HELP! Hens with swollen eyes! 2 so far (PHOTOS)

[cackleberries]

This 2 yr old hen was fine 3 days ago now her eye is huge these pics were taken the 17th any clues?
She appears healthy otherwise eating, drinking, and no runny stools, does have a little runny nose, moves through the yard with ease a little jumpy but I figured that was because of the lack of vision on one side.
I have one more hen that has a swollen eye exactly like the pic. A 3rd that has a rattle when she breaths could this be related to the eyes? Please help If this is an contagious disease I need to move quick I have over 75 hens.
Thanks for your time!!
I have about 20 hens in each coop; the other houses are they at risk????

 

[carrlr]

Since it seem to be affecting more than one, I would definately isolating them until your sure it's not contagious for the rest. Is there any oozing of the eye?

 

[cocosandy]

Isolate right away and if you can, send her to the local university poultry extension for necropsy and diagnosis. Looks like some form of CRD, possibly a mycoplasma, to me.
It should respond to sulmet but its good to get it diagnosed. Look closely at the rest of your flock for bubbly clear eye discharge, runny nose and the like. Look for very bad breath, coughing, whooping or excessive head shaking....
any birds that have been exposed to this should be infected actively within a week or two, or become carriers...look up coryza, CRD, and mycoplasma...you will see pics posted just like your's.
The you have to decide what to do with your flock and if you want to isolate sick birds and test the rest.
...its a very common problem and is passed either by new birds or wild birds or maybe on your feet from another person's coop...
Find out what it is if you can...if not you may lose your whole flock or become a carrier and infect all of your friend's flocks.
I would send this bird and 3-5 others to the local university for necropsy and see what they find....
good luck!

 

[nnbreeder]

Seperate those birds ASAP and any others that have breathing problems too.

Always assume a disease is contagous until finding out otherwise and take extreme bio-security measures.

Always take care of the healthy birds first and the sick ones last.

NEVER go from the sick birds in quarenteen to the healthy birds.

Pull feeders and waterers immediatly and sanitize with a product like Oxine or a 10% bleach solution.

Change clothes and always sanitize shoes/boots that can track in feces and spread disease.

Pull all bedding and sanitize the coop with either Oxine or a 10% bleach solution. Spray on and let air dry.

It looks like they have a Resp. infection but most of them have the same symptoms.

There are two products that you can try. One is LS-50 and I use 1 tablespoon per gallon of water and use this as the only source of water for 7 full days. If the swelling is not down in three days though you may need to switch to a stronger medication.

The other medication is Denagard but I have heard that people are having a tough time finding it.

 

[cackleberries]

Looked closely at the rest of the flock for bubbly clear eye discharge, runny nose and the like. Looked for very bad breath, coughing, whooping or excessive head shaking, none with eye discharge not even the girls with swollen eyes they are dry ,yes on a few runny noses and wheezing not really coughing,no bad breath, and 4 shaking there heads more then usual have separated them. Where do I get Sulmet? Will Tylan 200 work as well?

 

[nnbreeder]

Sulmet is a Sulfa drug and not really useful for your situation. It is mainly used for Cocci.

Tylan 200 will work but if the infection comes back a week after stopping treatment then you can be pretty sure that you are up against a Mycoplasm infection and need to change drugs.

 

[nnbreeder]

The sinus cavities on a chicken are around their eyes and the swelling is often the only symptom of a resp. infection.

 

[cackleberries]

Alright im sure you are all right about the resp. infection I was hoping my hubby was wrong. I will start on 1/4 cc tylan 200 today should I go 3 or 5 days and if it comes back how do I treat the Mycoplasm infection not familiar with this at all my birds have never had a problem before so im not sure where this has come from we arnt around any other coops and the last new hens i got were over 4 months ago wouldn't this have showed up sooner if it was that? I do have a problem with reg birds getting in my coop for the feed Sparrows ect... my chickens do free range everyday and are cooped at night and feed inside the coop in the evening

 

[nnbreeder]

I will explain it all to you in a few minutes as I have to go to town right now and I am a slow typist. So check back in a bit.

 

[cocosandy]

sulmet is good for coryza, if thats what it is...if its a mycoplasma then antibiotics will work but the birds will be carriers for life. They can get this from wild birds. search out mycoplasma and read the different threads. Tylan may work...but be aware that any bird surviving and any bird that was exposed to them, will be carriers.
I am still trying to figure out what this means in the bigger picture myself.
I have done extensive research and sent my birds up to UConn poultry extension and am waiting for the rest of the tests to come back.
I used sulmet when I thought it was coryza. I also have used tylan 50, .5 cc injection daily for 5 days...and now a water antibiotic; galli-something...will have to go and get it.
There is another treatment that is water based that is a preventative for birds that are not sick but have been exposed.
I also have the vaccine but it only stops birds that become infected from dying...but it doesnt stop infection, so it doesnt solve the problem of the birds that carry it.
I am waiting for the extension vet to get back to me about the situaiton of other birds in another barn on the property that have had no symptoms and have been treated as the others have been all along.
It seemed to be eradicated here but last night one of my tufted araucanas had a runny nose...that made me start treating again.
I may have to cull my whole flock ...but even if I do that, there is still a chance that a bird will fly in and reinfect it.
I suggest strongly getting a diagnosis on the bird because it will really effect what your course of action should be...and meantime I would isolate any sick birds.
This can kill the whole flock pretty quickly.
Sorry...but if you do a search and look at the pics you will see what it is.
I keep hoping to find something with some hope but for now I have a very closed flock and am trying to figure this out...
any suggestions will be appreciated!

Good luck...