FINALLY! SWOLLEN EYE SINUS LUMP SWELLING CURE TREATMENT

[Myrshine]

Unless there is an obvious injury visible or blood in or around the eyes or if you live in a desert like climate where there is dust and dirt, an “eye infection/conjunctivitis” is caused by a respiratory disease. This is because a birds sinus cavity is located in front and around their eye sockets, so when they’re sick with a respiratory disease, they membrane swells in the sinus cavity. Now I’m not one to disagree with antibiotics, but I do firmly believe you shouldn’t treat unless you get proper testing done by, not just any exotic or avian veterinarian, but a poultry disease specialist veterinarian. Most respiratory diseases are a lifelong permanent disease and all birds remain potential carriers for life. This is why it is best to get testing done as soon as possible.

 

[casportpony]

but I do firmly believe you shouldn’t treat unless you get proper testing done by, not just any exotic or avian veterinarian, but a poultry disease specialist veterinarian. Most respiratory diseases are a lifelong permanent disease and all birds remain potential carriers for life. This is why it is best to get testing done as soon as possible.

I've had a couple of sinus infections here that were not lifelong permanent diseases.

 

[Myrshine]

I've had a couple of sinus infections here that were not lifelong permanent diseases.

IB is the only respiratory disease that doesn’t make birds permanent carriers, but it does affect egg production and can cause the hens to lay misshapen, wrinkly, soft, roughen or loss of pigmentation of eggs.

Your birds probably have the permanent disease, but haven’t shown symptoms again. Birds may or may not ever show symptoms, but they’ll always be an asymptomatic carrier. Only way to know for certain is to get testing done. Selling sick birds is a reportable offense if the disease is a reportable disease in yoinked state or country. You can get a hefty fine as well as a permanent quarantine of your property. Keeping a closed flock is the best option aside from culling and starting over. Don’t breed from your birds to sell.

 

[casportpony]

Your birds probably have the permanent disease, but haven’t shown symptoms again.

Actually, mine do not. Only two sick in the last 6 years, both were with other chicks in the brooder. Nothing else got sick, nothing else has been sick since then.

Only way to know for certain is to get testing done.

I have had necropsies done and none of them have had any respiratory disease.

Selling sick birds is a reportable offense if the disease is a reportable disease in yoinked state or country. You can get a hefty fine as well as a permanent quarantine of your property.

I would never sell anything with a reportable disease.

Don’t breed from your birds to sell.

If mine were carriers of something like mycoplasma, coryza, etc, I would not sell them. Since they do not, I will continue to sell them

 

[lateforbrekkie]

THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPINION AND EXPERIENCE GIVEN TO HOPEFULLY HELP so many of you out there that are losing your birds, heart-broken and frustrated because you felt like you didn't have anything that would work against eye issues.

Apologies that this is lengthy but understanding it and doing it take some reading. So please take some quick time to READ it if you're having a problem with swollen head, crusty eye, etc. you will find a solution.

I have worked with chickens for over 20 years. I am not going to go into my background and vast pharmacological knowledge and education regarding viral, bacterial, genetic, or systemic issues with chickens. Many of mine last well over 10-14+ years. If you're going to have chickens, you MUST educate yourself on how to care for them and attack any problem immediately when you see it. LOOK at your chickens daily, each and every one of them. Anything odd, search for symptoms you see online and find the solution. Treat your chickens with the right medications and they will recover from most issues, just like humans. Below is my experience and honest opinion for those who search for a cure.

In chickens (all sizes and ages) eye issues abound. You see it here all over the forums. People try everything from flushes, vinegar, yogurt, compresses.... all useless against bacteria which is usually the culprit. That's why the body is swelling, generating mucus, puss, inflammation, etc. It is 99% of the time BACTERIAL.

To those individuals who are compelled to chime in and rant about overuse of antibiotics or use of such in poultry while they hypocritically run to the doctor for antibiotics when they have a cold or allergies.......This post is NOT for you. We know your opinion and that is what it is, we do NOT need to hear it again every time someone mentions antibiotics. Bacteria are smart, overuse or not they are smart will adapt as they self preserve as they always have for millenniums. Staying ahead of them is the job of the researcher and that's another story for another time and place.

