Baby chick has swollen eye. PICTURE I'm freaking out now!!!!!

[wendid1]

My 3 week old Black Breasted Bantam has a swollen eye. It is on medicated chick starter. Eating and drinking fine. under a heat light. No Coughing or drainage that I have seen. Only with one other chick so I don't think it was pecked. I took a rag and wiped it off then it was able to open a little bit. But closed it right back up. I have no way to get anything for it tonight And not sure if any place where I live will have anything for it. This may sound crazy but do you think I can Use my son Pink Eye Drops?
It' called TRIMETHOPRIM SULF?POLYB

 

[silkie love]

I had a polish hen and both her eyes was swollen like that. I used a solution for eyes to rinse them, then I put terrimicin gel in each eye. 4 days later she was fine. They call it coryra. Look that up on the internet it will tell you more about it.

 

[Judy]

That's coryza. But it could easily be a pecking injury, especially since it is only one eye.

 

[wendid1]

okay now I'm completely freaking out!! I read way to much about coryza and a bunch of other eye infections.
Is it true that once they get coryza they can get it again and that they are always carriers?, And Could infect my other birds if I were To put this one with them even after she is well.
I don't understand how she got this I got her when she was a day old and has been fine for the last three weeks. The only other bird I got was her sibling. And she seems fine. She hasn't been around any other birds yet. I don't know what to do now. I'm just starting my flock and don't want to pass something on to the rest of my birds. Could this kill her? Do I need to kill her. Sorry I'm just in complete panick mode now.

 

[threehorses]

I'd suspect it's an injury until there are other symptoms. Note that because the chick is missing vision in one eye, he will be naturally depressed.

I agree with the posts about cleaning the eye with sterile eye wash or saline (not red-out drops) and then, if possible, using Terramycin opthalmic ointment. I'm not sure about the antibiotics for pink eye. Just don't use anything with hydrocortisone in it, or cortisone of any kind.

I'm sorry that the post from the gentleman who lost so many birds is causing so many people to think they need to automatically cull their flocks. Honestly, it's a judgement call. If you're not going to sell eggs and birds, want only a pet flock, don't plan on showing, etc, then you don't necessariliy need to cull everything. Just be aware that there are enough cases of flocks catching illnesses that might end up having to cause a cull.

But honestly, unless one tests for a disease - or is just of the cull mindset (which some are by necessity of choice) I wouldn't recommend culling just because a bird seems ill with one of the symptoms of a disease.

Does that help?

I'd treat this as the injury for now. Boost her immunity in the mean time, make sure the other bird doesn't peck her eye. If you have a red (non-heat) lightbulb, use it. It helps reduce picking.

Breathe. And don't killl her.

 

[annek]

It looks more like an eye injury to me and not coryza, I have included a description for you, please stop freaking out....

Coryza (previously known as things like a cold or roup) is caused by bacteria called Heamophilus paragallinarum, which primarily attacks the upper respiratory system, including the nasal passages. Swelling of the face, wheezing, sneezing, nasal discharge, conjunctivitis (including ‘bubbles’ at the corner of the eye), eyes glued shut, and open-mouth breathing are some of the more common symptoms. And they may appear singly or in various combinations. But the most telltale symptom is the unmistakable odor that is generated from the nasal discharge. Once you’ve smelled this odor, you’ll identify it every time. Additional symptoms unrelated to breathing can be a drop in production, reduction in fertility, diarrhea, and a decrease in water consumption. Although not as common, if rales are detected, then it is safe to assume that the lower respiratory tract is involved as well.

Coryza can be chronic in nature or acute, and youngsters tend to suffer from less severe cases than the adults. The acute cases are spread rapidly and death can occur within hours to days of the first symptoms.

See what I mean, it does not sound like that at all, only one eye is affected and you also are not complaining of cold like symptoms. Do you happen to have a metal feeder? There was a thread about chicks getting cut on the sharp edges, I would think more around that. I wouldn't use the pink eye drops, I have no idea what is in it and you could do more damage, I would just flush. Let us know how she does.

 

[wendid1]

Okay I'm a little calmer now. She definitely does not have an odor. So maybe that is a good sign. I'll keep checking for other symptoms and see how it progress over the next few days and then make a decision from there. At my nieghbors house we have over 50 chickens and I don't think I could risk spreading it to those chickens as well. One day we would like to show our cochins. But thank you so much for calming my nerves. I'll keep you posted.

 

[007Dawn]

Our chick had that and three times a day for three days we put artifical tears on the eye and she would blink allowing a little in and then it was gone.

 

[wendid1]

Well Saturday was not a very good day for me. I left around 7 am and only one chick had the problem so I was leaning toward and injury. I got home around 10 am and both chicks eyes were swollen and shut with labored breathing and a Awful smell. I think the odor had just started cause I don't know how I could of missed it. One of the chicks was was almost dead. So mu cousin took care of it for me and they are both in chick heaven now. Which was super hard seeing cause they were so tiny and helpless. I know things like this are going to happen but it still sucks. I have alot of questions about bio-security and other stuff so I'm going to start a new thread. Thanks for all the help you guys gave me.

 

[horsejody]