Hens slightly swollen around the eyes

[Meca]

I have three hens that look like around their eyes is slightly swollen and a little red. I checked them to see if they had drainage coming from their eyes. There is no drainage, no foul smells, no sneezing, or wheezing in any of this hens. I do however have one hen that keeps one eye closed as if it is scratched or something.


It has been extremely cold and very windy so we have left the coop doors closed. (Negative temps) My husband decided to bed them with straw and I am wondering if that may be causing part of this issue.

Can anyone advise me on what I should do? I have oxytetracycline here, but have never used it.

We have 40 chickens and 9 ducks in the coop. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) can cause swollen sinuses around eyes. Symptoms can vary from foamy to sticky eye drainage, nasal drainage to noisy breath sounds. Effective medicines for treatment are Tylan, oxytetracycline and other tetracycline drugs, Gallimycin, and lincomycin/spectinomycin. Here is a good link to read on the respiratory diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Oxytetracycline dosage is 2 1/2 tablespoonsful per gallon of water if this is the brand you have:

 

[Meca]

Yes, that is what I have. Do I need to worry about my ducks? They are in the same pen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Ducks can get MG also. You could probably get one or two sick birds tested for MG to make sure of a diagnosis.

 

[Meca]

Another quick question. Should I put the medicine in the water every time I give them water? I have been giving fresh water every 2-3 hours in this extremely cold temps.

 

[Meca]

Thank you so much for answering my questions.

 

[Eggcessive]

You are welcome. You can mix up a gallon jug of the medicine, and add some throughout the day to their waterer, so that it does freeze. I use electric dog bowl waterers to keep my water thawed. Chickens with respiratory diseases may need extra heat to stay warm, so you could always bring the sick ones together inside. It can get complicated with sick ones.