Bubbly Eyes swollen shut, guessing Coryza. Duramycin 10 or Tylan. Help!

[coffeeaddict]

Desperate for some advice here. This is the first time purchasing adults bird. : ( We purchased 11 birds from a very reputable chicken breeder. About a week later a hen had one eye swollen shut and then both eyes swollen shut by the next day. I isolated her, deep cleaned the coop with a bleach solution and started Duramycin 10 (4tsps/gallon) for the entire flock. The next day, I found two more had a watery bubbly eye.

The first isolated bird started eating and drinking on her own again after three days on Duramycin 10, but one eye is still swollen shut. I was able to get one eye open and have been putting ointment (puralube and Neosporin) on all the sickly eyes.

My question is this. The breeder advised Duramycin 10 in the water for 14-21 days. After reading posts online I notice most are using Tylan 50 injections. The girls aren't laying yet so a withdrawal period is not an issue. The sickly eyes have not improved yet (it's now been four days on Duramycin) though no one seems worse and no additional hens have started symptoms.

Should I switch to Tylan 50? How long should I wait for all symptoms to disappear before I freak out? Any advice would be very much appreciated. I am so worried for my girls. I have never dealt with a respiratory illness before.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I haven't had experience with this...I hope someone can chime in who has proper knowledge and I hope you can resolve the issue.

Best of luck with your birds!

 

[ambergds]

I brought in a hen over a year ago that after a few days had one swollen side of her face, cough, runny nose. I didn't isolate her in time and the rest of my flock started getting runny noses and some bubbly eyes. At first I treated with Duramysin 10, still had runny noses. Then I treat tylan 50 orally, still had runny noses. I figured at that point since it was just a runny nose and no one was getting worse that I would just wait and see. They had runny noses for months! Then I ordered denegard after reading a thread on here that stated it worked well for CRD (chronic respiratory disease). Finally no more runny noses! Now I treat with denegard anytime a see a runny nose and it goes right away. It has no withdrawal period and the chickens can't build a resistance to it. If you suspect mycoplasma, I recommend denegard. If your chickens have a bad smell then it might be coryoza, I'm not sure the best way to treat in that case.

 

[coffeeaddict]

I brought in a hen over a year ago that after a few days had one swollen side of her face, cough, runny nose. I didn't isolate her in time and the rest of my flock started getting runny noses and some bubbly eyes. At first I treated with Duramysin 10, still had runny noses. Then I treat tylan 50 orally, still had runny noses. I figured at that point since it was just a runny nose and no one was getting worse that I would just wait and see. They had runny noses for months! Then I ordered denegard after reading a thread on here that stated it worked well for CRD (chronic respiratory disease). Finally no more runny noses! Now I treat with denegard anytime a see a runny nose and it goes right away. It has no withdrawal period and the chickens can't build a resistance to it. If you suspect mycoplasma, I recommend denegard. If your chickens have a bad smell then it might be coryoza, I'm not sure the best way to treat in that case.

ambergds, did any of your hens have their eyes swollen shut? That would be wonderful is this was some minor bug. I have always started with hatchery chicks and this is the first time I have dealt with any type of CRD. It's a bit overwhelming. I will certainly try the denegard! Thank you! The Duramycin seems to have stopped the diseases progress, but the sick girls are still lethargic with swollen eyes and I have not seen remarkable improvement. It's been five days now on Duramycin 10.

 

[ambergds]

Only the first girl that brought in the virus had the swollen face. It actually made her go blind. Because no other chicken has had that same symptoms in over a year, I am assuming it was a secondary bacterial infection, maybe like a sinus infection. I haven't done testing yet, but I believe mycoplasma gallisepticum is the virus my flock has. It's been manageable with the denegard but will never go away. My flock will always be carriers and any new addition will most likely get the virus. I have a closed flock, I sometimes bring new birds in, and allow broodys to hatch chicks, but no bird leaves my yard alive to prevent the spread to other flocks. Some people choose to cull their infected flock, disinfect, and start over with healthy birds. That is a decision each person has to make for themselves.
The only way to know for sure what virus you are dealing with is to take your sick chicken to your state vet for euthanasia and necropsy. My state charges, some states are free.

