# diphtheria (smallpox)



## Wendy Dresen (Jul 3, 2018)

Hi,

I have a chicken with severe diphtheria. She is very ill. I went to a bird specialist. He cleaned the puss from her beak and he injected her with an antiswelling medication. We got something F10 desinfectant to put in her drinking water. She has difficulty breathing. she still eats but not a lot. Does anybody here have anymore tips to help her survive this?
She is of course seperated from any other chickens.

Thank you for any advice!


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I am so sorry to hear about your chicken! Did the specialist give you any instructions for things you can do to help her at home? (like, did he tell you to clean puss from her beak if you need to or anything like that?). I've honestly never heard of anyone attempting to treat this in chickens because it's very very highly contagious and usually deadly to the chickens. Most people advise putting the chicken down so that it doesn't spread the disease. 

Does she have lesions?

I am an herbalist and rarely, if ever, use or recommend medications, the only thing I can recommend right now is to support her immune system. You can sprinkle garlic powder (from the spice section of your local grocery is perfectly fine) on her food. You can also give her fresh thyme and/or oregano if you grow herbs or have access to them, use fresh if you can. You can also put a rosemary plant in the room and gently rub the plant to release the aroma. Rosemary is highly antibacterial and if she is smelling it, it will get into her sinus's and help fight the bacteria there and in her bloodstream. If she will eat it, you can give her some fresh to eat. 

You can make a tea from fresh or dried oregano (make it strong and let it cool to room temperature before giving it to her) and let her drink that, don't substitute it for the F10, give it to her in addition and let her drink from both as she wants to.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Also, Welcome! lol I'm sorry that I didn't say that right away. When you can, we would like to know an approximate location where you live, the reason is that when you ask questions or have a health issue with your chickens, many times, the answer can be from where you live, for example, if your chickens are drinking and drinking and drinking and you are worried that they are drinking too much, we would look to see if you live in a hot, dry climate which would explain the excessive drinking. It just helps us to know a little bit more about you and your flock


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## Wendy Dresen (Jul 3, 2018)

Hi, Thank you for all te advice. I will buy a rosemary plant and some garlic.
Yes I clean her beak.
She is in quarantine right now. She is a chicken we found and are trying to save. My vet says that when she is fullty recovered she will no longer be contagious. I live in Begium, Europe. The weather is hot on this moment. 27°C


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## boskelli1571 (Oct 30, 2017)

Wendy Dresen said:


> Hi, Thank you for all te advice. I will buy a rosemary plant and some garlic.
> Yes I clean her beak.
> She is in quarantine right now. She is a chicken we found and are trying to save. My vet says that when she is fullty recovered she will no longer be contagious. I live in Begium, Europe. The weather is hot on this moment. 27°C


Welcome - sorry to hear about your chicken. There really isn't a specific treatment for fowlpox, just supportive therapy.
Sylie recommended some wonderful herbs to use, I'm a great fan of oregano 
If she has trouble eating, I suggest making a wet mash with her food, it may go down easier and put some chicken vitamin powder in her water to help her fight off the infection. Good luck and keep us posted


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Yes, I agree with Boskelli. thank you Boskelli, I should have recommended the mash and vitamins also, I didn't think of it. Good catch!


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