Keep in mind when they have an eye infection or swollen sinus or eye - THEY CAN NOT SEE WELL THUS THEY CAN NOT SEE THEIR FOOD their depth perception is off and eating or drinking is difficult. Put one hand over your eye right now and look around the room. You may have to help guide or show your chicken the food and water, peck at it with your finger and help them find or encourage them to it. Stay at it.

The right antibiotic is critical and if you can get with a local vet who can swab the eye or send you home with a kit it takes 24-48 hours to culture and get an answer on what is best to use in terms of pills. If the bird is pooping and eating/drinking normally Clavamox is a preferred prescribed by many vet. For a 2.5lb (1kg) bantam I gave 1/2 of a 125mg tablet morning and evening. Cut pill in half (or quarters if you think smaller pieces would be easier (pill cutters work good for this), pull down on waddle slightly to open mouth their mouth and quickly toss/pop it in -- real quick, let go real fast, they will spit it out or eat it like a lay pellet. Do not shove it in their mouth, you do not want it to go down the wrong hole. Just pop it in the mouth gently and lightly. If they spit it out don't panic, just keep repeating until it actually goes down. You'll get the hang of it and so will they eventually it will take just a sec. I did this for 10 days to cure 3 strains of nasty infection cultured. It's a good broad spectrum antibiotic that generally works on most all issues.




BUT... for anything to do with the eye Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Ophthalmic solution 0.3 drops are my magic bullet. Yes, flush the eye with contact lens saline solution to help clean it out. Yes, use a q-tip to clean up the crud around the eye or pull eye boogers out of the eye. Yes, if you think there is some foreign object in the eye (metal/wood/rock) take chicken to vet immediately, Yes, if eye was damaged by pecking, scratching, fighting, blunt force, etc. take chicken to vet immediately.

If not and it's just a swollen eye or swollen head, swollen face, etc... it's likely infection deep in the sinus. Head swelling, eye discharge, foaming eye with swollen areas anywhere around the face, head, beak, eyes, it can be any degree of this, slight or severe. Either way, it must be treated ASAP. The bacteria gets in their EYE (somehow remember it's everywhere) and works right into the sinus and grows and multiplies in that moist warm dark happy place. The only way to get to it is to go after it with an antibiotic the exact same way it went inside the sinus cavity in the first place.... through the EYE.

I put 1-2 drops in the eye. (see pics) hold close to eye, squeeze 1 drop just above the eye and it will slide down into the eye, use 1,2,3 until you get 1 drop in the eye. Use q-tip to massage area just in front of corner of eye lightly until you see the eye suck in the liquid, actually pulls this into the eye and sinus. Do not restrain the chicken, have patience until it will stand still and let you work on it. It will, if you give it time to calm down. Use q-tip to gently pull out any goo or slime in the eye corner you see, sometimes thick snot/mucus, just gently pull it out. Use q-tip to make sure nostrils are clear and not clogged. Like a little kid, chickens get stopped up noses and it creates all kinds of problems! Keep nostrils clean.

Within 24 hours, eye started clearing and swelling going down, 3 days later chicken looked normal. Pills, shots, etc. nothing worked like getting that Cipro into the eye and working it into the sinus cavity by using a q-tip to gently massage the area in front of the eye making the eye suck it up into the sinus cavity where you can not reach and the infection really is.

Here are some photos and more info on how to make this work and give your bird the best shot at resolving that deep rooted sinus problem, swollen eye, etc.

If your chicken looks anything like this....



Get yourself some of this (from vet or online source Google it - pigeon people use and sell/buy it online a lot).



Then clean the eye as mentioned above, then let chicken stand or sit there until it calms down a bit. Put hand on other side of face to help support it gently so you can work on it and when chicken is still try to drop a drop above the eye (just touch the skin with the drop and it will dribble down into the eye pocket) most chickens will freak and shake head and sling it everywhere - just do it again until you see the liquid sitting in the eye.

