Need help identifying eye disease

SJPaterson

Chirping
7 Years
Jul 22, 2017
3
1
69
Great Village, Nova Scotia
I adopted a 5 month old pullet today (copper maran) that has an obvious eye disease but I am unable to google and identify the cause. Hoping I can get help here. One eye is encased in a hard shell of discharge the other is still supple (I have put some antibiotic vet eye cream on it so it look only slightly more cloudy than usual). Has anyone seen this before? Thank you. (The vets are closed until Monday).
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Hi @SJPaterson :frow Welcome To BYC

Where did she come from?
Do you have an existing flock?
Can she see at all from the white eye?

It's hard to know what's going on there, hopefully your vet can see her.

There can be many causes of eye disorders - disease, infection from injury/trauma, respiratory illness, cataracts, ammonia fumes from droppings, conjunctivitis - there's no way for us to know.

I do recommend that if you have other chickens you practice strict quarantine and bio-security until you can get some answers to the cause of her eyes looking like that. I would hate for the cause to be a contagious respiratory illness that could infect your flock.

In the meantime, see that she is drinking and eating her chick starter well. I hope you can get some clear answers from your vet.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/08/biosecurity-for-backyard-chickens.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/quarantine-of-backyard-chickens-why-and.html

Common eye disorders:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps031
 
She is well quarantined - thank you though for a good reminder - the place I got her is very clean, with healthy animals, and a very conscientious owner - she gives them organic feed, fish meal etc. The eye problem started while the previous owner was out of town and her husband was tending her flock. It is a mystery and no other pullet of her 30 was affected. She is easting and drinking - can stand but has some balance issues because of the vision limits. We think she can see light from the clouded eye - but nothing from the one with the crusted discharge. I was hoping to put a warm wet compress on her encrusted eye to see if we can loosen it's hold on her lens, but wanted all advice FIRST.

I also took two barred rock, same age that were lame in one leg. I have been thoroughly combing through as much info I can on Marek's disease when I saw the lameness. Both are also quarantined from my flock. They are showing no other Marek-like symptoms so I have started them on Brewer's yeast.

Any and all advice welcome.
 
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