He also had three Buff Laced Wyandottes but two were rehomed and one injured herself badly and had to be despatched. He lost the last Buff Orpington when we got here because she was being bullied by the Wyandottes and the coop wasn't really big enough for 4 large fowl hens and Basil (who is well over 5 Kg). The distribution stemmed primarily from dispersing cockerels into the available coops and keeping them segregated. Breeding wasn't an option we had with the limit on export numbers. Of course we hadn't thought about fox attacks or heart attacks which resulted in us having space in the van for 10 more birds. He will be reunited with his girls in Spring unless Bottom proves himself. But we are happy he is happy on his own, or we would move his sisters back in with him. We'll be breeding more Orpingtons and Wyandottes in Spring. Of course coops is once again an issue as 3 were left in England so we still only have 8, even with the 4 new ones I built. Just two spare. We are also a rearing coop short and I have the materials here to build a replacement plus 3 more breeding coops, but not the equipment yet. Always plenty to do !!!