Ammonia Toxicity or Ocular Mareks???

[beachbunny76]

I'm heart broken...my favorite pullet suddenly started acting like she can't see yesterday. I didn't see anything odd about her eyes....they looked normal. However, today they seem slightly gray and she keeps them closed most of the time. I'm not seeing any change in the shape of the pupil. She is eating and drinking if I put it in front of her but she's mostly just standing around with her eyes closed. Any thoughts on what's going on? In researching, all I found was Ocular Mareks or Ammonia Toxicity given her symptoms. I do smell ammonia in the coop even though I clean it every single morning. It's sand and I use a cat litter scoop to sift out all the poop. But I'm in the SE and the humidity levels in there are in the 80s right now. I put some barn lime mixed in last night but plan to do a full clean out tomorrow morning with new sand. I will try to add more pics here. Please help...TIA

 

[Eggcessive]

Some of the pictures are not clear. Do her eyes appear the same, or is the right eye different?

 

[coach723]

Clearer, up close pictures would help. Is it cloudy, or just a color change? Cloudy would be more likely infection, irritation, or injury. They can also develop cataracts.
Pictures below of the way the graying looks with ocular Marek's, two more of one of my roo's that had it, very different presentation. With her acting unwell, And the short time line that it happened, I suspect it may not be Marek's. If you have an ammonia problem, that is usually a factor of droppings and moisture. If the sand isn't keeping the moisture down, you may need to use something else. I use pine shavings and the only time I have an issue is if we have load of rain in a short period of time that soaks the covered run. Then I either remove and replace the wet places, or I turn them with a pitchfork several times a day until they dry out (if they aren't totally soaked). As long as the moisture level stays low enough then you are less likely to have the ammonia issue. I have poop boards inside the coop, and scrape them every morning to prevent build up. And I do understand the humidity, I'm in Florida. You also may simply not have enough ventilation in your coop. That can be a problem especially at night when they roost. Their respirations release a large amount of moisture into the air which condenses on surfaces. You may need to increase your ventilation.

 

[beachbunny76]

Some of the pictures are not clear. Do her eyes appear the same, or is the right eye different?

I'll try to get better pics. She just won't open her eyes much so I've had a difficult time getting shots. The one eye has a slight difference as far as her eyelid because she had fowl pox a few months ago and it was on her eyelid unfortunately so it never returned to normal or like her other eye. But I do notice there is very slight swelling around the eyes but she has no nasal discharge so I don't suspect anything respiratory.

 

[beachbunny76]

Clearer, up close pictures would help. Is it cloudy, or just a color change? Cloudy would be more likely infection, irritation, or injury. They can also develop cataracts.
Pictures below of the way the graying looks with ocular Marek's, two more of one of my roo's that had it, very different presentation. With her acting unwell, And the short time line that it happened, I suspect it may not be Marek's. If you have an ammonia problem, that is usually a factor of droppings and moisture. If the sand isn't keeping the moisture down, you may need to use something else. I use pine shavings and the only time I have an issue is if we have load of rain in a short period of time that soaks the covered run. Then I either remove and replace the wet places, or I turn them with a pitchfork several times a day until they dry out (if they aren't totally soaked). As long as the moisture level stays low enough then you are less likely to have the ammonia issue. I have poop boards inside the coop, and scrape them every morning to prevent build up. And I do understand the humidity, I'm in Florida. You also may simply not have enough ventilation in your coop. That can be a problem especially at night when they roost. Their respirations release a large amount of moisture into the air which condenses on surfaces. You may need to increase your ventilation.

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Thank you for sharing this and your input. As far as I can tell the eyes seem a bit cloudy....so hard to tell because she barely opens them. Can an eye infection be brewing? but I don't get why she is so sleepy/lethargic. She does eat if I put the food near her beak but she can't seem to find it
As far as ventilation, I thought I had adequate ventilation, but I have a hygrometer in the coop and it has been reading in the 80% range overnight! I too live in Florida The coop has openings around the top under the roof and also has 3 windows.

 

[beachbunny76]

From the pics, I do not see any distinct change in pupil shape. Even 50ppm is enough to start inflammation in the eye.

Thank you for your input. I'll try to get better pics.