I do not have before pics of the chicken below - but his eye was swollen shut and it looked like a someone shoved a marble under his skin - this happened on one side, then 2 weeks later on the other. Foamy eye, lots of mucus - I pulled out daily 1000 q-tips of mucus strings from his eyes keeping them clear and cleaning removing gunk from his nostrils so he could breathe. Both sides cleared up quickly after the drops were administered. Keep in mind we went through months of Tylan, Baytril, Clavamox, etc. Nothing could get into or after that SINUS BACTERIA because of it's location. Drops were the only thing and worked immediately.



Then use q-tip to gently massage in a circular rubbing motion GENTLY back and forth until you see the drop disappear, do not hold chicken as they will usually open their mouth as the little drop of liquid works through their sinus/nose and into their mouth, they swallow. The Cipro has gone through the eye into the sinus cavity and maybe into the mouth a bit. It's ok. Remember - it's just 1 drop or so. Do this morning lunch and evening or just morning evening depending on severity.



See the drop sitting in the eye or on top of the eye, pull lid down gently with q-tip if you need to so that it is mostly in the eye.

Then see below.... worked into the sinus cavity. If the sinus cavity is too swollen, massage it gently with q-tip anyway and also around the part of the eye where it isn't swollen. Just getting the drop in the eye is a step in the right direction to help the swelling start to go down - may take you a little longer in severe cases, just use your brain and work with it. Think of it as if it was YOUR eye.





Make sure you clean all the goo off their face and that the nostril is not caked with yellow dried or gooey mucus. Clean/check nose 3 times a day so air can get through there and they can also breathe better. Helps dry it up in there too.

Should notice improvement in 24-36 hours. 48 hours on some tough cases.

Keep your chicken in a cage with water/food in warm place (laundry rooms are good for this but not on dryer or washer) and cover with light fabric to keep out draft. These tiny dog kennels work great for TRIAGE setups in your house.




This is in my opinion one of the best line of defenses and treatments for the swollen head/sinus/infected eye issue. BUT when all else fails you must spend the money to take them to the vet if you want to save them but not all vets are really up to speed with chicken / poultry diagnosis and treatment. They read about it in college, but many just generally work on dogs/cats/etc. Don't be afraid to educate yourself on how to treat their ailments and work WITH your vet sometimes.

If anyone has anything else to add to this (not criticize or complain) please do.

Walter was the star in this post and most recent one for the Cipro drops.... he is now back outside with the ladies and doing fine.

Hope this helps.

Sorry this is a LONG thank you. TL;DR The eye drops saved my baby.

I don't know why it took me months to find this post, but I'm so thankful that I finally did. I have to deliver a HUGE thanks to you for posting this information.

The backstory - My bantam Cochin rooster, Boney, had plugged ears and his eyes weren't looking right, but they weren't swollen or snotty - yet - when I brought him inside in November. I unplugged his ears and used a pet ear wash - which I think was the huge mistake. I now believe I washed the mycoplasma into his sinuses.

Instead of getting better after I worked on his ears, he started getting worse by the day with facial swelling and he scratched up his head badly. I took him to the vet and he was prescribed Metformin and an antibiotic (can't remember which one, possibly doxycycline). By this time he had started accumulating a yellow plaque around his beak, nares, and on his comb. It continued to accumulate down his neck as well. The Metformin helped with the itching, but the mycoplasma infection continued. When we ran out of the Metformin, he scratched his face and ears up again.

Our vet set up an appointment to do an "ear flush" in which he would sedate Boney and make small incisions below his eyes and flush out his sinuses. He was also going to do xrays to see if there was an abscess in his head. He canceled the appointment though, as he told me that many times the birds do not survive sedation.

Our vet is an exotic pet vet, but doesn't see a lot of chickens. We returned to the vet three times, each time with rather grim news. The doctor contacted some colleagues and posted some pictures of Boney on a veterinarian forum and got some information that the issue was likely avian pox or mycoplasma. Later, I could tell by the sweet smell that it was mycoplasma. The vet gave us more Metformin and some Tylan powder to go in the water.

