Well, not exactly. The correct term is Avian Pox, but two of my girls had it recently. I noticed black, wart-like bumps on their combs and on one of the girl’s eyelids. Did a little searching online, and found that chickens and other fowl are susceptible to this virus.
Now I know why egg production had been a little low for a couple weeks! When you only have three hens, you definitely notice when one or two don’t lay like normal. There is no cure for avian pox, basically you just let it run it’s course. It is contagious to other birds, but it looks like only two of my three have had it so far. They are both already on the mend. Since garlic is so helpful when humans are sick, I decided to add some garlic to their feed and water. I also tried to give them more roaming time outside the coop so they could eat more greens, also good for their immune system.
I don’t have a picture of the girl’s with avian pox, but this site does, as well as providing more information. Even suburban farmers have to deal with livestock issues, and do our best to treat whatever comes a long. Thankfully, their respiratory tracks were not affected and things are back to normal in the hen house 