Bubbly eye

[Cryptkeeper]

One of my girls has a bubbly eye and is not sneezing or coughing or doing/acting out of the ordinary. I do not see any obvious signs of a scratch or other type of injury. She has had it for about a week now. Anyone have any suggestions? I am wondering if I should go get an eye ointment just in case a small scratch that I can not see is on her eye.

 

[CMV]

Eye bubbles generally don't happen as a response to injury. They are a response to an illness. I would quarantine her until you have a better idea of what is going on with her.

 

[Keltie]

What ended up happening to your chicken with bubbly eye and no other symptoms? We have the same, just noticed it yesterday. We will quarantine her just in case, but as she's not sneezing or other symptoms, I'm curious what it might be.

Thanks!

 

[ChickLuvr4Ever]

Try some antibiotic...

 

[SLilyBelle1]

I had the same issue with one of my hens last week. I noticed the bubbling stuff coming out of her eye on Sunday, and by Thursday (I think it was Thursday), she was completely fine. She also didn't have any sneezing going on or anything like that.

I did a lot of research on the topic and had myself scared sick. I know there are lots of things that can cause this - viral, injury, etc. The main thing is to keep her away from the others in case it is something contagious.

I know I'm not helping because I don't really have any advice, but I just wanted you to know that you're not alone - and that it might clear up on its own. I sure hope it does!!

 

[7&8]

I was at an APA/ABA Poultry show recently and noticed a Cochin with "bubbly eye." When I pointed it out to the show Secretary, I was told that this is common in Cochins. Not having any experience with Cochins, I couldn't question this response, though I'm still wondering about it.

Hope the OP's hen is over her bubbly eye.

 

[Keltie]

Thanks. I have separated her (she's an ameracauna) and we flushed her eyes and beak with saline last night, will do this 3 times/day for a couple days and continue to monitor. I still haven't heard her sneeze or cough but does seem like her "nose" is a bit runny. No bad smell though.

I'm new to chicken keeping, but a bit surprised at how quick many folks are to introduce antibiotics for a problem, often before a fairly good guess at what it is. Are chickens more resistant to getting superbugs than people, so antibiotic resistance is not such a big deal?

My natural instinct is to separate and monitor for awhile, give good food/fresh water with electrolytes before resorting to antibiotics. Is this a bad approach? Eg if my chicken does have crd, does it NEED to be treated with antibiotics, or can we just keep her warm and dry and this bout of the symptoms will pass on it's own in a few days?

Thanks for all the advice on here!

 

[chickpants]

I have an Ameracauna rooster with similar issue. We put him on antibiotics for about 10 days and saw no change. We were advised to put him on sulmet for a few days because the bacteria might be resistant to the tetracycline we used. It's day two and it seems like there are even more bubbles now.
What kind of saline did you use and how exactly did you flush his eyes? Ours has also been chirping and stopped crowing about 5 days ago. We just want him to get better but don't really know what to do. None of the other chickens are affected at all.

 

[Melissa07]

Try Tylan 50, working for us. It says it's for swine and cattle but it is safe for poultry.
We had an extreme case last week in both eyes. Our guys eyes where swollen shut. His comb and color was a little off but he acted completely normal. We had to hand feed him and give him water 3 times a day (he was unable to see his food). We quarantined and we tried tetracycline for 4 days with no improvement. He got some draining around the 2nd or 3rd day. On day 5 we was getting very concerned and got electorlytes and Tylan 50 and injected 1 cc (we have an adult rooster) under the skin 2x a day. He did great with the shot. After his second dose he looked much much better. Today is his third day with the injection and is almost 100%. On the first day of Tylan I put a drop or two in each eye and have used neosporin on his lids after that.

 

[Keltie]

Chickpants, we mixed up our own saline solution. Boil 1 cup of water, mix with 1 tsp of salt, allow to cool. I saw the recipe somewhere on the forum, so am hoping it's good!
We hold the bird kinda upside down - chills her out a bit. Then we just pour the water over her eye and it drips over her beak and clears that out some too. I have been taking a tissue to wipe her beak after the warm water softens up some of the crusty stuff too. She sneezes a bit after, but seems like she is improving over all. Bubbly eye has gone away, and she is sneezing less over all. She has been eating and drinking and generally acting like a chicken the whole time, so we are not doing antibiotics. I think/hope she'll beat this one on her own (though she will always be a carrier if it is indeed MG)