The Tylan powder seemed to be working some, but we were still struggling. Then it seems like the mycoplasma overcame the hurdle of Tylan and Boney was worse than ever. The vet didn't have any answers for me. All along this journey I had been googling and trying to find something that would work. In the meantime I tried:

• colloidal silver
• vitamins/probiotics in water
• vet rx
• peppermint, tea tree, and eucalyptus essential oils in the humidifier, vaporizer and diluted to 5% topically
• peppermint/eucalyptus essential oils 5% each in olive oil, 1 mg of mixture orally 2x per day (which did seem to help before I got the drops)
• fire cider in his water
• CBD oil orally and a topical kind
• vetericyn plus eye gel (has been a godsend through this, but not a cure)
• terramycin eye antibiotic cream (helped with itching while waiting for eye drops)
• all the while doing warm compresses and steam baths several times a day, pulling mucus strings out of his eyes, and cooking him scrambled eggs with lots of garlic, oregano, and echinacea in them.

So needless to say, I felt as though we had tried everything possible and we had hit rock bottom until I found this post. OP, I hope you read this because you saved Boney's life. I'm so thankful and wish your post had come up in my searches so much sooner! We received the Cipro eye drops Wednesday evening and started treatment. He is not completely well yet, but there is a huge improvement. Today his eyes are open without any help for the first time in months, the swelling is coming down in his head and his face looks much more symmetrical, and while his scabs are bothering him, he's not tearing at his face like he was and seems so much more comfortable.

I was worried that it wasn't happening as quickly as 24-48 hours, but we're 4 days in now and I believe he will be fully well soon. His face is completely bald right now, so I hope he will let the feathers grow back in next time. They started to at one point, but he scratched them back out. I taped his toenails, but that only lasted a day.

The picture is from just after Christmas when I thought we were making great progress because his scrapes were mostly healed. I will update with an after picture in a few days. @echix - My human son is named Walter, so I felt like it was a sign

 

[Cartla2]

THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPINION AND EXPERIENCE GIVEN TO HOPEFULLY HELP so many of you out there that are losing your birds, heart-broken and frustrated because you felt like you didn't have anything that would work against eye issues.

Apologies that this is lengthy but understanding it and doing it take some reading. So please take some quick time to READ it if you're having a problem with swollen head, crusty eye, etc. you will find a solution.

I have worked with chickens for over 20 years. I am not going to go into my background and vast pharmacological knowledge and education regarding viral, bacterial, genetic, or systemic issues with chickens. Many of mine last well over 10-14+ years. If you're going to have chickens, you MUST educate yourself on how to care for them and attack any problem immediately when you see it. LOOK at your chickens daily, each and every one of them. Anything odd, search for symptoms you see online and find the solution. Treat your chickens with the right medications and they will recover from most issues, just like humans. Below is my experience and honest opinion for those who search for a cure.

In chickens (all sizes and ages) eye issues abound. You see it here all over the forums. People try everything from flushes, vinegar, yogurt, compresses.... all useless against bacteria which is usually the culprit. That's why the body is swelling, generating mucus, puss, inflammation, etc. It is 99% of the time BACTERIAL.

To those individuals who are compelled to chime in and rant about overuse of antibiotics or use of such in poultry while they hypocritically run to the doctor for antibiotics when they have a cold or allergies.......This post is NOT for you. We know your opinion and that is what it is, we do NOT need to hear it again every time someone mentions antibiotics. Bacteria are smart, overuse or not they are smart will adapt as they self preserve as they always have for millenniums. Staying ahead of them is the job of the researcher and that's another story for another time and place.

Keep in mind when they have an eye infection or swollen sinus or eye - THEY CAN NOT SEE WELL THUS THEY CAN NOT SEE THEIR FOOD their depth perception is off and eating or drinking is difficult. Put one hand over your eye right now and look around the room. You may have to help guide or show your chicken the food and water, peck at it with your finger and help them find or encourage them to it. Stay at it.

