Locking Bar Eglu Classic

[Headchicken]

http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-diseases-AvianPox.html

I think Dax has fowl pox (dry). I noticed some of these lesions on her comb this morning. Anyone have any experience or advice?

 

I'm cleaning the cube today and I'll wash her comb and put some neem or tea tree on the spots. It sounds like there is nothing to do except vaccinate the flock. I've not vaccinated, so does anyone know how that affects eggs? I've got to find a vet...

 

Sounds like it's passed by mosquitos (which we have a ton of).

[Janty]

I was convinced that my son's mental miniature Rhode Island Reds had fowl pox last year. Their combs looked exactly like the picture you showed. However, when I took them to the vets, the vet said that it was a wound injury and advised me to watch them from afar to see what was going on.

 

We then found that the RIRs were going up to the huge brahmas and head butting them in the chest. The brahmas who are very peaceable, just pecked downwards, hence the injuries.

 

The RIRs have just been separated again for starting fights. One of them looks a bit like a naked neck as she has had so many feathers pecked off.

 

[Headchicken]

Well, after further inspection, everyone's got it. I went out to check them all and clean/inspect and everyone except Sirella has at least one lesion. I'm sure it's just a matter of time for her. I cleaned everyone's combs and wattles with neem leaf extract and then covered them in tea tree oil. Everyone was very cooperative and Trouble even started to nod off in my lap. I also noted that trouble has a sore on one of her toes, so I cleaned both legs and feet with the neem and covered her legs and feet with tea tree as well. I think the sore was an injury-- didn't look bad, so I'll just keep an eye on it.

 

Mosquitos- in Florida, we have no vector break (mosquitos continue throughout winter), so things are bad year round. Not much to do about it. I have (in the past 2 weeks) been spraying the paper inside the cube with an essential oil mosquito repellant. I've noticed a definite reduction in the mosquitos inside the cube, but the incubation period of the pox is 3-5wks if memory serves, so they were probably infected just prior to my mosquito efforts

 

From what I've read in the handbook and online, the mortality is 1-2% and the key is keeping it "dry" as opposed to letting it progress to "wet". None of the girls are having any respiratory difficulty (I was being sure to listen to breathing while I was cleaning and holding today), so I can only hope that we can keep it from progressing while it runs it's course.

 

Since everyone is infected, I'll not worry about the vax, because they'll be immune if they survive (always the best form of immunity-- naturally aquired!). I'm dosing the water with neem leaf extract as well, since I've read chicken farmers in Brazil do this for the pox. I'll not treat with pre-emptive antbx, since I don't believe in that for humans either (pox is viral, so just a shot in the dark with antbx doesn't make much sense in my opinion-- but what do I know-- I'm just a nurse!). I'm going to try to neem and tea tree once a day until the lesions go away.

 

Let me know if anyone else has any experience or advice!