Chick with corneal ulcer

[kimszoo]

I have a week old Silkie chick who has an ulcer on his/her cornea. I live in Ontario, Canada and can't find eye ointment anywhere, they've discontinued the neosporin He is eating and drinking, but has trouble seeing it with only one eye so I've been supplementing him by hand. I have Neo-Chlor water soluble powder, which contains both tetracycline and neomycin sulphate, that I can give him orally. But I know that will take time to work and so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a way to improve his recovery. He's not happy, I'm sure it must hurt, so anything that might help him would be great

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I have a week old Silkie chick who has an ulcer on his/her cornea. I live in Ontario, Canada and can't find eye ointment anywhere, they've discontinued the neosporin He is eating and drinking, but has trouble seeing it with only one eye so I've been supplementing him by hand. I have Neo-Chlor water soluble powder, which contains both tetracycline and neomycin sulphate, that I can give him orally. But I know that will take time to work and so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a way to improve his recovery. He's not happy, I'm sure it must hurt, so anything that might help him would be great

If a vet's not an option, is it possible to order Vetericyn Ophthalmic Gel (non-antibiotic) or Terramycin (antibiotic) online and have it shipped to you?

You're right, a corneal ulcer is very painful.

As far as natural treatments, it may be worthwhile to try putting some coconut oil into the eye - coconut oil has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and is lubricating. It's used for dry eyes and conjunctivitis: http://www.thehippyhomemaker.com/soothe-itchy-irritated-eyes-naturally-calendula-coconut-oil/.

Best wishes for your chick's speedy recovery.

 

[maaz]

My chicks are 4 weeks old and have runny poops they are eating too much and sometimes sit down and close thier eyes and become inactive thier poops are brownish and white
I need help

 

[kimszoo]

Thank you FoodFreedomNow! I never thought of coconut oil, and I use it for so many things and always have some here. Worth a try, and can't hurt.

There is no poultry smart vet in the area. And I can't get any antibiotic ointment without a vet here now. Very frustrating, and hard on the critters

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Thank you FoodFreedomNow! I never thought of coconut oil, and I use it for so many things and always have some here. Worth a try, and can't hurt.

There is no poultry smart vet in the area. And I can't get any antibiotic ointment without a vet here now. Very frustrating, and hard on the critters

YVW and I hope the coconut oil gives your chick some relief! I'm with you on VCO...I use it for many things, too, and like its flavor. If you're a coffee drinker, blending some up with your coffee will give you a nice, frothy drink (and people report that the VCO helps temper the effects of the caffeine so they're not so "jittery"); I'm mainly a tea drinker now, but do enjoy my coconut oil coffee from time to time.

Our laws recently became more restrictive regarding antibiotic sales, too, but clearly not as restrictive as yours. It sounds like you may also lean toward natural treatment where it makes sense, but sometimes, antibiotics really are needed to effectively treat a condition. While I understand the impetus for laws like these, it's a shame that people can't be counted on to use some common sense and use antibiotics correctly (and judiciously). I think that antimicrobial resistance is a serious and multi-faceted problem that deserves our attention, but these restrictions affect small farmers and hobbyists who use antibiotics occasionally to treat injuries and illnesses as much as the commercial farmers who are using it to promote animal growth and increase feed efficiency.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

My chicks are 4 weeks old and have runny poops they are eating too much and sometimes sit down and close thier eyes and become inactive thier poops are brownish and white
I need help

I see you've posted your question on a number of other threads - to draw more attention to your question, I suggest you try creating new thread in this forum with your question. For best results, post photos of the poop so the BYC poop experts can examine them.

There are many possible causes for the symptoms you mention, but lethargy and unusual poop would concern me, too. Is there blood in their poop? What are you feeding them? What do you mean that they're eating too much? I allow chicks of that age to pretty much free feed to ensure they grow well. What kind of brooder do you have them in, and what is the temperature?

 

[maaz]

There is no blood in poops
I give them vegetable rice yogurt sometimes and mixed seed but my friends chicks ate food to death i am a bit concerned about it

 

[kimszoo]

Sadly, the little guy died. He was breathing heavily last night, though he stopped and purred when I was cuddling him. I'd used the VCO and antibiotic eye drops and his eye was improving, but I think the pain was too much for him. When I got up this morning he was dead. Very sad that he suffered and I couldn't help him enough, but happy that he's not suffering anymore.

I do wish the regulations were better. It's one thing to worry about excess or inappropriate use of medications, but these regs do cause animals in need to suffer.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Sadly, the little guy died. He was breathing heavily last night, though he stopped and purred when I was cuddling him. I'd used the VCO and antibiotic eye drops and his eye was improving, but I think the pain was too much for him. When I got up this morning he was dead. Very sad that he suffered and I couldn't help him enough, but happy that he's not suffering anymore.

I do wish the regulations were better. It's one thing to worry about excess or inappropriate use of medications, but these regs do cause animals in need to suffer.

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope it gives you some comfort to know that he knew kindness while he was here.

Sometimes laws and regulations sound peachy in theory, but fall short of their intended purpose in practice. Maybe after some time has passed, the data will show that these kinds of restrictions aren't preventing antimicrobial resistance. Again, a multi-faceted problem: too many healthcare providers prescribing antibiotics for conditions that don't respond to antibiotics, using antimicrobials to promote growth in commercially-raised animals (

)...needs an approach that addresses the contributing factors on all fronts. [off soapbox now]

Take care!