I went down for my morning feed and decided to clean out my pigeon and dove nest they get poopey and the babys can get messy so i change it out when it gets that way.
Well i finally got to feeding and they weren't really interested but when i got to my blue mille fleur just like yesterday there was only 1 hen and theres 2 in that pen. I checked the roost and their she was and struggling to breath i thought respitory nope took a closer look and she had a Pox on her mouth took her to my table and opened her mouth and found it had went down her throat and had swollen her air hole not shut but she was weezing.
I cleaned my hands and removed what i could of the pus lookin stuff and rinsed out her mouth i would have used peroxide but i'm out and i treated the outside pox with iodine. I figure if i keep her in a small isolated cage and treat her everyday she will be okay. I went around and checked all 52 chickens and found only 1 hen with 2 pox on her comb and shes not even close to the pen where the other hen was. I treated her pox with iodine and i will keep a check on her and her roo. I removed the water and feeder from the pen where the mouth pox hen was and replaced them with clean ones so maybe that roo and hen that i left there won't get it.
This has got to be some Typhoid Mary Jane Pox Infected Mosquito doing all this because if it was me spreadin it they would all have it. Unless they are sick they all get feed out of the same feed bucket and water out of the same gallon jugs.
Questions now>> Will this mosquito eventually die?
Did the mosquito get it from chickens?
It's been awhile since my roo had it does this mean theres a chance all my chickens could get it slowly and over time?
Dealin with pox again
hello
Hi--it is an interesting disease. I just looked it up and they say it is relatively new to the US.
Here is a site (with scary pictures) that has some information on how it is spread and how it can be controlled. The helpful part is at the end:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26362--,00.html
Double EEEEEEEEw
Could it possibly from them sick birds you purchased and brought out to your yard.
What happened to the Cull you tied up next to them.
No those are just fine and the cull is just great too.
They never had pox No i'm afraid it's mosquito's could be from my neighbors they have chickens don't know what kind.
Been out looking for water found some and dumped it out.
My roo was never that bad only had 3 warts and i treated those with iodine and they were gone in about 4 days.
The hen in question is eating, drinking and alert and now that i cleaned her mouth is breathing well.
This is a very interesting thing and has me baffled.
It had to be a mosquito because it's just to selective to say it was spread in any other manner.
Most mosquitoes only bite once to get a blood meal and then go on to lay their eggs. The time from blood meal to egg laying is about 4 to 5 days. Then they go in search of their next blood meal and lay eggs again. They don't keep on and on biting without going off to have their eggs between bites. But, if you have one mosquito carrying it, it is likely that you have other mosquitoes who have bitten the same infected animal(s) that is in your vicinity. I suspect you have a "tobacco man" type of operation of someone who doesn't care about their birds not too far from you. Mosquitoes are there, biting, and then they come to your place. It is probably not the same mosquito who got your roo.
Thanks claire My DH and i was just talkin about this and we both don't understand it.
We were a saying that if my blue roo had it why didn't his hen get it and the only conclusion was he was bitten and she wasn't.
This hen that has it now was in a pen with another hen and a roo yet they are fine.
I'm just afraid this is going to continue what do you think claire? I wish i knew a way to stop it and i don't have the heart to kill a chicken when it just has a wart on it's head.
I don't know about my neighbor only spoke maybe twice but i hear his roo's and he has ducks i hear those too.
It might continue Harmony, especially if the mosquito population is heavy and someone else's birds have the pox in your vicinity. I'm not sure what "mileage" a mosquito does. It certainly doesn't travel hundreds of miles looking for something to bite so that's why I think it's close to your place. When do the mosquitoes die down for you in the South? Up here they will probably be pretty much done in another few weeks because it will get too cold. I know you won't get as cold, but you probably have a month or two without them maybe? It should go away then, but it could recur in the spring if the source is not under control. Another option is to have mosquito controls, like one of those mosquito "vacuum" things with the propane tank on it. They can supposedly keep an area of up to an acre pretty clear when consistently used. There are those bug zappers and things. Repellants? I don't know all the options, I'm just trying to think of how to stop your birds getting bitten. Could you install some kind of mosquito netting on some of your coops? I'm at a loss...