 

[coach723]

Yep, night time is the worst for increased humidity in the coop. Next time you have a cold morning, go out early and feel the walls and ceiling inside of your coop. If they feel damp, or worse, there is water visible or dripping, then you need more ventilation. The more air exchange you can get, the better. Since we are in Florida, the cold is rarely an issue, so as long as they don't have cold air blowing directly on them, they will be fine. Because our humidity is so high usually, evaporation is just slower. Pictures of your coop might help with suggestions. I also put a box fan in one of my larger windows to move the air, and I have a ridge vent. I'm currently building a larger coop, and I will be adding a LOT more ventilation to this one.
For the eyes, with nothing else to go on, I would flush them out well with sterile saline or eye wash, and use terramycin eye ointment in them a couple of times a day (tractor supply, rural king, feed stores, no RX needed). If you can't find terramycin, you can use plain neosporin. That should take care of any bacteria in there causing a problem.

 

[beachbunny76]

Clearer, up close pictures would help. Is it cloudy, or just a color change? Cloudy would be more likely infection, irritation, or injury. They can also develop cataracts.
Pictures below of the way the graying looks with ocular Marek's, two more of one of my roo's that had it, very different presentation. With her acting unwell, And the short time line that it happened, I suspect it may not be Marek's. If you have an ammonia problem, that is usually a factor of droppings and moisture. If the sand isn't keeping the moisture down, you may need to use something else. I use pine shavings and the only time I have an issue is if we have load of rain in a short period of time that soaks the covered run. Then I either remove and replace the wet places, or I turn them with a pitchfork several times a day until they dry out (if they aren't totally soaked). As long as the moisture level stays low enough then you are less likely to have the ammonia issue. I have poop boards inside the coop, and scrape them every morning to prevent build up. And I do understand the humidity, I'm in Florida. You also may simply not have enough ventilation in your coop. That can be a problem especially at night when they roost. Their respirations release a large amount of moisture into the air which condenses on surfaces. You may need to increase your ventilation.

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Sorry about your roo. Here are a few new pics I just took...not sure that they're more clear but it was the best I could get. And I forgot to mention her eyes don't look like the mareks samples above. I don't see any change just cloudy and slight swelling around the eye or the eye looks more sunken in...idk. It's driving me crazy because I cannot find a match of her symptoms with any of the typical stuff chickens get.

 

[beachbunny76]

Yep, night time is the worst for increased humidity in the coop. Next time you have a cold morning, go out early and feel the walls and ceiling inside of your coop. If they feel damp, or worse, there is water visible or dripping, then you need more ventilation. The more air exchange you can get, the better. Since we are in Florida, the cold is rarely an issue, so as long as they don't have cold air blowing directly on them, they will be fine. Because our humidity is so high usually, evaporation is just slower. Pictures of your coop might help with suggestions. I also put a box fan in one of my larger windows to move the air, and I have a ridge vent. I'm currently building a larger coop, and I will be adding a LOT more ventilation to this one.
For the eyes, with nothing else to go on, I would flush them out well with sterile saline or eye wash, and use terramycin eye ointment in them a couple of times a day (tractor supply, rural king, feed stores, no RX needed). If you can't find terramycin, you can use plain neosporin. That should take care of any bacteria in there causing a problem.

Thank you. I started Terramycin yesterday but haven't flushed them yet today. I've got her separated from the flock. Here are some pics of my coop. I've since added a large run. There is also ventilation at the top of the pic where there are 2 windows. Maybe I need to make the windows larger? Open to suggestions...

 

[coach723]

It doesn't appear to me to be Marek's. The swelling suggests either infection or a respiratory virus. If vet care is an option they could test. I would still treat the eyes by flushing and ointment. If it's respiratory then Tylan or Tylosin is the usual treatment, you can get those on line, one source here:
https://jedds.com/products/tylosin-powder
Depending on what it is, some of them are not 'cured' the bird is a carrier and symptoms can return during times of stress. If you take care of your known ammonia issue and treat the eyes and it resolves, then that would be your answer. I would not think that ammonia would be an issue in there, unless there is an enormous amount of droppings build up. Maybe you need to change out the sand, or maybe what you are smelling is fumes from something else. How many birds sleep in there?