Bubbly Eyes

[Star2014]

My freind who has chickens said that his chicken has bubbly eyes and was coughing and sitting alone. He has four chickens and this is the only sick one. The chicken has been sick for two weeks. I said that quarantining the chicken would help and maybe putting a red heat lamp on it too. This morning he said that the chickens eye bubbles popped and the chicken has been scratching its eye which is now swollen shut. He said that the bubbly eyes indicates a respitory infection. Could anyone please help? Thanks

 

[Pyxis]

Definitely a respiratory infection. Is this a new chicken? If so either it had the disease and the transfer to the new flock caused the disease to flare or his flock carries it and the new bird caught it from them. It also could have been introduced by wild birds. It's likely mycoplasma, unless there is a roadkill-like smell to the discharge, in which case it's coryza. It can be treated, but all the birds will carry it for life and will have flare ups whenever they are stressed, such as when going into lay, when cold weather sets it, etc. It will pass to any new bird he brings in. If he doesn't want to deal with this the best thing to do is cull the whole flock, wait a few months, and then start over with new birds. For mycoplasma he can treat with tetracycline or Denagard. For coryza he can treat with Tylan.

 

[Star2014]

Here's a picture of the eye.

 

[Pyxis]

Yes, swollen bubbly eyes like that are a hallmark of respiratory disease. He should try treating for mycoplasma if there's no smell. He needs to treat the whole flock because it's very contagious. But let him know his birds will always have the disease now.

Also if you have birds, never ever ever visit his flock and then go home and interact with yours. The disease can be carried in on clothes and shoes, and you'll be putting your own flock at risk.

 

[Star2014]

How shoul he treat them?

 

[Pyxis]

He can pick up some tetracycline or Denagard and he just needs to add the proper dose to the water. Tetracycline he should be able to find at any feed store and the dosing instructions will be on the package.

 

[Star2014]

Ok thank you! Do you think the chickens already had the disease when they were bought?

 

[Pyxis]

How recently were they purchased? It's entirely possible that if they were bought recently they already had it and the stress of the move has caused a flare up. Some sellers are unscrupulous and don't care if they are selling sick birds, unfortunately.

 

[Star2014]

I don't have an exact date but I believe about or a little over a month ago and the chickens symptoms started 2 weeks ago

 

[Pyxis]

I would say yes, it's possible they already had it when they were bought, sadly. Either that or wild birds brought it in or your friend tracked it in from somewhere. It's a really nasty disease and I'm sorry your friend is dealing with this