That looks awful. So iodine will kill it. hmm... Well, that's great news, because those pictures look like something out of a monster movie.
I've been taking a drop of lugol's iodine myself. It's strong stuff and supposed to rid your body of toxins, while nourishing your thyroid gland that cleanses the blood. I had some rather strange reaction to it, but overall, I think positive.
I'm real interested in iodine. They used it before antibiotics.
Citronella is a natural insect repellant. Rosemary too, there are others, I just can't think of them right now.
Light for jesus I've been useing iodine for years used it on my kids and been useing it on my chickens for 7 years. Thats all mama ever used when we was kids that micurchrome i don't think i spelled that right.
The funny thing was before i knew my roo had pox i had already put iodine on him that morning when i saw the warts. Just my opinion but i think it cured him because he didn't get anymore than the 3 he had and with me treating him twice a day with the iodine they just dried up in no time and disappeared.
I'm useing it on the hen and i will let you know her progress I'm happy to know this old time remedy is still being used
Thanks for your advice i think i got rid of all the water holes but i can't go to the neighbors and drain his (Drat)
It won't be long the skeeters will be gone and if this iodine is going to work this good this pox may not be a problem (got my fingers,toes,legs crossed)oops forgot my eyes.
Went down and done a thorough check of my birds and found 3 roo's with tiny pox and no hens.
The hen with the mouth poc is doing better she was sitting hunched over yesterday but was eating and breathing good this morning.
Treated all pox with iodine and put antibiotic ointment on their pen mates hopefully as a preventive measure (can't hurt).
Going today to get some vitamin supplements and some cat food for extra protein and some jack daniels for me LOL
Question: Doe's anybody think i should put antibiotic ointment on all the unaffected birds combs as a preventive measure?
I've just come to the realization i'm going to be dealing with this for a while and by me posting my experience with this here it could help someone in the future.
I'm not sure if the antibiotic would help. It might stop the skeeters from biting? But pox is caused by a virus, and antibiotic only works on bacteria. I don't think there are any antiviral ointments for chickens. The antibiotic might work to help heal the skin by keeping it more moist, and it would also prevent any subsequent bacterial infections in the areas damaged by the viral infection.
As you know, I'm a newbie to chickens.. Here are my thoughts on it..
I think it would not be advisable to use antibiotic as a preventative for
The #1 reason being... handling all the birds.. Unless you have disposable bio suits.. LOL Germ X may be good for your hands.. but the article says Pox could be carried in dander.. You very well could be transmitting it from a tiny particle stuck to your hair for all we know! I'd keep exposure to a minimum.. if it were me.
#2.. seems a waste of antibiotic if there is nothing to treat. Over use of antibiotic lessens it's effectiveness in my experience (equine)
I would think attacking the mosquito problem aggressively would be of more benefit than anything else.. (if nothing more than to help console your fears that your doing SOMETHING)
Pyrethrins is effective against mosquitoes.. and it only takes a very tiny dose. We are sprayed for mosquito control around here by airplane when it's bad. I was outside when the planes were spraying and you couldn't even hardly smell it!! (Yes, I went inside quick)
Okay.. That's my uneducated guess... I hope it gives you a view of your problem from "the other side of the fence"
I just thought it "might" help with any bacteria and maybe keep the skeeters off.
Thanks Claire i think i'll try it and see how it goes.
What about "off" spray? I have a bottle outside that I keep myself sprayed with all the time since we had West Nile here last year.
In fact, West Nile almost killed one of our residents! He used to sit on the porch at night.. He had a bug zapper.. it attracted mosquitoes.. He can't sit outside anymore.. but I would never use a zapper..
As far as being moist.. What about just Vaseline? I use it on my chicks legs just as a moisturizer.. LOL Yeah.. I do... They love it when I rub it in.. A couple of them used to watch me stroke their legs.. Too cute huh?
Thanks ZZ and i have so many chickens it's an impossibilty to quaritine them all and with the close proximity of my birds i'm positive they all have been exposed to it.
