Crusted over laying hens eyes

[mommahen22]

Three out of ten of my laying hens have crusted over eye(s) and some discharge from the nose area. This was just noticed, couldn't have had it for longer than 24 hours. I don't notice any other symptoms such as anything being swollen or differences in skin but I'm not real schooled on that stuff. It's been wet and rainy here. Yesterday was very windy and temps dropped quickly to freezing or slightly below. They were outside most of yesterday in these conditions. I've done some research and it looks like an infection abbreviated to "mg" could be the problem. Idk wtd with them. We got three new adult laying hens about two weeks ago. They are fine as well as 4 other original residents...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Three out of ten of my laying hens have crusted over eye(s) and some discharge from the nose area. This was just noticed, couldn't have had it for longer than 24 hours. I don't notice any other symptoms such as anything being swollen or differences in skin but I'm not real schooled on that stuff. It's been wet and rainy here. Yesterday was very windy and temps dropped quickly to freezing or slightly below. They were outside most of yesterday in these conditions. I've done some research and it looks like an infection abbreviated to "mg" could be the problem. Idk wtd with them. We got three new adult laying hens about two weeks ago. They are fine as well as 4 other original residents...

You may want to pm @Eggcessive and ask for advice/guidance,she is very knowledgeable.
You will need to clean out the gunk. Remove the crust by flushing out the eye, you may have to gently pull some of it out with a q-tip. The sinus/nares, maybe pull/pick with q-tip/tweezers etc.
After it is cleaned out you can use something like vetericyn eye gel or eyewash, or terramycin eye ointment in the eyes.

It does appear your flock is exposed to whatever this is but IMO I would separate the sick birds so it is easier to treat them and you can keep them warm and monitor their water and food intake. Hydration is important for a sick bird.

I do have a question. Did you have a quarantine/separation period for the 3 new birds you got 2wks ago, or did you just add them to your existing flock?

 

[Eggcessive]

Wyorp Rock has given you good instructions on cleaning the eyes and nostrils. Saline warm soaks to the eyes may help loosen the crusts. You will probably need to get some Tylan or oxytetracycline to treat your sick hens for mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG,) or whatever else they may have. The new hens may have been carriers and brought this into your flock. You can get a sick hen tested to find out exactly what they have, but new birds can spread MG in a few days, even if they don't show symptoms themselves.

 

[kyzerc]

Pull up conjuntious,i wrote a little about it on quail forum.Out of my ist 13 birds,7 got it quickly,very contagious.I found it info and treatment on web,I believe I used aviary Bird. diseases of the eye.They give you a list of meds.ONE IS TINICIAN I still CANT SP. IT can be bought at tractor and supply for 16.00.i FOUND OUT YESTERDAY ABOUT 20 OF MY 50 WHITE QUAIL HAVE IT,WAS ONLY 1 LAST WEEK.i SPENT $100.00 FOR IST BIRDS.I may try to treat a few hens,will kill all that get it. You have to disinfect food and water bowls and don't let other birds drink from it for 2 weeks.Bad stuff,made me want to quit ist time.Good luck....Theres also a natural treatment ,utopia silver supplements. Bought this off web. Advanced ionic silver. if you cant find web sites about conjunitus give me a holler,ill look them up. I have mine on ground, It has been wet a lot. They get it from the groundIts about cheaper to get new birds can treat it. Sorry for grammar,cant see any more,or spell. They have pages of pictures of it.Finchs get it from bird baths, and cant see
Separate them quickly

 

[mommahen22]

Thank you all, for your helpful tips. I will call the vet in the AM to get a prescription hopefully. I went out and brought the infected (ones that I'm aware of) in and cleaned their eyes up. I have some neomycin but neither of them would really let me get any in there

I pulled on some of the feathers on the hind end of my Cochin and they pulled right out. No effort whatsoever. Through my research I read that this could be a sign of botulism but neither of them seem to possess any of the other symptoms of botulism so I'm praying it's just molting ...

Ugh! This is so frustrating. We lost three chickens last year to unknowns. All died months apart and possessed different symptoms. This is apparently just what comes with having chickens.

Thank you again. Also, we did not quarantine the new ones. We are not really set up to do any kind of quarantine. I have nowhere to keep the infected chickens while we figure this out. I'm just hoping I can fix it before I lose the flock.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is an excellent link to read about the common diseases including mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and infectious coryza: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044