Eye worms or bronchitis?

[cbradio]

Hi,

I have about 8 hens that have not laid and egg since I traded for them about 2 weeks ago. 2 of them I noticed had eyes swollen shut yesterday.

Symptoms:

Swollen eye, oddly enough the right side for both birds
cheesy smelling pus on one bird
I have not heard coughing
there is no pus in the cleft of their mouth
no moisture under the wings


I have started them on tetracycline in their water, but I'm not sure that is enough.

Does this sound like worms? coryza? bronchitis?

Thanks,

Cam

 

[cafarmgirl]

Hmm, I'm afraid you may have traded for a bunch of sick birds. Don't know what this is, maybe Coryza if you notice smell. Bronchitis you will usually hear coughing, sneezing, wheezing, rattling breathing.

The not laying is normal after the stress of moving to a new home but in this case I think it is also attributed to poor health and whatever these birds are carrying. Do you know how old these birds are? Do you have other birds that are at risk of exposure to these birds?

If you can take one to an avian or exotic's vet and have some testing done you may be able to find out what's going on with them. Or if one dies have a necropsy done by a state poultry lab. Knowing what your are dealing with will help you a lot in knowing how to manage whatever this is or if you should cull them and start over.

Tylan 50 is a very good antibiotic for respiratory issues but considering the nature of poultry respiratory diseases it's best to try to find out what they have.

 

[Eggcessive]

Of course you can't tell for sure what respiratory disease this is, but from the bad smell and swollen eyes with pus, I would guess that it is coryza that your hens have. Do you have other chickens, and if so, have you kept these quarantined from them? You don't want this disease in your flock if you have other chickens, since they will all be carriers for life. If you want to close your flock, and not sell or give away these sick birds, then you can treat with antibiotics to relieve some of the symptoms, but coryza can come back. Sulfadimethoxine or Sulmet can be used in the water to treat symptoms, and Tylan 50 can be given as a shot or given orally to help treat any secondary bacterial infections. Testing or a necropsy on a sick bird can tell you what is going on. Here is a good link about those and other diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[cbradio]

i do have other birds. they have been quarantined in their own pen with a small run, but i am afraid that other chickens that we let out to free range during the day may have come up to the fence to inspect them. If it is coryza, and airborne, they may have been exposed.