My Chicken Has Swollen Eyes!

[TamingMaster]

Ever since we got our Chicken, Lovey, she has had swollen eyes.
(She was at laying age when we got her.)
We clean her eyes regularly with saltwater, but they don't seem to be getting any better and sometimes she has bubbles in her eyes.

(Sorry, this is the only picture I have... )
She is wheezing a little, but otherwise she is fine.
She is a Golden Brahma.

Please could you help me find out what this is and how to treat it?

 

[Eggcessive]

Wheezing, swollen eyes, and foam in the eyes can be symptoms of mycoplasma (MG.) Most respiratory diseases in chickens can make carriers of the flock, and can recur. Antibiotics such as Tylan and oxytetracycline are commonly used to treat them. Here is a list of common respiratory diseases--infectious bronchitis, MG, coryza, and ILT are common ones to look at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[TamingMaster]

It sounds like Avian Influenza or Infectious Coryza...

She lays an egg a day and she has quite a large appetite.
My other chicken has a slightly swollen face and her crest is covered with little black scabs, but she is still eating a lot.
They both have been sleeping a lot more than they usually do....

 

[Suzie]

If it were coryza..they would have an awful smell around their face and also pus coming from their eyes...

With the black scabs it may be fowl pox...look up the symptoms of fowl pox...see if the symptoms are similar..

Good luck!

 

[TamingMaster]

She does smell awful! :/

 

[TamingMaster]

I was looking at pictures on the Internet and it looks like Avian Influenza.
Is there any other diseases or viruses that relate to this?
Also, can this be caused by lice/mites?
Because she has small white lice/mites crawling on her face.
Here's a picture of my other chicken:

Lady Marigold.
She also has white lice/mites crawling on her face.

 

[Suzie]

Lice/mites can cause many problems to their health...you will need to treat the chickens, coop, remove and burn all bedding and repeat the treatment in 7 10 days..a product such as permethryn will need to be used to be effective...do not use DE ...it is useless for an infestation.

I would suggest that you treat them both immediately to rid them of the lice/mites...if you do not have any permethryn at the moment it would be a good idea to give them both a bath to help them until you can buy some....in the UK is is spelled permethrin...maybe look on ebay for best prices.

 

[TamingMaster]

We are currently treating them for Scaly Leg Mites, Roost Mites and Straw Lice.
We have bathed them in ACV, (it killed loads of the lice!!!), we have been dusting them with DE, but, we have been looking for something stronger.
We are going to get a smoke bomb to eradicate the lice from the coop.
We have put Vaseline, (petroleum jelly.), on the remaining lice eggs and we have put Scaly Leg Mite Cream on their legs, combs and wattles.(As instructed on the box.)
I will have a look at getting some Permethrin.
Thank you.
(Any other advice is welcomed! )

 

[Eggcessive]

I tend to agree that it may be coryza because of the bad odor and the swollen eyes. The black scabs may be fowl pox or peck marks--a picture would help. If you can get antibiotics from a vet, sulfadimethoxine can help treat the possible coryza. Coryza can cause your whole flock to be carriers, so culling sick birds, disinfection and cleaning of facilities, then re-populating with healthy birds a few weeks later would be a way to get it out of your flock. Fowl pox has to run it's course over several weeks, since it is a virus. Here is a link on coryza: http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...verview_of_infectious_coryza_in_chickens.html

 

[TamingMaster]

I only have two Chickens, Lady Marigold and Lovey , and Lady Marigold is at the top of the pecking order.... so I think she could have fowl pox.
(I'll try to get a better picture.)

And I really don't want to cull them, they're family pets....