Chicken with bubbles in eyes

[little_bear]

Hello! I have a 8 month old dark Brahma hen. I’ve had her and 11 others since 3 days old.
At 5 weeks old, all the chicks started sneezing. I moved them from the brooder in my workshop (because I thought it was from the dust) to their brand new coop with a heat lamp. The sneezing subsided, with the occasional sneeze since.
But in early December, I noticed her neck feathers were fluffed up and she had bubbles in her eyes. I immediately removed her back to the workshop where I’ve housed her since.
There is no poultry vet in my area, I live in a very remote place. The one vet within 6 hours said they wouldn’t treat a chicken with antibiotics. The feed store I go to doesn’t sell Tylan or any other of the drugs I’ve read about. I believe it could be a form of mycoplasma from the large amounts of reading I have done.
She got quite bad around Christmas, eye swollen shut etc. And she wasn’t eating or drinking at all. She now eats (some) and drinks (a bit).

my questions:
1. If all the chicks had some form of respiratory illness early on, does she still need to be isolated?
2. If it is a form of mycoplasma, how long is she contagious for?
3. Besides garlic, oregano oil, honey, thyme, ginger, and colloidal silver, does anyone have any treatment recommendations?! Should I be putting eye compresses on?
Any suggestions of something I’m missing? Culling is definitely an option, but she’s a lovely girl and I’m keen on keeping her (for now).

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like it could be mycoplasma (MG) with the eyelid swelling and bubbles in an eye. Since they were sneezing a lot as chicks, it may have been there all along. I would try to get some tylosin, doxycycline, or oxytetracycline to treat only the sick one in the water. You can get those online in the mail. Where are you located? Jedds.com sells most of those. Tylosin dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days, and you need to always add the water to the powder for mixing. I would only separate the sick chick in a dog crate for antibiotic treatment, not otherwise, because they have all been exposed. If you decide to cull this one, get a necropsy by your state vet, so that you know exactly what disease you are seeing. In the meantime, make sure that your coop ventilation is good overhead, and minimize dust and ammonia odors. Here is where to find meds:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

 

[little_bear]

It sounds like it could be mycoplasma (MG) with the eyelid swelling and bubbles in an eye. Since they were sneezing a lot as chicks, it may have been there all along. I would try to get some tylosin, doxycycline, or oxytetracycline to treat only the sick one in the water. You can get those online in the mail. Where are you located? Jedds.com sells most of those. Tylosin dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days, and you need to always add the water to the powder for mixing. I would only separate the sick chick in a dog crate for antibiotic treatment, not otherwise, because they have all been exposed. If you decide to cull this one, get a necropsy by your state vet, so that you know exactly what disease you are seeing. In the meantime, make sure that your coop ventilation is good overhead, and minimize dust and ammonia odors. Here is where to find meds:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

Wow! Thank you, Eggcessive, for this thorough reply and advice. I am located in Canada, but will see if I can access the meds you described. Much appreciated

 

[lancasterflock]

It sounds like it could be mycoplasma (MG) with the eyelid swelling and bubbles in an eye. Since they were sneezing a lot as chicks, it may have been there all along. I would try to get some tylosin, doxycycline, or oxytetracycline to treat only the sick one in the water. You can get those online in the mail. Where are you located? Jedds.com sells most of those. Tylosin dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days, and you need to always add the water to the powder for mixing. I would only separate the sick chick in a dog crate for antibiotic treatment, not otherwise, because they have all been exposed. If you decide to cull this one, get a necropsy by your state vet, so that you know exactly what disease you are seeing. In the meantime, make sure that your coop ventilation is good overhead, and minimize dust and ammonia odors. Here is where to find meds:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

Eggcessive are you able to tell me if tylosin is still available without a prescription? Are there any water soluble antibiotics available without a prescription?

 

[Isaac 0]

Eggcessive are you able to tell me if tylosin is still available without a prescription? Are there any water soluble antibiotics available without a prescription?

If you live in the U.S you should be able to get antibiotics online without an RX. There are several water-soluble antibiotic powders available including Tylosin powder.

 

[lancasterflock]

If you live in the U.S you should be able to get antibiotics online without an RX. There are several water-soluble antibiotic powders available including Tylosin powder.

thank you Isaac! I do live in the U.S. I tried to order tylosin tartrate from Walmart pets and it was asking for the vet number to call and confirm the prescription? So now I’m confused on whether I need a prescription for water soluble antibiotic. We have had wild birds coming in the run and I’m about 90% positive my whole flock has mycoplasma. I ordered bird netting to put throughout the run to keep the wild birds out, but it hasn’t gotten here yet. Once the wild birds showed up is when my girls started to sneeze and I’ve noticed a few bubbles in the eyes. We don’t have a bird vet where I live so I’ve been searching all over for water soluble antibiotics to give to them.

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.nadis.org.uk/disease-a-...s can include,main culprit in backyard flocks.

 

[Isaac 0]

thank you Isaac! I do live in the U.S. I tried to order tylosin tartrate from Walmart pets and it was asking for the vet number to call and confirm the prescription? So now I’m confused on whether I need a prescription for water soluble antibiotic. We have had wild birds coming in the run and I’m about 90% positive my whole flock has mycoplasma. I ordered bird netting to put throughout the run to keep the wild birds out, but it hasn’t gotten here yet. Once the wild birds showed up is when my girls started to sneeze and I’ve noticed a few bubbles in the eyes. We don’t have a bird vet where I live so I’ve been searching all over for water soluble antibiotics to give to them.

There are several sites where you can get the Tylosin without an RX. I believe the Tylosin you're seeing on Walmart requires an RX since it's made from a different manufacturer.

https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-generic
https://glamgouldians.com/product-tylosin.php

It is possible your birds have a Mycoplasma infection, however, you won't know for sure what they have unless you have testing done by your state. Another common respiratory infection is infectious bronchitis, which can cause sneezing, wheezing, and ocular, and nasal discharge. Unlike MG, it is a virus and will not respond to antibiotics, but tends to go away after a few months. If you have testing done by your state or national lab that may enable you to better proceeded forward regarding treatment, but if you would like to try the antibiotics, that may be fine as well.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
https://zoologix.com/avian/index.htm


Any additional questions you may have, it might be best to start your own thread for.

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylosin (tylan) is available at jedds.com, and it is full strength. Dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days.

https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

Eggcessive are you able to tell me if tylosin is still available without a prescription? Are there any water soluble antibiotics available without a prescription?

 

[lancasterflock]

Tylosin (tylan) is available at jedds.com, and it is full strength. Dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days.

Thank you excessive! I just went out there again and examined everyone and maybe it was just a bad day or I didn’t see them all correctly. I see no bubbles....eyes do not look swollen I have 14 laying almost daily out of 17 and they all are acting like their perky selves. But, there is for sure some sneezing going on and that’s really all I’m noticing right now. To be on the safe side I JUST ordered tylosin ...2 day shipping from Jedds! Thank you sooo very much!