Backyard Chicken Blunders

I have had flocks of hens for years. Now, honestly it has been several years as during my time in the military that I didn't have a flock but I am super happy to again have feathered friends. I remember the various issues that are actually common to having fowl - mites, blocked valves, soft shelled eggs, molting, pecking soars, territorial roosters...all NORMAL. This past weekend however, I got to learn about a less common issue that does occur in flocks - Avian Pox.

One of my girls calls me after school on Friday concerned about the "black and white lumps on the hen's hats" (their crowns or combs) and that it looked like they had been bleeding. Naturally I am a little concerned, I only have 4 hens and they have a large yard so its not likely that we would have pecking related injuries. I get home and low and behold, ALL of the hens have these gross blisters on their combs and warblers - nothing huge or angry looking but enough to be obvious.

I was SHOCKED!! What was wrong with my hennies!?! I had never seen this before....my parents had never seen this before. Time to research. I love Pinterest (who doesn't?) because I can search things and see pictures attached to articles so I start looking for "Sick Chickens". The usual suspects pop up and then I see the following image:

YEP! That's it! But WHAT is it? Ok, before you freak out and decide you are never going to have a backyard flock, IT IS NOT CONTAGIOUS! People cannot get this - not to be confused with Avian Flu which in a mutated form is contagious. Avian pox is also in no way related to Chicken Pox which people do get - they are two completely unrelated viruses. So where did this nasty thing, that I have never seen before, come from? One word... Mosquitoes!

Its been a rather wet summer in North Texas and there are several, very nice nature preserves in the area where we live and let me tell you, the mosquitoes have been the size of helicopters and come in droves. Sure they are annoying and you do the best to keep them off the peoples but it honestly never crossed my mind that my hens might be in danger too. After all, there were no nearby ponds or troublesome revines where we grew up and honestly, I remember way more drought cracks than rain puddles back then.

So how do I treat my babies? I found out you can't. As a virus there's nothing that can be done except treat the sores to avoid secondary infections of the bacterial sort. I've made it a point to be as all natural as possible and I didn't want to change that, so it was important for me to find effective ways to treat my hens AND get rid of the mosquitoes.

Sulpher, that's how. Vile smelling as hell, but highly effective for treating for mites, ticks, flees, and mosquitoes without harming the hens...or the squirrels who can frequently be found in and around the hen yard. After cleaning the yard and removing all the old hay and bedding, I sprinkled a generous dose of powdered sulpher around the perimeter of the hen coop and under it as well. Then I sprayed the inside of the house with a eucalyptus oil to disinfect and deter any-buggie from hiding in the house. I am treating the sores themselves with Iodine and a triple antibiotic ointment and so far, everyone is doing well.

Fact of the matter is, no matter how versed you are in animal care, there is always the possibility of running into something surprising and new. Back yard hens are both fun and productive and honestly, there is nothing better than a fresh layed egg paired with some crunchy bacon. Just do your research, only raise as many as you can handle and care for effectively, enjoy the fruits of your labor, and be ready to occasionally need more research. Happy Hennies = Happy Family.