Majorly swollen eye for a week. I'm thinking Coryza, won't drain by squeezing. How do I lance?

Hello, this is my first post on the forum, but I've loved reading other forums for months now. I got my first chickens this spring and I've had awful luck, and I really need some reassurance and guidance.

I lost two of my four birds last month, which I had raised from chicks, one to a dog, one had crossbeak and lost an eye before I had to put her down (most dreadful thing I've ever done). Three weeks ago I brought home two birds from the state fair, a pullet Barred Rock and an adult Blue Orpington. I watched them for a day then put them with the others (sigh, learn by doing) because I was going out of town in a week. The original two immediately got the sniffles (which has since gone away with tetracycline) but everybody otherwise seemed fine. Within a day of me leaving (and leaving the birds in the care of my neighbors, who did the maintenance work but otherwise knew little about chickens) we had my first hawk attack. The pullet got injured (but saved by the neighbor in the nick of time!) and has since recovered. 10 days after the attack I swung by home for a day before I headed out of town for another week, and noticed two things my neighbors had missed- one of my original birds had strange matted feathers right at both shoulder-blades and the back of the neck. I think she must have gotten injured by the hawk, bled, and has since been able to clean herself up except for in those areas. I put Vetericyn on the feathers but she appears to be fine. I'm not worried, but if somebody recognizes it as something other than bloodied feathers (mites, perhaps?) then I'd love the input.





Ok, on to my poor Orpington. I was told she was born in February, but I haven't gotten a single egg out of her. I know stress can cause this, but I'm getting the sinking feeling that they purposefully forgot to tell me which year she was born in. She's always acted shy, but the one day I was home (about a week ago) I noticed she didn't leave the coop because of an injured eye. I isolated her in an outdoor sick bay, put Vetericyn on the eye and the swollen side of the face, and added probiotics to the water before I left and instructed the neighbors to do the same (can't know for sure if they did). I returned yesterday and the issue has not gotten better, but not really worse either. The other eye occasionally has bubbles in it. She usually has her mouth open a bit. The injured eye looks like it's still intact, just surrounded with swollen tissue. What do you guys think? Injury? Virus/bacteria? There's a lot of scary diagnosis around and none of them sound optimistic. I'm angry and sad that I've had such bad luck with all of my birds. I'm tempted to scrap the whole idea and let my heart heal for awhile. Hugs and help appreciated.

 

Thanks for the quick response, cuteubbi. So you're saying squeeze the pus out gently? What did you wash the eye with?

 

Yes, I believe it's coryza, since there is a smell. I spoke on the phone with a friend of a friend and she walked me through three things-

1. Tip the bird upside down and stretch out her neck. When I did this, probably 2 tablespoons of liquid and goo came out of her throat and nose from her lungs. After, she immediately started foraging and grooming, which I hadn't seen her do in days, so she must have been able to breathe better.

2. Take a long feather and hold the bird secure. Stretch the neck out and, feather tip (not quill) end first, send it gently down the throat as far as you can, and as you remove it twist like a Q-tip, like you're cleaning an ear. Do this three times a day. So far, each time has pulled up a significant amount of goo.

3. Press hard on the swollen sinus under the eye, in hopes that it will burst out the eye or nose. When I did this, I could not get pus to erupt but I did clear away some on the surface. The tissue in the front corner of her eye is so swollen I can hardly see the eye underneath. (Here, I give a moment of thanks this is only affecting one eye. My research about these things has been disheartening.)

I've got B-12, electrolytes, and tetracycline in her water. I'm looking into getting Tylan 50 now.

My new question- my friend of a friend recommended making a tiny incision under the eye and trying to get the pus out that way. Has anyone done this and could perhaps elaborate on her suggestion?

 

Thank you, Eggcessive. I've been doing some reading. Fortunately, the swelling doesn't feel hard so we may not be to the surgical removal point. I'm going to try to slowly drain it with a 18g needle first, massage it, try to squeeze it out, and clean up whatever I can see. Then inject Tylan 50 into the area and cover with Veteracyn.

Also, I like the idea of massaging the roof of the mouth to loosen up the sinuses. I'll try that as well.

Also, interesting about the vomit.