It's just going to be a have to see kind of thing.
I'm at a loss as to where it came from and the good thing is they will be immune so there will be no chance of them getting it again.
The antibiotic ointment isn't that expensive and it's worth the experiment at least to me.
All the research i have read sudjest it could enter through a wound like a cut on a comb and if i treat the combs it could stop that don't know.
I love to learn and research things like this and don't give up till i know all that i can about it and try new things maybe somebody hasn't tried and see if it works.
I have rabbits and know rabbit folks and a good friend gave me a rabbit with and eye infection i was told it couldn't be cured and that most of the rabbits are killed if they have it.
I took that as a challenge and got out my meds I cleaned it twice a day with warm water to remove the sticky eye goo and then rubbed bactricin an oinment against bacteria and in 1 week his eye was clear and he wasn't blind i treated him for 2 weeks and he grew into a beautiful buck.
ZZ Mineral oil and Baby oil work for that too.
I like the antibiotic because it also treats favus and mine get that sometimes Oh and if you get a real bad case of Favus athletes foot cream heals that right up.
What's favus?
Favus is the powdery looking stuff that gets on a chickens comb.
It can be similar to pox but don't worry most chickens never have it at all i was just sayin if someone happened to get it and it's rarer than rare and that athletes foot cream works to cure it.
I bought a rooster cochin roo i might add and he had the beginings of what looked like powdery mildew to me and i treated him and he gave it to his hen and i treated her. it said in my book it only affects aztec breeds but this roo had it.
So now when i see a comb with the patchy white flour look i just use antibiotic as a precaution.(paranoid it comes when you have had something before and you fear it will return)
After Pox i will again be paranoid and will look at combs constantly (weird)
Several things after reading the article......
-Mosquitos can harbor and transmit the virus for up to one month.
My question is, if mosquitos can carry for a month, can they feed on ill birds and then to healthy birds. Harmony maybe you have a mosquito population that is feeding on your sick birds and then transmitting to your healthy birds.
-The pox virus is highly resistant to drying and may survive months to years in the dried scabs.
I don't know how a person would begin to try and clean up dried scabs from pen areas and coops. Sounds like a horrible job.
-Indirect transmission can also occur via inhalation of pox virus infected dander, feather debris and air-borne particles
Sounds nearly impossible to control after you have it. They can get it through air bourne particles, how do you control this?
-Avian pox occurs in 2 forms, cutaneous (dry) and diphtheritic (wet).
Harmony sounds like you have both forms.
-These treatments consist of removing skin lesions and utilizing sodium bicarbonate or Lugol's solution of iodine washes, removing the diphtheritic membrane from the mouth and throat and swabbing the area with Lugol's solution of iodine, bathing the eyes with a 1-2% saline solution, and raising the environmental temperature.
Sounds like Iodine is the best treatment.
-The best control for avian pox in captive and domestic birds is vaccination with a modified live vaccine.
Can you get this vaccine from a vet?? Wonder how much it costs.
-Eliminating standing water will control the primary vector, the mosquito. Infected birds should be isolated or culled to remove the source of the virus. Feeders, waterers, birdbaths and cages should be decontaminated with a 10% bleach solution.
I don't know how isolating the birds would help, with it being transmitted through the air and in the dander. Seems every time you feed you would carry it out of isolationa and to other birds.
This sounds absolutely horrible, but I am so glad that Harmony has brought us on her journey to learn.
Sheila
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Thanks Sheila it would be impossible to isolate all these birds and the point you made yea why bother if it's transmitted in so many different ways. You would have to have them in plastic bubbles and use a decontamination suit just to feed them.
I've looked the web over and iodine seems to be the answer and vaccinateing it would take my life saveings to do all my birds.
Did the swabbing of the one hen with the mouth one and i have isolated her because she is the only one with that.
I dumped any standing water yesterday and thats all i can do for that.
Just have to wait and see and keep posting my results so others can learn about this too.
It's nice to know if anything is ever wrong with my chickens I can come here for help.