The right antibiotic is critical and if you can get with a local vet who can swab the eye or send you home with a kit it takes 24-48 hours to culture and get an answer on what is best to use in terms of pills. If the bird is pooping and eating/drinking normally Clavamox is a preferred prescribed by many vet. For a 2.5lb (1kg) bantam I gave 1/2 of a 125mg tablet morning and evening. Cut pill in half (or quarters if you think smaller pieces would be easier (pill cutters work good for this), pull down on waddle slightly to open mouth their mouth and quickly toss/pop it in -- real quick, let go real fast, they will spit it out or eat it like a lay pellet. Do not shove it in their mouth, you do not want it to go down the wrong hole. Just pop it in the mouth gently and lightly. If they spit it out don't panic, just keep repeating until it actually goes down. You'll get the hang of it and so will they eventually it will take just a sec. I did this for 10 days to cure 3 strains of nasty infection cultured. It's a good broad spectrum antibiotic that generally works on most all issues.




BUT... for anything to do with the eye Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Ophthalmic solution 0.3 drops are my magic bullet. Yes, flush the eye with contact lens saline solution to help clean it out. Yes, use a q-tip to clean up the crud around the eye or pull eye boogers out of the eye. Yes, if you think there is some foreign object in the eye (metal/wood/rock) take chicken to vet immediately, Yes, if eye was damaged by pecking, scratching, fighting, blunt force, etc. take chicken to vet immediately.

If not and it's just a swollen eye or swollen head, swollen face, etc... it's likely infection deep in the sinus. Head swelling, eye discharge, foaming eye with swollen areas anywhere around the face, head, beak, eyes, it can be any degree of this, slight or severe. Either way, it must be treated ASAP. The bacteria gets in their EYE (somehow remember it's everywhere) and works right into the sinus and grows and multiplies in that moist warm dark happy place. The only way to get to it is to go after it with an antibiotic the exact same way it went inside the sinus cavity in the first place.... through the EYE.

I put 1-2 drops in the eye. (see pics) hold close to eye, squeeze 1 drop just above the eye and it will slide down into the eye, use 1,2,3 until you get 1 drop in the eye. Use q-tip to massage area just in front of corner of eye lightly until you see the eye suck in the liquid, actually pulls this into the eye and sinus. Do not restrain the chicken, have patience until it will stand still and let you work on it. It will, if you give it time to calm down. Use q-tip to gently pull out any goo or slime in the eye corner you see, sometimes thick snot/mucus, just gently pull it out. Use q-tip to make sure nostrils are clear and not clogged. Like a little kid, chickens get stopped up noses and it creates all kinds of problems! Keep nostrils clean.

Within 24 hours, eye started clearing and swelling going down, 3 days later chicken looked normal. Pills, shots, etc. nothing worked like getting that Cipro into the eye and working it into the sinus cavity by using a q-tip to gently massage the area in front of the eye making the eye suck it up into the sinus cavity where you can not reach and the infection really is.

Here are some photos and more info on how to make this work and give your bird the best shot at resolving that deep rooted sinus problem, swollen eye, etc.

If your chicken looks anything like this....



Get yourself some of this (from vet or online source Google it - pigeon people use and sell/buy it online a lot).



Then clean the eye as mentioned above, then let chicken stand or sit there until it calms down a bit. Put hand on other side of face to help support it gently so you can work on it and when chicken is still try to drop a drop above the eye (just touch the skin with the drop and it will dribble down into the eye pocket) most chickens will freak and shake head and sling it everywhere - just do it again until you see the liquid sitting in the eye.

I do not have before pics of the chicken below - but his eye was swollen shut and it looked like a someone shoved a marble under his skin - this happened on one side, then 2 weeks later on the other. Foamy eye, lots of mucus - I pulled out daily 1000 q-tips of mucus strings from his eyes keeping them clear and cleaning removing gunk from his nostrils so he could breathe. Both sides cleared up quickly after the drops were administered. Keep in mind we went through months of Tylan, Baytril, Clavamox, etc. Nothing could get into or after that SINUS BACTERIA because of it's location. Drops were the only thing and worked immediately.



Then use q-tip to gently massage in a circular rubbing motion GENTLY back and forth until you see the drop disappear, do not hold chicken as they will usually open their mouth as the little drop of liquid works through their sinus/nose and into their mouth, they swallow. The Cipro has gone through the eye into the sinus cavity and maybe into the mouth a bit. It's ok. Remember - it's just 1 drop or so. Do this morning lunch and evening or just morning evening depending on severity.



