Can bubbly eyes be a symptom of a fungal infection?

[Chicken Lass]

I'm trying to figure out if a couple of my hens have a fungal infection, or CRD. Seems like it all started with a couple different hens having watery/foamy eyes, one hen who cleared up in one day and another around a few days to a week. I did hear gurgling from another hen, but that didn't last long. Now only two hens are showing symptoms - sneezing occasionally and sounding congested at times, but I have not noticed them having foamy eyes. It has just been those two for a couple weeks or more now - everyone else is showing no symptoms. I've been doing a lot of research on fungal infections and all the evidence seems to point towards fungal vs. CRD, except for the foamy eyes at the beginning with 3 of the other hens. It has been very hot and wet this summer and there is ample green algae -looking stuff growing on the wood parts of the coop. I started misting them with Oxine tonight, so whatever it is will hopefully clear up. Do upper respiratory fungal infection symptoms include foamy eyes? Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

You can try misting oxine over the heads of your affected birds especially if you suspect it's fungal. Make sure that the dosage is correct, 1/8 teaspoon per gallon of water. Use a fine spray mist over their heads 3 times a day for 10 days.

 

[De Wet]

or inject them with LA120 which contain high volume of oxine with chlorpheniramine maleate 4mg tablets which will clear up the foaming eyes inside 24 hours use one tablet for each bird p day

 

[Chicken Lass]

Thanks so much for your replies! So I hope I'm not giving them too much Oxine then - I read to mist them with 6.5 ounces per gallon every other day for a week. I think I got this from Shagbark Bantams or something. I don't want to overdue anything. In addition to misting the two sneezy ones, I've got a humidifier to put the Oxine in, which I used last night for around 45 min.
I've also noticed that at least one of them has been leaving yellowish poo - hope this isn't a tell tale of CRD. Maybe it could be fungal related too?

 

[speckledhen]

I rather doubt fungal with that symptom. They can develop a secondary sinusitis from a fungal lung infection, however, BUT if it is several hens, then I'd say it's more likely CRD, not fungal.

Fungal lung infection sounds like coffee pot breathing with really no other symptoms, usually.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=560301

 

[Chicken Lass]

Thanks speckledhen - I was hoping you'd answer because you were the one I read and found out about Oxine! I also read your article on fungal infections, and that's what gave me hope that it was a fungal thing.
I'll keep an eye out for more yellow poo - only noticed one this morning and none since then. I really hope it's not CRD. Can carrier birds give other birds the disease without even having symptoms themselves? My flock is pretty isolated so I don't know how they could have caught it, except through the very perky stray hen I brought home (who hasn't had any symptoms), or if I got it on my shoes at the feed store or something. I suppose the only way I'll ever know is if I have them tested. What's the best way of diagnosing it? Should I take one to the vet, or can I just wait and keep a closed flock until one dies, and then send off for post mortem? Also, is there any way to prevent future chickens from getting it, a vaccine or something? Sorry for all the questions - I'm trying to figure out what options I have left, even if they do have CRD. Overall, any symptoms my flock showed were very mild - mostly the two hens coughing/sneezing without discharge. The symptoms seemed mixed up - a couple got one symptom while another got a different one. Only one of my hens is still coughing since I started them on Oxine yesterday (though she's doing a lot better), and she's had it the worst.

 

[De Wet]

I rather doubt fungal with that symptom. They can develop a secondary sinusitis from a fungal lung infection, however, BUT if it is several hens, then I'd say it's more likely CRD, not fungal.

Fungal lung infection sounds like coffee pot breathing with really no other symptoms, usually.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=560301

I agree, did a lot of serving on the internet on avairy illness yesterday and fungal is been decribe like you say, so chicken lass I think youre birds got a kind of cold hope not that is MG developing it is the worst cold i think, but you can consider yourselve lucky I think cause acording to the website there is no treatmant for fungal infections

 

[speckledhen]

Quote: Yep.

MG is really not like a human cold. MG leaves the bird a carrier even when the symptoms are gone, which is why breeders cull for symptoms like that.

 

[Chicken Lass]

So, I'll know they have MG if down the road they get the symptoms again and again when they get stressed or the weather changes? I think I heard that they'll do this if they are carriers. Another thing I should mention is that one of my hens (the one that had it the worst) is also at least part blind. She wasn't always hard of seeing, but developed cloudy eyes a year ago? and now is obviously part blind. Now that I've read up on it, I suspect that this was from ammonia fumes. I never thought I had ammonia issues, since I change their bedding once a month and there are two open windows in their building for ventilation. I cleaned out their shed yesterday however, and I smelled ammonia near their roost. I suppose this could obviously cause sinus issues, although the smell wasn't that strong. I'm going to try and stir up their poo more often in the bedding and see if this helps.
As far as fungal infections go, they are treatable - yay! That's why I'm using Oxine, to take care of it whether it's fungal, bacterial, or viral. Now everybody is doing great - except I'd like to see Shannon's comb perk back up and look more red and less purplish.

 

[speckledhen]

No, the only way to know for sure what it is is with testing. We can only take educated guesses.