Fowl Pox

It is a viral infection and is very contagious. Young birds are more susceptible to this disease and the mortality rate is almost 100%. The symptoms of this disease are wart-like protuberance on comb and wattles. The eyes and nostrils often become covered by a yellow, cheesy discharge which sometimes causes respiratory trouble. There is no effective treatment for this disease. However, the skin of the suffering bird should be washed with dettol and silver nitrate or a saturated solution of picric acid can be applied on the affected part. For prevention, those chicks, above four weeks of age should be vaccinated in the thigh with “pigeon pox vaccine”. The 12-16 weeks old chicks should be vaccinated with “fowl pox vaccine” on the wings. On the sudden outbreak of this disease all the affected birds should be immediately isolated.