Chicks with swelled shut eyes & puss in them?

kristianhope18

Chirping
5 Years
May 24, 2014
209
9
63
Pikeville, Kentucky
I over paid for my first 4 day old chicks! I paid 25.00 for 4 barred rocks from a rough looking lady that advertised online! I went back the next day and paid 14 dollars for a day old appenzeller and then 11 for a mixed breed 0.0 (I was new to chickens) with in a week all but 2 had gotten sick (dropped wings, no energy, wouldn't eat or drink, eventually died) I vowed to never buy anything else from her again! She ends up writing me about a week ago and asks would I trade her 2 of my 2.5 month old D'uccles and 2 Ameraucanas for some of her Yokohama chicks! I had posted online that I was looking for Yokohamas so after some thought I decided to do it! She said all her chicks died from sickness and she would never sale a sick chick (although she did to me??) and that she burnt her boorder and everything has been doing really good now no sickness what so ever! She had a ton of chicks so against my better judgment I traded my 4 older chicks for 7 of her red shoulder Yokohama's! 4 tiny day olds and 3 older probably 2 week olds! She promised it was safe to put them in with my expensive shipped eggs I hatched that were new chicks! I get home and 2 days later the first tiny one dies and the next day one of MY chicks die and then the day after that another one of her young ones die! I moved the older 3 and 2 tiny ones that were left out to our storage house in my chick room that has several different boorders in it! Last night another young chick falls over dead and I have one of the older chicks in a "sick tank" due to both eyes being swelled shut and it doesn't have a ton of energy! Its been there for about 5 days! Just kinda stands there but doesn't drop its wings! Then I noticed this morning that the 2 older seemly healthy Yokohama's had one eye each that was swelled shut! I can pull their eye lids apart and see white creamy puss in them! The older one Ive had in isolation for a while I've been treating with vetrx over its eyes an on its head and thats not phased it! I've also been giving duramycin in its water! I really don't want these guys to die! They are so hard to find! So I had some antibiotic left over from the vet and I mixed a little water and some meds and drew it in a medicine dropped an squirted some down each chicks throat! What can I do for their eyes? And what the crap can this sickness be? I'm so tired of this! I should have known better from my first terrible experience with her chicks! It almost stopped me from getting into chickens period! Its a shame someone would do that to somebody! I have 4 left out of 7 and all but ones eyes are swelled shut! I raise tons of chicks and at any give point I have at least 20 chicks and my boorders are normally full! I've never had a problem with chicks dying like this! She acts like its normal! I sure hope hers haven't given mine anything or gotten anything contagious in my boorders! ;-( I have pied peachicks in the same boorders and $100 each malay chicks and expensive silkies etc Ugh I need advice quick on what they may have and what I need to do? Doesn't seem like a cold to me no wetness in the nose or sores in the mouth! No dropping of wings really or sneezing! Just swelled eyes and they eventually loose energy and can't see to eat! The day old chicks jus fall over dead with in 24 hours their eyes don't even have time to swell?
 
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ok so i have no clue what that is exactly. but i remer reading somewhere about a worm that goes under the chicken's eyelids. seems it could be a slight possibility :) maybe look into it? keep me posted!
 
i think what what ur chickens have could be mareks lets hope not! and worming ur chickens seems smart. i habe never done it and dont know how but i have read alot about it and it shouldnt harm them. stop eating the eggs for a week or two after u have wormed them. good luck!
 
I read the last post and all it really talks about
Is being clean which I am! The lady I bought these from is not! I still am not 100% convinced this is a respiratory illness! I've only had chickens that were sick one other time and it was the very first chicks I bought that I said I over paid for and they came from this very same lady! She swore these were perfectly healthy and that she burned her old boorder with the sickness in it! Those chicks sneezed and had runny noses and would drop their wings and become lethargic and eventually die! These birds show no signs of anything besides their eyes swell shut over night and when I pull them open it has a white puss in them! It could be respiratory but its not what I had seen before!
 
Eyes swollen shut is a respiratory disease. The link on biosecurity was about quarantining new birds from the rest of your flock when you bring them home, so not to spread a disease. Sorry about your birds, but I would get one tested either by having your vet draw blood or do a nasal/poop swab and testing it, or by sacrificing a sick bird to have your state vet do a necropsy.
 
How much is it to have my vet test? How long does it usually take? I'm so upset over this! I usually isolate everything but I took her word she swore she burnt her boorder and all sickness was gone from her flock and everything's been doing great nothing's died besides one chick that got squashed between the waterer and wall! She said it was totally 100% safe to put them in w my newly hatched chicks inside so I did they were day olds! I knew better! I'm kicking myself now! I eventually moved them outside and brought a young silkie in cause it was gonna get cool one night and put it in with them and it stayed with them for a little over 24 hours and then moved it back out with the other silkies! Ish none of their eyes were swelled when I moved it in just the tiny chicks had died (I bought 4 day olds and 3 week olds) anyway they r now in with a turken and a silkie and I did have another silkie in with them but its back out with the others!
 
Here is the link for your state vet. You will need to check with your local vet or your state vet to get a recommendation on testing. Each state is different. Necropsies in California are free, in Ohio they are around $80. The local vets will always tack on extra fees for their time. Local NPIP testers or Dept of Agriculture people may help.
For necropsies and info:
Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Office of State Veterinarian
109 Corporate Drive Complex
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-573-0282, Ext. 3
Fax: 502-573-1020


For testing:
University of Kentucky D P MG MS SALM SE AI
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
1490 Bull Lea Road, P.O. Box 14125
Lexington, KY 40512-4125
Dr. Craig Carter
Phone: (859)257-8283
Fax: (859)255-1624
 

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