Chickens with swollen eyes

[JordannL]

I noticed my rooster had a hard time walking around yesterday. He was more clumsy than usual and was tripping over stuff. I went to check and see if his crest was affecting his eyesight, and noticed it was his eyes in general. They were slightly swollen. He could still see, but around his eyes was puffy. I checked the other chickens, didn't see any others with this issue and separated him from the flock. Today, I went out to feed and inspect them, another chicken has one swollen eye. Her eye is completely closed. Only one of her eyes is like that though. I'm not sure what it is. I don't know what's causing this. I don't have anywhere else to keep separating them to. Is it pointless to even separate at this point? (I planned on treating them all if this is something contagious) My husband added some straw into the run a few days ago because there was only puddles and mud everywhere due to the recent storms we've had. He thought the straw would help absorb it. I looked up chickens and straw to see if that could be the culprit. I don't know if it's coryza or something else. My husband purchased VetRX. I'm not sure if it is what we needed because I have no idea of anything at this point. I've only had chickens for the past 4 months, and this is completely new to me. Any help, tips or information would be very appreciated.


Also, someone else told me they think these are 2 different things I'm dealing with. They said the Sapphire Gem is a bee sting or some kind of sting vs the Rooster, saying it looks like something different. I'm not sure if that's right. Unfortunately, we don't have the funds to take the chickens to a vet, or I would do that.

 

[silentmaple]

VetRX is very good for this! Usually this signals a sinus infection. You can take a very small chip of ice, put it on a cotton ball or paper towel and wet it. Use this to give them a little face massage to help with the swelling. when the ice melts you can finish with putting some VetRX right next to their nose and rubbing it in. (avoid the eyes) Do this once or twice a day until the swelling goes down.

 

[JordannL]

VetRX is very good for this! Usually this signals a sinus infection. You can take a very small chip of ice, put it on a cotton ball or paper towel and wet it. Use this to give them a little face massage to help with the swelling. when the ice melts you can finish with putting some VetRX right next to their nose and rubbing it in. (avoid the eyes) Do this once or twice a day until the swelling goes down.

Thank you so much! I did as much research as I could, but there seems to be so many things with the same symptoms and the VetRX seemed to help with a lot of the issues. So I just winged it. Should I start this on everyone or just the 2 for now?

 

[silentmaple]

Thank you so much! I did as much research as I could, but there seems to be so many things with the same symptoms and the VetRX seemed to help with a lot of the issues. So I just winged it. Should I start this on everyone or just the 2 for now?

Just the ones with symptoms for now! Just keep an eye on everyone for now!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Did you get your birds as day-old chicks from a feedstore or national hatchery, or from a private seller? Coryza has a very bad smell; if you sniff near their beak or nostrils, you should easily notice the odor of coryza.

 

[JordannL]

Great. Thank you!

Just the ones with symptoms for now! Just keep an eye on everyone for now!

 

[JordannL]

I got the Sapphire gem (Muffin) as a day old chick. The Polish Rooster (Bandit) is from an independent seller. I don't smell anything noticeably strong. Just a regular dusty smelling chicken.

Did you get your birds as day-old chicks from a feedstore or national hatchery, or from a private seller? Coryza has a very bad smell; if you sniff near their beak or nostrils, you should easily notice the odor of coryza.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

There is no need to separate them at this point, because if the rooster brought any respiratory diseases to your flock, they've already been exposed. Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a common respiratory disease that can cause swollen eyes, along with bubbles in the corners of the eyes, sneezing and runny nostrils. The symptoms are treatable with either tylosin (Tylan) or tiamulin (Denagard), though affected birds remain carriers for life.