See the drop sitting in the eye or on top of the eye, pull lid down gently with q-tip if you need to so that it is mostly in the eye.

Then see below.... worked into the sinus cavity. If the sinus cavity is too swollen, massage it gently with q-tip anyway and also around the part of the eye where it isn't swollen. Just getting the drop in the eye is a step in the right direction to help the swelling start to go down - may take you a little longer in severe cases, just use your brain and work with it. Think of it as if it was YOUR eye.





Make sure you clean all the goo off their face and that the nostril is not caked with yellow dried or gooey mucus. Clean/check nose 3 times a day so air can get through there and they can also breathe better. Helps dry it up in there too.

Should notice improvement in 24-36 hours. 48 hours on some tough cases.

Keep your chicken in a cage with water/food in warm place (laundry rooms are good for this but not on dryer or washer) and cover with light fabric to keep out draft. These tiny dog kennels work great for TRIAGE setups in your house.




This is in my opinion one of the best line of defenses and treatments for the swollen head/sinus/infected eye issue. BUT when all else fails you must spend the money to take them to the vet if you want to save them but not all vets are really up to speed with chicken / poultry diagnosis and treatment. They read about it in college, but many just generally work on dogs/cats/etc. Don't be afraid to educate yourself on how to treat their ailments and work WITH your vet sometimes.

If anyone has anything else to add to this (not criticize or complain) please do.

Walter was the star in this post and most recent one for the Cipro drops.... he is now back outside with the ladies and doing fine.

Hope this helps.

Hi, I recently helped one of my roosters with this issue. Nothing worked, even antibiotic eyedrops and ointment along with injected antibiotics. Finally, his sinuses got so huge and were so impacted I figured. This is it. I wrapped him snug, and cut with a new razor blade along the bottom of each sinus cavity. Pulled the chunk of infection out the size of a small marble on each side. Rinsed with saline and dried with a qtip put some bacitracin on a qitip rubbed it in both cavities. Left the slits open, now he is almost healed completely.the infection looks completely gone! Huge difference in him now, he is eating and drinking and gaining weight. I was to the point that it was either put him out of his misery or do SOMETHING to try and help. So happy I did this. ☺

 

[casportpony]

Hi, I recently helped one of my roosters with this issue. Nothing worked, even antibiotic eyedrops and ointment along with injected antibiotics. Finally, his sinuses got so huge and were so impacted I figured. This is it. I wrapped him snug, and cut with a new razor blade along the bottom of each sinus cavity. Pulled the chunk of infection out the size of a small marble on each side. Rinsed with saline and dried with a qtip put some bacitracin on a qitip rubbed it in both cavities. Left the slits open, now he is almost healed completely.the infection looks completely gone! Huge difference in him now, he is eating and drinking and gaining weight. I was to the point that it was either put him out of his misery or do SOMETHING to try and help. So happy I did this. ☺

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Kmmpittman]

Hello, I have a bantam silkie hen who is 5 months old. She has a swelling over one eye only and some clear watery discharge in her eye. The swollen area isn’t hard and there is no visible discharge when it’s squeezed. It doesn’t appear to have pus or smell foul (fowl haha). Anyway the chicken appears to be eating and drinking normally however I’m obviously concerned. I did a photo of the unaffected side and a photo of the affected side for purposes of comparison. Any help is appreciated as I’ve only been keeping chickens for about 2 years. I do have some ophthalmic antibiotic eye drops left over from an injury and reading some of these posts it looks like an eye flush with something like vetricyn (I’m a horse person) and then those may be a good place to start? I noticed her comb looks somewhat dry today too but I don’t know if that’s unrelated or me just looking for anything different for clues. It’s been in the low 100s here in CA. Thanks for any help!

 

[AZ SaGe]

THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPINION AND EXPERIENCE GIVEN TO HOPEFULLY HELP so many of you out there that are losing your birds, heart-broken and frustrated because you felt like you didn't have anything that would work against eye issues.

