Infected eye

[Jenredpanda]

Hello! I recently found sweet Simone with her eye as pictured in the attachment. It’s somewhat swollen with a white-ish mass in it. She has no other symptoms or injuries and continues to participate in chicken life. I’ve been spraying her eye with my chicken anti bacterial and anti fungal spray but no change. Any ideas as to what this is or how else to treat it?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is that her eyelid skin that is whitish? What does the inside of her eye look like or can you see it? Are there bubbles or pus inside the eyelid? If the white is the skin, I wonder if she has been pecked or has injured her eye, and the skin of the lower lid is infected. I would irrigate the eye twice a day with saline eye wash (Bausch and Lomb Eye Relief) or generic is fine. Then use Terramycin eye ointment found at feed stores, or plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment twice a day.

 

[Jenredpanda]

Is that her eyelid skin that is whitish? What does the inside of her eye look like or can you see it? Are there bubbles or pus inside the eyelid? If the white is the skin, I wonder if she has been pecked or has injured her eye, and the skin of the lower lid is infected. I would irrigate the eye twice a day with saline eye wash (Bausch and Lomb Eye Relief) or generic is fine. Then use Terramycin eye ointment found at feed stores, or plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment twice a day.

I figured the white stuff was

Is that her eyelid skin that is whitish? What does the inside of her eye look like or can you see it? Are there bubbles or pus inside the eyelid? If the white is the skin, I wonder if she has been pecked or has injured her eye, and the skin of the lower lid is infected. I would irrigate the eye twice a day with saline eye wash (Bausch and Lomb Eye Relief) or generic is fine. Then use Terramycin eye ointment found at feed stores, or plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment twice a day.

I cannot see her eye at all. I’m not really sure what the white stuff is, but when I put a saline compress over the eye some of it kinda crumbled and came out. I don’t know if I should try to remove more of the crumbly white stuff but it’ll have to wait until I’ve got another set of hands tomorrow so hopefully I can figure it out by then.

 

[Eggcessive]

It may be crust from the eye secretions. A warm compress help on the eye for a few minutes might help to liquify that. The eyelid may be too swollen to actually see the eyeball. If you pull the lower lid down, you might be able to see it when you are applying the ointment into the eye.

 

[Myrshine]

Questions to ask before assuming what it may be.

1. Sniff around her nares (nostrils), is there a foul fishy-like smell?
2. Old old is she?
3. Does she currently lay? If so, when was the last time she laid an egg?
4. Is she having any other symptoms?

There are 2 possible diseases that may be the culprit of this cause, 1, being Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) or 2, being Infectious Coryza.

Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) or also known as Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), is a bacterial infection of all poultry, being caused by the bacteria, Mycoplasmosis/Mycobacterium. MG is a respiratory disease of poultry, causing what is similar to a cold in humans, symptoms may include sneezing, coughing, rales, difficulty breathing, swelling around 1 or both eyes, bubbly/foamy or watery eyes, sticky eye and nasal discharge. MG may or may not be combined with Mycoplasma Synoviae (MS) which causes swelling and redness of the toes, legs or joints, nasal discharge and bubbly eyes in poultry. Both MG and MS are chronic diseases— meaning that it stays with the bird for life and symptoms will appear within times of stress. MG and MS can be easily passed from bird-to-bird through droppings, feathers, dander, respiratory secretions and other bodily fluids (saliva, blood, etc). If you plan on doing a breeding career, it's recommended not to breed from positive MG or MS birds as it can be spread through the egg to the embryo from the infected parents, making any hatching chicks, already infected with the bacteria.

Infectious Coryza is a bacterial disease of poultry, more specifically caused by the Avibacterium/Haemophilus Paragallinarum bacterium. Infectious Coryza can cause what is similar to a cold in humans, symptoms may include sneezing, nasal discharge, coughing, tracheal rales, bubbles or ocular discharge, build-up of pus within the sinuses and eyes. The bacteria that causes Infectious Coryza, comes with a unique odor similar to a fishy-like smell or a carcass-like smell that comes from the nasal discharge— which is often a yellowish to whiteish in color. Soft or hardened pus may be in one or both eyes or even in the sinuses, that will need to be coaxed out for recovery. Infectious Coryza is a chronic disease— meaning that it stays with the bird for life and symptoms will reappear within times of stress. Infectious Coryza can be easily passed from bird-to-bird though droppings, feathers, dander, respiratory secretions and other bodily fluids (blood, saliva, etc). Luckily this disease cannot be passed through eggs.

I suggest getting PCR testing done as these diseases can mimic one another. However, I'm not in belief that your bird is ailing from either of these. She could've inhaled too much dust, choking or is having potential heart related issues causing it.

 

[Jenredpanda]

Simone is doing much better now! Thank you so much for information and guidance.
She had no other symptoms, and I don’t think it’s from an illness of any sort but maybe the result of an injury or such.
After warm salt water compresses and three attempts I was finally able to squeeze the mass out from under the eyelid and it popped out. It was huge. She still has her eye but I’m not sure if it was injured or damaged. I am continuing to clean the area with saline, and applying antibiotic spray and ointment.
Thank you again!