Help with Swollen Eye

[tcfoster]

Hi all! I'm going to post some pictures of my girl Petunia's eye. Her left eye is incredibly swollen. She has had respiratory issues her whole life, she is just over 1 year old. In July of 2020 we rescued 12 pullets from an animal hoarder who was not properly caring for his birds, and she was one of them. They all had lice, mites, and respiratory problems. We treated with several doses of Tylan antibiotic injections after their rescue. We suspect we may have MG in the flock. Unfortunately only 8 of the 12 have made it this point but they are doing well, however I notice that from time to time some of them still get sneezy and their eyes get bubbly. Tunie's eye is looking really terrible right now and I'm not sure what I can do. It's almost like it's clogged or something. Any advice would be helpful! She is eating, drinking, laying, roosting, and behaving normally. Photos below are of the bad eye and also one of her other eye for comparison (Tunie did not want her photos posted as she is going through a particularly unsightly summer molt, and she apologies for her feathers). Thank you for reading!

 

[Blue Raptor]

Here is a thread that sounds similar, and that might help you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...tis,the live through it they will be carriers.

 

[tcfoster]

Here is a thread that sounds similar, and that might help you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-swollen-eye-with-bubbling-liquid.36823/#:~:text="Bubbly eye" is usually a sign of bronchitis,the live through it they will be carriers.

Thank you! I suppose I should have looked for similar posts first.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Thank you! I suppose I should have looked for similar posts first.

Well, at least you know for next time!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She has had respiratory issues her whole life,

We treated with several doses of Tylan antibiotic injections after their rescue. We suspect we may have MG in the flock.

I notice that from time to time some of them still get sneezy and their eyes get bubbly. Tunie's eye is looking really terrible right now and I'm not sure what I can do. It's almost like it's clogged or something.

Bubbly eye is usually an indication of MG and if you are seeing relapse, then likely that's what you are dealing with.
Does the Tylan help at all?
Any lesions inside the beak?

I would flush her eye with saline, press the eye to help release the pus that is causing the swelling, then apply Terramycin in the eye.

Tylan/Tylosin can be used to treat symptoms of MG. It can be given orally. What do you have and what dose are you using? (Tylan50, Tylan200 or Tylosin powder)

Some folks that have MG flocks use Tiamulin (Denagard) once a month for 3 days to help prevent bird from becoming symptomatic. This is something you may want to consider using.

 

[tcfoster]

Bubbly eye is usually an indication of MG and if you are seeing relapse, then likely that's what you are dealing with.
Does the Tylan help at all?
Any lesions inside the beak?

I would flush her eye with saline, press the eye to help release the pus that is causing the swelling, then apply Terramycin in the eye.

Tylan/Tylosin can be used to treat symptoms of MG. It can be given orally. What do you have and what dose are you using? (Tylan50, Tylan200 or Tylosin powder)

Some folks that have MG flocks use Tiamulin (Denagard) once a month for 3 days to help prevent bird from becoming symptomatic. This is something you may want to consider using.

Thank you Wyorp Rock for responding, for some reason I just saw this.

-We have not treated with Tylan ( we used Tylan50, injectable SQ or IM) since last year, but it helped completely. It saved them. We did everyone with 2 rounds (I can't remember if it was once a day or every other day for five days, we had it calculated out at the time).

-No lesions that I can see but I will look closer when I can get home today and can have my husband help me hold her.

-Right now everyone seems fine except for the occasional sneeze, it's just her bubble eye. Would it be worth treating just her (with another Tylan round)?

-I will also try to flush and drain her eye, I have washed it with saline but haven't pressed it to try to bring the pus out. And I will get some Terramycin.

-I haven't heard of Tiamulin for ongoing support for MG, will look into it. We never confirmed we had MG. I did have a necropsy done on one of my silkie's that passed away, however she was in my bantam coop and didn't have direct contact with these birds, and they didn't see MG. Unfortunately we are in California and I'm sure it's not available at our local feed store but I can look online. Do you know if it's harmful if it's something else we are dealing with and it's not actually MG (bronchitis, etc).

Thank you again so much

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Right now everyone seems fine except for the occasional sneeze, it's just her bubble eye. Would it be worth treating just her (with another Tylan round)?

I will also try to flush and drain her eye, I have washed it with saline but haven't pressed it to try to bring the pus out. And I will get some Terramycin.

I would try flushing the eye and using ointment to see if she clears up. If you still feel she needs addition supportive care with the Tylan, then give that. Tylan50 can be given orally instead of by injection. Since it should be administered 3X a day, that's a lot of injections and you risk injection sight necrosis. You can give at a rate of 0.25ml per pound of weight orally 3 times a day for 5 days in a row.

I believe you would have to order Tiamulin (Denagard) regardless of what state you are in.
It is used to treat symptoms of MG, so if you are dealing with a virus (like Infectious Bronchitis) is would not be effective since antibiotics won't treat viruses.