Poultry FOWL POX- Prevention, Symptoms, and Treatment

[Keystone Poultry Farm]

Fowl Pox Prevention & Treatment

Fowl pox is a highly contagious viral infection in poultry that causes painful sores on a chicken’s skin. Also referred to as Avian Pox, Sorehead, Avian Diphtheria and Chicken Pox, it is unrelated to human chicken pox and cannot be contracted by people from birds. Fowl pox occurs in two forms, Dry, and Wet pox and while there is no cure, Fowl Pox can be prevented and the symptoms, treated.

Fowl Pox Causes & Transmission

• Dry Fowl Pox is a viral infection that affects a chicken’s skin in non-feathered areas, most commonly, the comb, wattles, face, and eyelids. Wet Fowl Pox affects a bird’s upper respiratory system, eyes, mouth, and throat and can be life-threatening.
• The virus is transmitted to backyard chickens by biting insects, most notably, mosquitoes.
• The virus is transmitted to other chickens within a flock through an infected bird’s feathers, feather debris, skin dander, sloughed-off scabs, scab secretions and blood (collectively referred to hereinafter as “hot debris“).
• Fowl Pox is highly contagious & spreads slowly from chicken to chicken within a flock. The virus can persist in a flock for months, sometimes years, in hot debris.
• Susceptible birds can become infected when hot debris is eaten, inhaled or makes contact with skin wounds or mucous membranes (eyeballs and mouths).
• Initial stages of Dry Fowl Pox include ash colored, raised lesions or blisters on the comb, face, and wattles. Blisters evolve into larger, yellow bumps and finally, dark colored, wart-looking scabs. The scabs eventually resolve, leaving scars behind.
• Some chickens acquire immunity, but others are susceptible to recurrences in times of stress.
• Don’t mistake common pecking injuries on combs and wattles for Fowl Pox.

Symptoms

• Chickens with Fowl Pox will often exhibit a drop in egg production, loss of appetite and/or weight loss in addition to the tell-tale lesions on the skin (Dry Fowl Pox) or lesions inside the mouth and throat (Wet Fowl Pox). Symptoms generally persist for several weeks in a bird and several months in a flock.

Prevention

• Day old chicks and unaffected adults can be vaccinated against Fowl Pox. The wing-stick method is easy to do and very affordable so please consult your veterinarian. Once chickens have been vaccinated, they have permanent immunity.
• Practice good biosecurity to avoid introducing fowl pox to your birds from an infected flock on your clothes, equipment or shoes.
• Quarantine new flock members immediately and properly.
• Control the number of mosquitoes if possible.
• During an outbreak, to limit the spread of the virus, clean and sanitize waterers daily, adding 1/4 teaspoon of Oxine per gallon of drinking water.
• Following an outbreak, clean and sanitize chicken coop with Oxine weekly for a month.

Treatment

• There is no cure for Fowl Pox, but there are measures that can be provided for affected chickens as well as preventative measures to avoid secondary bacterial infections caused by the lesions.

1. Affected birds should immediately be kept separate from the flock and unaffected birds can be vaccinated during an outbreak.
2. Offer tetracycline antibiotics in the water of your flock, esb3 antibiotic or 300mg of oxytetracycline (Terramycin) per gallon of drinking water for 3 days followed by a vitamin supplement in the water.
3. Treats scabs with a dilute iodine solution.
4. Apply ointment to soften scabs. (Mix 2 tablespoons of sulfur powder with 1/2 cup Vaseline. Apply to affected areas daily until the lesion is healed.)
5. Mix diluted iodine solutions into the flock’s drinking water. (Iodine solution for drinking water: Mix 1 teaspoon of 1% iodine solution per gallon of water OR 1/2 teaspoon of 2% iodine solution per gallon. Provide as the only source of drinking water

Remember the pest solution to the problem is to get your flock vaccinated! I hope this information helps you all on your journey.

***The picture below is an example of Fowl Pox...