Raising chickens can be tricky, you’d ideally want to give them a lifestyle similar to the one they would live in the wild, unfortunately, this isn’t always possible.
If your chicken has fowlpox, you may have heard about giving turmeric to the bird to treat this disease, this article looks into it.
Turmeric for fowlpox:
Turmeric is widely used by humans because it has many scientifically proven health benefits.
It is a great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatment that can improve heart health as well as improve symptoms of arthritis, and depression, not only that, but it can help to prevent cancer and Alzheimers as well.
Some say that this product can be used on the lesions that develop on birds who suffer from fowlpox. Unfortunately, turmeric cannot be used on your bird’s fowlpox lesions.
If you were to apply turmeric powder onto your bird’s lesions then this may lead to a secondary infection which would require antibiotics.
While turmeric is not recommended to be used externally when dealing with fowlpox, this product can be used internally in a bird suffering from fowlpox.
When given internally, this product helps to calm your stressed chicken. Your bird can develop stress because of its condition, adding turmeric powder to your bird’s food and water can help with the stress.
What is the best treatment for fowlpox:
Unfortunately, there is no cure for fowlpox in chickens, but you can offer the bird supportive care which will help ease the bird’s symptoms, will dry the bird’s scabs, and, will help to prevent the spread of this illness to an extent.
Using iodine on your bird’s scabs will help heal the scabs and make them fall off quicker. This medicine does not need to be diluted before being applied.
You can apply this medication to your bird’s scabs using a q-tip or a cotton ball. Betadine can also be used to dry out your bird’s scabs, it also helps to prevent an infection.
You can slow the spread of this illness to the rest of your flock by adding a teaspoon of 1 percent iodine to a gallon of water and giving this solution as your bird’s only drinking water.
If you only have access to 2 percent iodine then you can mix half a teaspoon of this liquid into one gallon of water and give this as your bird’s only drinking water.
Your bird’s scabs will eventually fall off, you need to clean these up and clean all the areas that your chickens use as well.
If you leave the scabs unattended then your other birds can catch this disease. The scabs will fall off and may be eaten by another bird who will become ill.
If not eaten by another bird, the scabs will turn into a powder, if your other birds inhale this powder, then they will become ill.
If your sick bird develops a secondary bacterial infection while having fowlpox, then you’d need to visit a vet who will prescribe antibiotics for the secondary infection.
Make sure that you only use the medications prescribed to you by your vet, no other antibiotics. Feeding your bird antibiotics that are not appropriate for chickens will be dangerous for the bird.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Iodine For Fowlpox, Chicken Has A Purple Comb And Is Lethargic, Chicken Comb Turning Grey, Chicken Comb Turning Blue, Toothpaste For Fowlpox