Eye infection and not feeling well

[seminolewind]

I noted my hen has a swollen eye, now pus. She's not feeling well, sort of mopey. Lost some weight. No new birds or problems. Over a year old.
What do I treat it with? What antibiotic?

 

[seminolewind]

Maybe staph?

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm not an expert here, but I think you would treat for a respiratory disease--probably with Tylan or Duramycin.

 

[seminolewind]

Would penicillin treat staph? I don't think it's respiratory because there are no new chickens here. Must be an injury.

 

[Eggcessive]

You probably have a lot more chicken experience than I do, but most staph is resistant to penicillin. I was reading Diseases of Poultry yesterday, and I could find no reference for chickens getting eye infections. Most swelling or discharge is due to infection in the sinuses. Staph can be treated with cephalosporins--drugs like keflex--and sulfa drugs, but I might try Duramycin10 or Tylan just to see if that helps.

 

[chillinCTchick]

My rooster's left eye looked cloudy, oozy and crusty for the last couple of days. Yesterday he started making a coughing noise and became quite lethargic. He was even turning down his favorite treat..grapes!!! Today he seems a little better, but the heat of the day hasn't hit yet. His left eye is now completely closed up while his right eye seems quite normal. Can someone help me in determining what is wrong with him? I don't want chicken disease infecting my flock and I don't have the money for a vet. Please help me treat my chicken.

 

[Eggcessive]

Seminolewind, I went back to my book, and you can try the penicillin. It was the drug of choice at one time, but there are so many resistant types of staph out there. I suppose you have heard of MERSA--that is one in the news all the time.

ChillinCTchick, I would get your chicken on some Tylan50--1/2 ml by mouth or as a shot in the breast muscle daily for 5 days(only 3 days for shot.) I might suspect mycoplasma (CRD), coryza, or some other respiratory disease.

 

[seminolewind]

Thanks, Eggcessive.

We did Tylan in the water and Penicillin injections. She looks a bit better but not quite right. So I started LS-50 in the water. The sulfa drugs may be a good idea as well.

She's also hot. I think the swelling is going down but the eye is still closed.

 

[chillinCTchick]

Thanks. It turns out that I didn't need to do anything. Whatever was wrong actually cleared up in just over 24 hours. Chester's eye looks great (back to normal) and he's not coughing. Back in his usual high spirits and literally jumping for grapes, I'm very happy that my rooster is healthy again!

 

[seminolewind]

Chillin, glad to hear your chicken's on the mend.

Yesterday I switched mine to sulfadimethoxine, and I switched back to triple antibiotic and not terramycin. The swelling seems to have gone down in one day. It's still closed, and it looks like the whole area to her ear is swollen. She's still not as feisty as she used to be. Maybe because she's using one eye?