Have two hens with one eye missing, looks nasty. What disease?

[hcdiffner]

So a few days ago I noticed all of a sudden that my Welsummer, about eight months old, had one eye dug out or something. It was covered in mud, blood, swelling, and no eye was visible (it might still have been there, but it would have been buried under dirt and blood). She showed no signs of pain at all, and no other obvious symptoms yet. I assumed it was just an injury, or her eye was irritated and she scratched it out (hence all the dirt).

Then today another hen, a Speckled Sussex of the same age, suddenly got the same thing without warning. Also no signs of pain or other symptoms yet. And this time I could see that the eye was definitely gone. I concluded that it was caused by some contagious disease and not just an injury since two hens got the same thing within a few days.

Any clue what disease it might be and how I can help it? Or should I just cull the birds? I'll quarantine them for now until I get some suggestions for what to do.

Thanks for any help ahead of time!

 

[Abriana]

Predator attack? Fighting? Doesn’t really sound like a sickness to me, but a predator could have attempted to attack, but then failed, and returned again and attacked the second hen in the same fashion. I am not sure if it is a sickness or not, but definitely keep them quarantined until this gets figured out. Can you post pictures? Clean the eyes or where the eyes once were to prevent infection.

 

[hcdiffner]

Pics:

 

[sourland]

Pictures are blurry when enlarged, but it almost appears as if the birds have fowl pox or perhaps a fungal infection. Hopefully someone will come along with more exact ideas.

 

[hcdiffner]

Thanks Abriana and sourland. Update: I checked all my birds and a third hen has the same thing going on (another Speckled Sussex, same age). Also, the Welsummer, who was the first to develop the problem, seems to be healing up actually. I can see her eye, which she didn't lose; it had just been buried under dirt, blood, and swelling. Which makes it seem more like an injury than a disease. One of the Sussexs though I'm pretty sure has lost her eye.

But how the same injury happened to three chickens is beyond me. Don't think it's a predator attack since i don't know any predator who'd poke three chickens in the eye and not harm them anywhere else. I'm pretty certain it's not fighting since my chickens are particularly peaceful birds; they rarely so much as even peck each other over food.

My brother had a theory that there could be some plant in the pen (ours is full of weeds and shrubs) that the chickens are allergic too and it makes their eyes itch, so they start scratching their eyes out. Perhaps this is the season that the plants release whatever it is that irritate the chickens, explaining the sudden occurrence of the issue in three chickens over about one week. That would also explain why there are no other symptoms at all.

I researched fowl pox and fungal infection, but neither seem to fit the description as symptoms include listlessness and loss of appetite, which is not evident in my chickens at all. At least not yet.

Anyway–there are a host of potential causes and I need to figure out what it is. Any other ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree with @sourland It looks like Fowl Pox to me.
(clearer photos would be helpful too)

Fowl Pox is not an injury - it is a virus which is spread by mosquitoes. Fowl Pox will usually resolve itself in several weeks, unless there is complications.

Since you mention there is blood, dirt and swelling to the eyes you will need to give them extra care to help with infection. General eye care is to flush to eyes with saline or sterile water - apply an opthalmic ointment like Terramycin, Vetericyn eye gel or Ciprofloxcin eye drops to the eyes. Be careful not to disturb the scabs if you can help it - you are just wanting to clean the eyes of blood and dirt.

Clean and sanitize your water stations to help reduce the spread of the virus. You may want to give them a boost by providing some poultry vitamins and extra protein as well.
Here is more detailed information on Fowl Pox and treatment methods:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/07/fowl-pox-prevention-treatment.html

 

[micstrachan]

I am so sorry. I literally have no idea. Agree it is likely something contagious. Almost like chicken pink eye gone wild! Isn’t there an ophthalmic ointment that might help? I forget what it’s called, but I think it might be antibiotic in nature.

Edited to add: I think it might be Terramycin. @Eggcessive ?

 

[hcdiffner]

So @sourland and @Wyorp Rock you were right, it's fowl pox. I guess I quarantined the affected birds too late because now half my flock has it. It's not afffecting their eyes, there are just ash colored dots all over their combs and wattles, obviously dry fowl pox (they all still are behaving and eating normally, thankfully). So for the first three it just particulary affected their eyes for some reason. I'll give them all vitamin supplements to boost their immune system to fight off the disease.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad you figured it out

There is usually no need to quarantine birds that have Dry Fowl Pox since it's mainly spread by mosquitoes. It could be transmitted through water stations, if those are not cleaned well on a regular basis. The link I provided for you in my previous post, gives some very good tips on how to sanitize your drinking water and containers to help prevent the spread of the virus.

I hope they recover soon, keep us posted.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would follow WyorpRock's suggestions of flushing eyes with saline. Vetericyn eye wash/eye gel are also good, and the Terramycin antibiotic eye ointment can be found at many feed stores. Eye infections and even blindness are possible complications from fowl pox. Fowl pox is common around eyes, combs, and wattles, but can also be on feathered parts of the body.