Baby Chick swollen eye lump

[AKAdrien]

Hi guys, I’m a first time chicken mom, so very new to this. We got 3 babies a week ago. Our barred rock chick is the littlest, I’m guessing 10 days old. Just this evening I noticed she has a lump above one of her eyes and it’s pushing on the eye. I didn’t notice anything there yesterday, but I didn’t handle her much today so not sure when it started.

There are 2 other chicks with her but they’re obviously bigger. I think they’re about a week older. I haven’t seen much bullying so I don’t think it’s a pecking injury. She’s always been more shy than the big girls, but I actually thought she was getting more confident and active the last few days.

We started giving the girls outside play time on Sunday so maybe she picked up something parasitic or got a bite? We don’t have any other pets, and I have no experience. Can’t find any similar chick pics online, but it kinda looks like the pics I’ve seen of eye worm. Is that something babies get from playing in a backyard!

Should I quarantine her? We only have 1 heater. And FYI she is vaccinated for Marek’s and came from a great hatchery.

 

[micstrachan]

Can you put a warm, damp compress on it to soften it and see if that kernel can be gently pulled off? I wouldn’t dig too vigorously that close to the eye, but maybe after softening it could be gently picked off. (?)

 

[AKAdrien]

Can you put a warm, damp compress on it to soften it and see if that kernel can be gently pulled off? I wouldn’t dig too vigorously that close to the eye, but maybe after softening it could be gently picked off. (?)

Not sure what you mean by kernel. (?) The lump is softly firm and under the skin. I tried pressing it today to see if anything came out but no luck. My pressing made her eye water a little, but otherwise it’s not particularly watery or bubbly or crusty.

Could it be Coryza? If so does that mean all 3 chicks are likely infected?

All three chicks are eating and drinking and active.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh! Sorry! It looked firm or crusty to me. My bad!

I’m sorry, but at this point I don’t know a bunch about coryza, but I think it usually has a bad odor along with facial swelling.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did your chicks come from a hatchery or feed store? More than likely, it was pecked, and there is swelling around the eye and the conjunctiva, the pink tissue. I would just watch to see if she is getting pecked there, and prevent it. Some saline drops or Terramycin Eye Ointment twice a day if the eye seem teary or seems irritated.