Apologies that this is lengthy but understanding it and doing it take some reading. So please take some quick time to READ it if you're having a problem with swollen head, crusty eye, etc. you will find a solution.

I have worked with chickens for over 20 years. I am not going to go into my background and vast pharmacological knowledge and education regarding viral, bacterial, genetic, or systemic issues with chickens. Many of mine last well over 10-14+ years. If you're going to have chickens, you MUST educate yourself on how to care for them and attack any problem immediately when you see it. LOOK at your chickens daily, each and every one of them. Anything odd, search for symptoms you see online and find the solution. Treat your chickens with the right medications and they will recover from most issues, just like humans. Below is my experience and honest opinion for those who search for a cure.

In chickens (all sizes and ages) eye issues abound. You see it here all over the forums. People try everything from flushes, vinegar, yogurt, compresses.... all useless against bacteria which is usually the culprit. That's why the body is swelling, generating mucus, puss, inflammation, etc. It is 99% of the time BACTERIAL.

To those individuals who are compelled to chime in and rant about overuse of antibiotics or use of such in poultry while they hypocritically run to the doctor for antibiotics when they have a cold or allergies.......This post is NOT for you. We know your opinion and that is what it is, we do NOT need to hear it again every time someone mentions antibiotics. Bacteria are smart, overuse or not they are smart will adapt as they self preserve as they always have for millenniums. Staying ahead of them is the job of the researcher and that's another story for another time and place.

Keep in mind when they have an eye infection or swollen sinus or eye - THEY CAN NOT SEE WELL THUS THEY CAN NOT SEE THEIR FOOD their depth perception is off and eating or drinking is difficult. Put one hand over your eye right now and look around the room. You may have to help guide or show your chicken the food and water, peck at it with your finger and help them find or encourage them to it. Stay at it.

The right antibiotic is critical and if you can get with a local vet who can swab the eye or send you home with a kit it takes 24-48 hours to culture and get an answer on what is best to use in terms of pills. If the bird is pooping and eating/drinking normally Clavamox is a preferred prescribed by many vet. For a 2.5lb (1kg) bantam I gave 1/2 of a 125mg tablet morning and evening. Cut pill in half (or quarters if you think smaller pieces would be easier (pill cutters work good for this), pull down on waddle slightly to open mouth their mouth and quickly toss/pop it in -- real quick, let go real fast, they will spit it out or eat it like a lay pellet. Do not shove it in their mouth, you do not want it to go down the wrong hole. Just pop it in the mouth gently and lightly. If they spit it out don't panic, just keep repeating until it actually goes down. You'll get the hang of it and so will they eventually it will take just a sec. I did this for 10 days to cure 3 strains of nasty infection cultured. It's a good broad spectrum antibiotic that generally works on most all issues.




BUT... for anything to do with the eye Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Ophthalmic solution 0.3 drops are my magic bullet. Yes, flush the eye with contact lens saline solution to help clean it out. Yes, use a q-tip to clean up the crud around the eye or pull eye boogers out of the eye. Yes, if you think there is some foreign object in the eye (metal/wood/rock) take chicken to vet immediately, Yes, if eye was damaged by pecking, scratching, fighting, blunt force, etc. take chicken to vet immediately.

If not and it's just a swollen eye or swollen head, swollen face, etc... it's likely infection deep in the sinus. Head swelling, eye discharge, foaming eye with swollen areas anywhere around the face, head, beak, eyes, it can be any degree of this, slight or severe. Either way, it must be treated ASAP. The bacteria gets in their EYE (somehow remember it's everywhere) and works right into the sinus and grows and multiplies in that moist warm dark happy place. The only way to get to it is to go after it with an antibiotic the exact same way it went inside the sinus cavity in the first place.... through the EYE.

I put 1-2 drops in the eye. (see pics) hold close to eye, squeeze 1 drop just above the eye and it will slide down into the eye, use 1,2,3 until you get 1 drop in the eye. Use q-tip to massage area just in front of corner of eye lightly until you see the eye suck in the liquid, actually pulls this into the eye and sinus. Do not restrain the chicken, have patience until it will stand still and let you work on it. It will, if you give it time to calm down. Use q-tip to gently pull out any goo or slime in the eye corner you see, sometimes thick snot/mucus, just gently pull it out. Use q-tip to make sure nostrils are clear and not clogged. Like a little kid, chickens get stopped up noses and it creates all kinds of problems! Keep nostrils clean.

