Chicken with massive swollen eye, possibly spreading through flock?

[spatulagirl]

So I recently was hospitalized for a bad kidney infection. My kids and husband did the bare minimum of flock care and didn't notice something was wrong with one of my white rocks. When I finally was well enough to take over their care, I noticed her eye was huge and swollen shut. She was also a bit ruffled while free ranging the yard.

I pulled her from the flock and put her in my infirmary in the garage. I bought some ... tetracycline? From the feed store and today is day five of antibiotics. She hasn't laid anything in those five days. I have also been cleaning her eye out 2-3 times a day with saline spray and wiping a bunch of white pus/discharge from it. She does not sound stuffy, no discharge from her nose, no sneezing, no coughing.

She is looking a lot better, eating and drinking fine. I was going to keep her in there for 10 more days on vitamins and electrolytes and still flush her eye several times a day (I am also rubbing triple antibiotic cream on it).

I was just closing up the chickens and noticed another chicken with one closed eye. It isn't swollen at all, it is just closed right now. I grabbed her and put her in another pen in the garage and gave her some water with antibiotics in it and flushed the eye. No gunk yet.

I try to keep a natural flock and use homeopathics or natural herbs but my White Rocks eye looked so awful I didn't even hesitate.

So what could it be? I am thinking I will start the New Hampshire on 5 days of antibiotics as well.... or should I wait and see what happens to her eye?

I am assuming if whatever it is is spreading, I might have to treat the whole flock and just toss the eggs for several weeks (booooo! that is so many eggs!!).

I attached pictures so you can see the White Rock. She is looking so much better and even opens the eye now. I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[Desert Springs]

Hate to say this, but please read my thread on Poultry Eye Worm. This is exactly what my chickens eye's looked like. Any questions after you read my post please contact me.

 

[spatulagirl]

So I just rub warm RX under their top beak right? SHould I keep flushing her eye?

The other chicken is ruffled and sleepy and one eye is closed but it isn't swollen or anything yet.

 

[Desert Springs]

Are you still seeing a white pus pocket daily??? Have you watched the YouTube video where the chicken expert removes the eye worm? I kept cleaning the eye daily, sometimes twice a day, until the white pus pocket stopped appearing. It took about a week and a half to finally get the worm removed. They are very small and so I never saw them. I used VetRx pure without diluting it down, towards the end, I got so desperate!! I gave it orally and in the water plus used it in the eye too. The chickens started knowing I was trying to help them but at first they were in so much pain, it was awful. Hope this helps if it is Poultry Eye Worm. Please let me know.

 

[spatulagirl]

I am still seeing it. I am afraid to do what the guy in the video did! Her eye isn't as swollen and I have removed some big pieces. I am still going to work at it. I am cleaning it several times a day and am now doing what you did, giving the RX orally, in the eye and in the water.

My other chicken seems to be ill with something else. Not sure what. One of her eyes is closed but there is no pus and it is not swollen. Plus she is acting different from my White Rock. That may be another thread. She isn't eating so I am going to give her some yogurt tomorrow.

 

[spatulagirl]

BTW, thank you for your help.

 

[Desert Springs]

I'd give the VetRx to the other one too. It's amazing stuff. When I was doctoring my sick hen I also had a guinea that had been doing poorly for over a month... slowly getting worse to the point he almost couldn't walk. I was totally clueless what was wrong with him!! He drank some of the VetRx I had put into the water. Within 2 days he was up and around, and within the week back out with the rest of the guineas. He's done great since and that was during the winter.

You really have to do what the guy does in the video!! Sorry but that's the ONLY way to get rid of the worm. And you'll have to do it probably more than once... I did mine daily for a couple weeks. Your chicken will act like you're killing her but it will save her life. Mine now seem almost grateful and are somewhat tame since the procedure. They are missing an eye because of what the worm did to it but they get around just fine.

Glad to help, just hope you get the worm before it goes into your chicken's brain.... now that's really sad!!! It broke my heart when one of my favorite pullets had to be put out of her misery (and yes, it was misery!!) because of the brain damage. That was before I had even discovered what was wrong. Good luck, be strong, and let me know how it goes.

 

[spatulagirl]

Ok I squeezed that yuck out of her eye this morning! I watched the video about 20 times last night LOL.

I think she is going to lose her eye (it looks like she has cataracts on it) but hopefully she will continue to respond to treatment. I dropped VetRX into her eye as well as dozed her water and rubbed it onto her cleft in her mouth.

Now to figure out what is going on with the other hen. Totally different thing, I think.

 

[dawg53]

Are you still seeing a white pus pocket daily??? Have you watched the YouTube video where the chicken expert removes the eye worm? I kept cleaning the eye daily, sometimes twice a day, until the white pus pocket stopped appearing. It took about a week and a half to finally get the worm removed. They are very small and so I never saw them. I used VetRx pure without diluting it down, towards the end, I got so desperate!! I gave it orally and in the water plus used it in the eye too. The chickens started knowing I was trying to help them but at first they were in so much pain, it was awful. Hope this helps if it is Poultry Eye Worm. Please let me know.

I've seen that video, that's not eyeworm, it's misinformation. It was infection due to respiratory disease. Here's eyeworm: You can see eyeworm in the eye.
Eyeworm wont go away unless you worm the infected bird(s.) Treatment is as follows; mix equal parts of water and valbazen, then flush the eyes with the mixture. Then dose your bird(s) 1/2cc valbazen orally undiluted. Repeat again in 10 days. If you dont worm the infected bird, she'll get eyeworm in the eyes repeatedly. Birds with eyeworm incessantly scratch their eye due to the irritation that the worm(s) causes. The bird will literally go blind from scratching her eye. Please google the eyeworms lifecycle and you'll understand why you have to worm infected birds.

 

[dawg53]

Spatulagirl. Most likely you're dealing with some type of respiratory disease, and it's spreading. I recommend that you purchase tylan 50 injectable. You can inject 1/2cc into the breast muscle just under the skin, once a day for 3 days. Alternate breasts and dont inject into the same spot. Or you can give it orally; 1/2cc orally once a day for 5-7 days, but no more than 7 days. This is for for standard size birds, 1/4cc for smaller birds. Your other option is to cull the sick birds.