Bubbles in eye?

[ChikenChik]

Just noticed one of my EE hens falling asleep in the run. Went in and grabbed her since in my experience this is never a good sign. Noticed she has bubbles...like soap bubbles...in the corner of one eye. Anyone have any ideas? She's not super sick since she laid today(only one I have that does green eggs) She is segregated but not sure how to treat her yet. This is the first sign of sickness.

 

[Pyxis]

That can be a sign of a respiratory disease, but if you haven't recently brought in new birds or had respiratory illness in your flock before, I won't jump to that conclusion immediately.

She may have been pecked in the eye. If so, you can try using terramycin eye ointment for her and see if that clears it up.

 

[Eggcessive]

Bubbles or foam in an eye can be a sign of mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG, CRD.) I would get Tylan 50 from your feed store along with several 3 ml syringes with 18 or 20 gauge needles. Give the medicine orally by removing the needle after drawing it up. Dosage is 0.3 ml per pound 2-3 times a day for 5 days. So a 5 pound hen would get 1.5 ml. Sick birds may act sleepy and not drink enough water, so offer fluids and try wetting some feed. Here is some reading:
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/poultry/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

 

[ChikenChik]

That can be a sign of a respiratory disease, but if you haven't recently brought in new birds or had respiratory illness in your flock before, I won't jump to that conclusion immediately.

She may have been pecked in the eye. If so, you can try using terramycin eye ointment for her and see if that clears it up.

Only new birds we have are ones we hatched ourselves and some chicks from tractor supply in March. We had a few snifffles 3 years ago when we first started the chicken experience but have been good since. I will check on her in the AM and see how things go from there.

 

[Eggcessive]

We have flocks of migrating birds, especially starlings which make a mess, and there is always a possibility that they can bring in diseases. The sniffles you saw a few years ago, could have been something that has remained dormant. Stressors, such as molting, extreme hot or cold temperatures, moving, etc can bring out symptoms. Hopefully, it isn’t a big deal, but I would try the Tylan since it is good against MG.

 

[Mimi13]

Bubbles or foam in an eye can be a sign of mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG, CRD.) I would get Tylan 50 from your feed store along with several 3 ml syringes with 18 or 20 gauge needles. Give the medicine orally by removing the needle after drawing it up. Dosage is 0.3 ml per pound 2-3 times a day for 5 days. So a 5 pound hen would get 1.5 ml. Sick birds may act sleepy and not drink enough water, so offer fluids and try wetting some feed. Here is some reading:
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/poultry/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

I just saw that my 6 month old Ameraucana pullet has a few bubbles in her left eye. Reading everything about MG really has me worried. If my birds didn’t free range I would say there’s no way she could have it because nothing else fits. She has not begun laying yet, but is acting normal in every other way. I didn’t single her out by the way she was acting, today was just the day I chose to sit down with my birds and go over each one of them with a fine toothed comb. It was their day at the medical clinic, so to speak. I had a couple with cracked beaks, which were easy enough to repair, and one still nursing a cut wattle, but thankfully she was the only one with eye bubbles.

I cannot say that my flock has had any undue stress, other than just being a chicken (she is not at the bottom of the PO either), no new birds anywhere around, absolutely no sickness, sneezes or colds, only my four older hens are molting. I did rinse her eye with eye wash, but that was all. She is still with the flock.

With all things considered, should I wait for other signs, in hopes none show up, or begin with some type of treatment? If treatment, maybe Terramycin ointment or straight to the Tylan 50 doses?

Thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would get the Tylan 50 injectable, and give 1/4 ml per pound orally with the needle removed, 2-3 times daily for 3-5 days. She does not need to be separated unless you need to cage her in a dog crate for ease of medicating her each day. But I would keep her with the other chickens so she doesn’t get attacked later for being out of the flock. I would close your flock to new birds, or to birds leaving your flock. MG is in a lot of backyard flocks, and can be spread by wild birds, so I would just treat her and watch for any future problems. Here is a good article about MG:
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/exte... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

 

[Mimi13]

I would get the Tylan 50 injectable, and give 1/4 ml per pound orally with the needle removed, 2-3 times daily for 3-5 days. She does not need to be separated unless you need to cage her in a dog crate for ease of medicating her each day. But I would keep her with the other chickens so she doesn’t get attacked later for being out of the flock. I would close your flock to new birds, or to birds leaving your flock. MG is in a lot of backyard flocks, and can be spread by wild birds, so I would just treat her and watch for any future problems. Here is a good article about MG:
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/poultry/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

Thank you for your reply, but gosh golly bum, after reading that article I feel like I for sure need to cull her or even my entire flock now. I was planning on breeding her, along with two other blue eggers, for some Olive eggers. Is this not advisable now? If I close my flock, does that mean no more new chicks in the Spring, either purchased or hatched? I’m unsure of what all this means. I will definitely treat her, but how will I know if she had MG for sure? I’m sorry for all the questions. I feel confident I can handle most chicken doctoring needs, but I know absolutely nothing about all these diseases that are labeled as “once here, always here!” I am just devastated at this point. If I want to continue having chickens, which I do, must I cull my entire flock and start over? What do I do?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would probably try to get her tested either through your vet or do it yourself. Can you contact this lab and try to get PCR testing to rule out MG? They can do it with a swab:
https://zoologix.com/avian/index.htm

 

[Mimi13]

I would probably try to get her tested either through your vet or do it yourself. Can you contact this lab and try to get PCR testing to rule out MG? They can do it with a swab:
https://zoologix.com/avian/index.htm

Yes, thank you, I most certainly will contact them about testing her. In the meantime I reckon it will still be okay if I treat her with the Tylan 50? I really appreciate your time and advice. Thank you.