Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ISOLATION SPACE
It is always a good idea to watch your flock for sick or ailing members and have at
the ready a clean, dry space for patient isolation, just in case something contagious or
communicable is affecting an ill bird. Often an old cage will do the trick. If you have
a large number of sick birds then you can treat the whole flock together.
Wet Pox Procedure
If you are hoping to save a special bird with wet pox, you can stop strangulation using
the following steps:
1.
Pick up the bird, grab the lower bill, open the mouth, and look for the white or
off-white sores.
2.
Pluck a single wing feather. Make sure this is not a
blood feather
, which is an
actively growing feather. (You can tell the difference because when you pull a
blood feather, the bird will feel pain. The feather will be limp and bloody on the
pulled end.) You want an older feather that has a strong shaft. You will use this
to dislodge the pox.
3.
With one hand hold the bird, and with finger and thumb of the free hand, gently
pull out the bird's tongue. You will see the opening of the trachea. Chances are it
will be plugged with a white or cream-colored cheesy plug.
4.
Squeezing the bird against your body, with one hand holding the tongue and ex-
tending the trachea and use the quill end of the feather to gently dislodge and
remove the plug with the other hand. Once the plug is removed, you'll see a little
bit of blood.
5.
Gently wipe out the back of the mouth with a paper towel.
Once the plug is removed, the bird is quickly able to breathe again, and 90 percent of
the time, will recover fully. In severe cases, removal of the plug must be done again a
few days later.
Vaccination
If fowl pox is a problem in your area, you can vaccinate for it using the wing-poke meth-
od at a very early age. The pox vaccine comes with a two-pronged hand-held instrument
designed to stab the web of the wing. Complete instructions come with the vaccine. In
many cases, birds that get fowl pox survive the virus without any further difficulty. But
