| FOWL POX Fowl pox is a nasty virus that is spread by mosquitoes. It is common worldwide and seems to strike most often in early autumn. Since it is a virus, there is no cure. It moves slowly through a flock and you have to let it run its course (you can treat symptoms, as with human cold or flu). There is a way to prevent pox, with a vaccine. I lost 17 birds to pox in 2006. I now vaccinate every 6 months (there is no lasting immunity, birds need to be re-vaccinated). All my birds are vaccinated against pox at 5 weeks old and then at 6 month intervals. I do not vaccinate for anything else. I strongly suggest vaccination if you live in area with lots of mosquitoes, or where pox is known to occur. I live in Sacramento Valley, they grow lots of rice around here. Also most people in Florida routinely vaccinate against pox. My feed store used to carry pox vaccine but they don’t anymore. I order from Smith Poultry and Game Bird Supply www. poultrysupplies.com or Jeffers Livestock Supply http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=2&pf_id=16780 Make sure to order POXINE for birds 6 weeks old and older. Chick-N- Pox is for one day old birds to less than 6 weeks and you will need to re- vaccinate in 6 weeks if you use Chick-N-Pox. But if you think you have infected birds but they are not showing any symptoms, you may want to vaccinate using the Chick-N-Pox. It is safer to use with birds that may be infected but show no symptoms. I order in cooler times of the year and order a couple of vials at a time. I also sometimes mix half the vaccine and save half for next time*. One vial will vaccinate 1000 birds. The shipping with ice packs costs more than the vaccine itself. Ask them to put in an extra ice pack, tell the you will pay any additional fees. It needs to stay cold. I store extra vials in the refrigerator. Once mixed you need to use it within and hour or so, or it starts to lose potency. It will come with a 2-prong stabber. You administer using wing web stab method. It is easier to do with 2 people. I catch all my birds and put them in a big dog crate. Then mix the vaccine and set in a bowl with crumpled paper towel and an ice pack or two. This keeps it cool and prevents it from spilling. Remove a bird from the crate, have your assistant hold the bird and extend one wing. Look for the thin part of the upper wing where there is no muscle, bone or veins (you can see light through it and you can feel it between your thumb and forefinger). Pluck out any feathers in the area where you will vaccinate. Put the stabber all the way into the bottle of vaccine. Then using a quick firm motion push the stabber all the way through the wing web up to the plastic handle (prongs will come out the other side of the wing). Remove stabber, release bird, and repeat until all are done. It is quite easy to do. When you are done, pour any remaining vaccine onto some crumpled newspaper and burn it. It is a live vaccine and can infect wild birds or your birds if they come in contact with it. *I rise the bottle that the vaccine was mixed in with alcohol and save it for when I split the next vial and save it for the next time. In a week you can check for ‘takes’. You should see a small scab where you vaccinated. I just check a few birds, if all have ‘takes’ I don’t check every bird. |
