1 and 1/2 month old chicks eye swollen

[ericadawn]

Hi, I have a chick who's eye is severely swollen. I have washed it with saline,held warm compress to it and put neosporin on it today. At first the eye was just slightly shut and now it has yellow puss along with the sickly smell of infection. Is there an antibiotic I can run and get myself? Am I doing the appropriate things to promote healing in the eye? Also there seems to be no other issues such as wheezing or anything and the chick is still eating and drinking. Thank you so much!

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks pretty bad. How old is the chick, and do you know if it could have been exposed to a respiratory disease? I would try to clean out all of the pus in the eye with a QTip and tweezers. The eye may be gone. It looks like it could be coryza, especially with the bad odor, but it could be smelling bad due to other infection. Sulmet or sulfadimethoxine may help treat symptoms, but if it is coryza, I would think about culling. Respiratory diseases are contagious and can make carriers of your whole flock. You can get the chick tested for coryza and MG. Have you seen any other signs of illness in your flock? Here is a good link about coryza and MG, as well as other diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[ericadawn]

Thank you so much for your response. The chick is almost two months old. I haven't seen any signs of illness in my flock but I did have to remove a rooster that another chicken had beat up. He had an injury to his eye(no where as severe as the chicks) ands damage to his crown. I am thinking maybe the chick was pecked in the eye but not entirely sure. He doesn't have any discharge on his beak that I can see and I haven't heard any wheezing. My husband has suggested that I do as you said with the q tip and tweezers to try and remove some puss but I just wanted to make sure that was ok to do. I have removed him from the flock just in case of something contagious. I will check out the link and try to clean out the chicks eye as you suggested. I really appreciate your help!

 

[ericadawn]

I tried to remove the puss but it is not like a regular puss. It is hard. In the pic you would think that the swollen area would be soft a squishy but the whole area is like a rock. I was hoping to get a crusted piece of puss and pull it fingers crossed that it would pull a good amount out with it but it's not working like that. Going to try warm compress to see if it will soften it up. Going to let the chick rest for a while before attempting.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, pus hardens into a cheese-like plug in chickens. Some people have recommended a cuticle tool (see below)to remove pus from an eye, but I think it may take more than one session. Antibiotic ointment such as Terramycin or plain Neosporin can be applied inside the eye twice a day. Sorry that you are dealing with this. It really would be good to find out if it is a respiratory disease, or just a wound infection, since your flock will be carriers if he has coryza or MG. Here is a link for testing facilities and one for your state vet in case you would need a necropsy or just want to ask about coryza in your state:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf

 

[ericadawn]

Thank you so much. I saved the screen shot of the symptoms for coryza so that I can watch the flock and see if there is any cause for concern. I sure hope not. The chick was born here so if it does have it that means one of my others definitely have it. I sure hope not. Thank you for all your help. I will attempt to remove the puss again and see if I have something similar to the cuticle tool. It turns my stomach but I know it has to be done. Do you suggest I treat my whole flock as if they did have coryza? If they did have it and it's just beginning would early treatment help? Or would it harm them if it turns out that's not the case. I sure do appreciate the time you have taken to help me.

 

[Eggcessive]

Don't treat your chickens with antibiotics unless they show symptoms, and then I would isolate them from others.

 

[ericadawn]

Ok. Thanks! How long would in normally take to show systems? The chick hasn't exhibited any. I keep waiting for it to become sluggish and feverish from the infection at least but it acts normal except with a big infected eye. It's really kind of crazy. None of my other chickens are showing signs either. I have Looked at them all. Its really weird.

 

[Eggcessive]

Perhaps he got pecked in the eye and it got infected. Sometimes MG may not have a lot of symptoms. I would just cross my fingers, and hope none of the others gets sick. You probably ought to treat him with some antibiotics.

 

[ericadawn]

And tylan is only for respiratory? Is there one you would recommend or is that something a vet would have to give?