Hen with swollen eye

[Fluff Queen]

When I checked on my chickens this evening I noticed that my 6 month old hen Chanel had her right eye closed and that side of her face looked puffy. I checked her eye on the other side and that one seemed fine and looked normal. She did not have this when I last checked on them which was around 9:30 this morning. She had a small amount of blood on her comb which made me wonder if she got pecked near the eye. Other than her eye she looked fine and was acting normal. Any help would be great!

 

[coach723]

I would flush the eye out well with sterile saline or eye wash, make sure there is no debris in there. Get a good look at the eye for any signs of injury, or pus. If there is any pus it will need to be removed. You can use terramycin eye ointment (available without a prescription at many feed stores and some tractor supply stores etc) in the eye 2-3 times a day. If you can't get that then you can use plain neosporin the same way. See if that clears it up. She could have been pecked or gotten something in the eye. If it doesn't clear up, gets worse, or if other symptoms develop, discharge from eyes, nares, beak, bubbles in eyes, more facial swelling or plaques inside the beak or throat, bad smell around the head, you may be dealing with a respiratory disease.

 

[Fluff Queen]

This morning when I went to check on her again I noticed that her eye now has some bubbles in it and she wasn’t eating as much so I am starting to think it is a respiratory infection. How would that be treated and if she has it would that mean that the others will have it also?

 

[Eggcessive]

This morning when I went to check on her again I noticed that her eye now has some bubbles in it and she wasn’t eating as much so I am starting to think it is a respiratory infection. How would that be treated and if she has it would that mean that the others will have it also?

I would treat with Tylosin powder in the water in addition to the eye care and ointment that Coach723 recommended. She may have mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG?) She doesn’t need to be isolated unless others are picking on her because she is ill. The marks on her comb are probably from pecking. Here is where to find Tylosin, and dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days.
https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-for-birds

When you get the Tylosin, I would treat only her water, and she could drink it while inside a dog crate in your run during the day, and then roost with the others at night. If they are separated away from the flock, they might be bullied if they are away too many days.

 

[Fluff Queen]

I would treat with Tylosin powder in the water in addition to the eye care and ointment that Coach723 recommended. She may have mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG?) She doesn’t need to be isolated unless others are picking on her because she is ill. The marks on her comb are probably from pecking. Here is where to find Tylosin, and dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days.
https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-for-birds

When you get the Tylosin, I would treat only her water, and she could drink it while inside a dog crate in your run during the day, and then roost with the others at night. If they are separated away from the flock, they might be bullied if they are away too many days.

Will I have to wait a few days after giving her the Tylosin to use her eggs again or would they be fine to eat? Just wondering because of the warning on the website that says you should not give it to hens whose eggs you eat.

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t know anyone who uses an egg withdrawal for Tylosin. In the past when using injectable Tylan, even then the egg withdrawal time was only 1 day. You can be extra cautious if you wish.

 

[coach723]

There is a lot of conflicting information out there. Some sites say:
Oral tylosin recommended egg withdrawl is 14 days following last dose. For inject-able tylosin recommended egg with drawl is 8 weeks. Meat withdrawl recommendation is 5 days.
Other sites say in the US, Australia, UK and Ireland there is no withdrawl period at all. Most medications don't require more than 2 weeks since birds metabolize them so quickly. I've never heard a lifetime withdrawl on eggs for tylosin. Some vets will advise it for enrofloxacin.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some links to read:
https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/tylosin

Scroll down to the last 2 paragraphs for Tylosin presence in egg:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X23062567

 

[Fluff Queen]

Update:

Thank you guys for all of the information and suggestion! I did not put her on the tylosin because after she had those few bubbles in her eye she hasn’t had any since and has continued to act normal and lay eggs and there have been no signs of any respiratory problems. I have been putting eye ointment on 3 times a day but her face around the eye is still swollen although it does seem to be looking a little less puffy. She is keeping her eye open much more now but it also seems that her eye is starting to sag and I can see some sort of pinkish film over the bottom of her eye. I tried to get a good picture but she didn’t want to stay still.

 

[Eggcessive]

Those symptoms in her eye is conjunctivitis. They can have a sunken appearance with the pink showing. If it were me, I would give the Tylosin, but that is up to you. It is very safe.