Within 24 hours, eye started clearing and swelling going down, 3 days later chicken looked normal. Pills, shots, etc. nothing worked like getting that Cipro into the eye and working it into the sinus cavity by using a q-tip to gently massage the area in front of the eye making the eye suck it up into the sinus cavity where you can not reach and the infection really is.

Here are some photos and more info on how to make this work and give your bird the best shot at resolving that deep rooted sinus problem, swollen eye, etc.

If your chicken looks anything like this....



Get yourself some of this (from vet or online source Google it - pigeon people use and sell/buy it online a lot).



Then clean the eye as mentioned above, then let chicken stand or sit there until it calms down a bit. Put hand on other side of face to help support it gently so you can work on it and when chicken is still try to drop a drop above the eye (just touch the skin with the drop and it will dribble down into the eye pocket) most chickens will freak and shake head and sling it everywhere - just do it again until you see the liquid sitting in the eye.

I do not have before pics of the chicken below - but his eye was swollen shut and it looked like a someone shoved a marble under his skin - this happened on one side, then 2 weeks later on the other. Foamy eye, lots of mucus - I pulled out daily 1000 q-tips of mucus strings from his eyes keeping them clear and cleaning removing gunk from his nostrils so he could breathe. Both sides cleared up quickly after the drops were administered. Keep in mind we went through months of Tylan, Baytril, Clavamox, etc. Nothing could get into or after that SINUS BACTERIA because of it's location. Drops were the only thing and worked immediately.



Then use q-tip to gently massage in a circular rubbing motion GENTLY back and forth until you see the drop disappear, do not hold chicken as they will usually open their mouth as the little drop of liquid works through their sinus/nose and into their mouth, they swallow. The Cipro has gone through the eye into the sinus cavity and maybe into the mouth a bit. It's ok. Remember - it's just 1 drop or so. Do this morning lunch and evening or just morning evening depending on severity.



See the drop sitting in the eye or on top of the eye, pull lid down gently with q-tip if you need to so that it is mostly in the eye.

Then see below.... worked into the sinus cavity. If the sinus cavity is too swollen, massage it gently with q-tip anyway and also around the part of the eye where it isn't swollen. Just getting the drop in the eye is a step in the right direction to help the swelling start to go down - may take you a little longer in severe cases, just use your brain and work with it. Think of it as if it was YOUR eye.





Make sure you clean all the goo off their face and that the nostril is not caked with yellow dried or gooey mucus. Clean/check nose 3 times a day so air can get through there and they can also breathe better. Helps dry it up in there too.

Should notice improvement in 24-36 hours. 48 hours on some tough cases.

Keep your chicken in a cage with water/food in warm place (laundry rooms are good for this but not on dryer or washer) and cover with light fabric to keep out draft. These tiny dog kennels work great for TRIAGE setups in your house.




This is in my opinion one of the best line of defenses and treatments for the swollen head/sinus/infected eye issue. BUT when all else fails you must spend the money to take them to the vet if you want to save them but not all vets are really up to speed with chicken / poultry diagnosis and treatment. They read about it in college, but many just generally work on dogs/cats/etc. Don't be afraid to educate yourself on how to treat their ailments and work WITH your vet sometimes.

If anyone has anything else to add to this (not criticize or complain) please do.

Walter was the star in this post and most recent one for the Cipro drops.... he is now back outside with the ladies and doing fine.

Hope this helps.

Those drops are prescription only , not paying a high vet bill for a $3 chicken. Any suggestions on non-prescription meds?

 

[casportpony]

Those drops are prescription only , not paying a high vet bill for a $3 chicken. Any suggestions on non-prescription meds?

Baytril 10% - All Bird Products is what I would use. I would give 0.07 ml per pound of body weight orally twice a day for 3-5 days.