 

[coffeeaddict]

Oh that's awful she went blind. I am so sorry! I have two now with one eye swollen shut and have not been able to pry them open. I tried saline and puralube as well polysporin. I don't mind having a closed flock just so depressing that this breeder sold me diseased birds. They are considered a chicken expert in our area. : ( I am going to order the denegard. The Duramycin seems to keep the symptoms at bay but no-one has fully recovered. They still have bubbly watery eyes.

 

[ambergds]

Oh that's awful she went blind. I am so sorry! I have two now with one eye swollen shut and have not been able to pry them open. I tried saline and puralube as well polysporin. I don't mind having a closed flock just so depressing that this breeder sold me diseased birds. They are considered a chicken expert in our area. : ( I am going to order the denegard. The Duramycin seems to keep the symptoms at bay but no-one has fully recovered. They still have bubbly watery eyes. 

It was sad! She was such a sweet hen too!
People who knowingly sell sick chickens disgust me! I can't even imagine doing that to someone! If I were you I would be tempted to write reviews and warn others. The hen I bought was off KSL (local Craigslist) so there is nothing I can do. There is however a lot I would like to say to him though! He had Jesus pictures all over his walls too. I'm not religious, but I'm pretty sure that's not Jesus like behavior!
I wish you good health with your flock. Keep me updated. I'm not a professional by any means, but I'm happy to help if I can.

 

[coffeeaddict]

I have thought about it... I am not sure what to do. It just makes me feel sick inside. I had a few older hens when I brought the new girls home. The old ones I got as chicks from a hatchery. They were very healthy. One of my older girls got sick (one eye swollen shut, drooling) about a week after the new girls arrived. She had NEVER been sick before. I don't know if these new birds were just carriers or what in the world has happened. I assumed the sickness was from the new birds and that the new girls were probably diseased though they appeared healthy the first week.

Here is a pic of one that still has her eye swollen shut. I tried to flush with saline and have been putting ointment on her eye. Her eyeball is pretty far down in the socket. It looks like her sinus is severely swollen.The breeder told me to wait a certain amount of days and that they would replace the birds if they were not better, but I would be afraid to get any adult birds again. Plus all the stress from dealing with the sick ones. I think after this I am through with chickens for a while.

 

[ambergds]

I'm so sorry! She does look miserable with that eye! Have you seen any improvement with the duramycin? You might want to try tylan. Some antibiotics work better depending on what kind of bacteria it is. She might have a sinus infection and I could be resistant to duramycin? If she is not improving daily then I would switch to something stronger while you wait for the denegard.
I hope you don't give up on chickens although I know it's frustrating! I hope that you are able to get the chickens better and the virus will be manageable like it has been for me. If you do lose a bird, please consider sending it to your state vet for necropsy. Then you will know for sure what disease you are dealing with and how to proceed. Some states do the testing for free. Some charge. What state are you in?

 

[coffeeaddict]

I have seen some slight improvement in the others though they still have bubbly, watery eyes and swollen faces. Five appear sick out of the 11 chickens. I went to check on the RIR just now and noticed that there is now bloody mucous all over the pet taxi. I can't get the Denegard shipped fast enough so going to try to find it locally. I am considering taking all these birds back. This is just astonishing. The breeder told me that it's common for this to happen when two flocks are introduced.. She said once they get through this they should be fine. My flock was healthy, never having respiratory ailment so I am not understanding how this could have been caused from my older hens. At any rate, I am guessing we are going to have to put the RIR down soon. Now her other eye is starting to bubble and swell. I'm in Texas. I will try to find the state vet info and give them a call in the morning. Sorry to sound so pessimistic. This has been super stressful.