fowl pox with secondary swollen and foamy eye

[LutzFLdawg]

One of our lorps developed a few dark spots on her comb a couple of weeks ago, and earlier this week, she got a really crusty and runny eye. Thinking it was fowl pox, I began using Neosporin on the spots, the ones on her comb cleared up, but she two on her waddles, but her eye is still runny. I checked on her earlier today, and one eye is really swollen and has a lot of clear watery discharge. Activity wise, she's acting normal except is seems like she's having trouble seeing out of that eye.



After cleaning it up (and you can see a pox spot on her wattle):



I'm thinking the puffiness may be from her scratching at it, irritating it.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Could this be something over than fowl pox?

 

[Eggcessive]

She make just have some pox around her eyelid causing the foam, but I would start cleaning her eye with saline, and apply Terramycin Eye Ointment or plain Neosporin to the eyes affected. Than you may want to treat her with some Oxytetracycline or Gallimycin (erythromycin) in her water for 7 days. Tylan would also be work well. The oxytetracycline brand below dosage is 2 1/2 tablespoonsful per gallon of water.

 

[LutzFLdawg]

thanks, I've been treating her eye for 2 days now with Neosporin. So I'm thinking it's time for something a little more heavy duty. Looks like Tractor Supply sells the oxytetracycline, I'll pick some up tomorrow.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vetericyn eye gel is also good for eyes as well as the others. TSC sells the Terramycin (oxytetracycline) eye ointment, but you may have to ask for it since they lock it up at my TSC.

 

[LutzFLdawg]

I got her started on the oxytetracycline yesterday, and today her eye looks awful, and her fowl pox spots are bigger. It's so bad she can't see, and just sits roosting on a perch in the yard instead of doing the chicken wander the rest do. TS didn't have the Terramycin eye ointment, but I see our vet on Wednesday for an unrelated matter and will ask him for a tube.

I'm not sure what else to do. Will this run it's course? I'm getting really worried about this hen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Pox will last 3-5 weeks, but the chickens that do poorly are ones that stop eating or suffer secondary infections. Clean her eye twice a day and apply the Neosporin. Your vet may also have erythromycin or even a better eye ointment for her. If you can get a feeding tube for her along with a large syringe, you can crop feed her if it becomes necessary. Electrolytes and vitamins in her water might be good for now. I would offer her a scrambled egg chopped up, or some canned tuna or ground meat to entice her to eat. Casportpony has a good series of threads on crop and tube feeding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

 

[LutzFLdawg]

Her eye is looking progressively worse and the smell is awful. I talked to our vet at length, and I'm altering the treatment plan. Instead of putting the oxytetracycline in the drinking water, I'm using a irrigation syringe to force it down her throat 2 or 3 times daily, since we need to treat her systemically instead of topically. Her crop felt empty this morning (which is new) so I'm starting force feeding this afternoon as soon as I can gather the supplies.

 

[Eggcessive]

Your vet could prescribe Baytril if possible. It is illegal to use in chickens, but since you are not going to eat her, it would not matter. It is similar to Cipro. I suppose she could have coryza as a secondary infection. That responds to sulfa drugs such as Sulmet and Sulfadimethoxine, used at the same time as oxytetracycline or Tylan. It could be just an infection causing the odor.

 

[LutzFLdawg]

He is pretty adamant about not supplying anything contraindicated for chicken use, and he also didn't have any of the antibiotics that where on safe list my in stock, so he couldn't give to me if he wanted to. He did say there's been supply issues with the ophthalmological version of Terramycin, and he's just now seeing it available for order from regular non-formulary suppliers.

Baytril looks like a winner though, I'll ask him if he can order it.

 

[LutzFLdawg]

Well, we're on the second full day of tube feeding, and her attitude and activity has perked up a bit. I've been placing her in front of the food every chance I get, and she still isn't pecking at it. Same with the waterer. Tube feeding is far easier than I imagined once I got the supplies. I'm using an 18 french feeding tube my vet sold me, and it's great. I thought it would be too big but my girl doesn't seem to mind it once it's in.

I've also been giving her the oxytetracycline orally and neosporin topically twice a day, and while the smell of the fluid in her eye has improved, the amount of discharge and the swelling around her eye hasn't gone done much at all. I still can't find anything heavier duty than that, I've been called the local feed stores and they don't have Terramycin eye ointment. Once does have Tylan but it's the injectable form, not the powder, and they want a small fortune for it.

The other thing I've noticed is that some of the pox scabs are loosening and look to want to fall off, and one of the first ones that developed did fall off this afternoon. I guess that's a good sign.

So should I continue on with the oxytetracycline or go with something stronger? I've read that after three days you don't see improvement on the oxytetracycline it's best to step it up.

Here's her eye this afternoon after cleaning the foamy discharge off: