Pecked eye - flipflop the sablepoot

[Shabana]

Hey all
When I bought my 3 sablepoots it was clear flipflop was in a bad way. Me being me I decided to take her anyway thinking her best chance was with us.

Initial examination showed badly pecked feet and neck and an extremely swollen face and eye.
We isolated her and used antiseptic antibacterial sprays on her feet and neck and chloramphenicol drops in her eye. She also had tylan in her water for 2 weeks.
Bring in the uk you can only get this by visiting a vet and then they only prescribe small amounts. I had enough in to do the 2 weeks and I've probably got another weeks worth left.
I used the eye drops for 3 weeks approx.

She eats very well and she is in the company of slipper the cockerel and they seem happy together. All her feathers are back and her feet and neck are healed.

Although her eye still looks bad, this is now 2 months in, and it is a third of the size it was. At the beginning she almost looked like she had 2 heads bless her.

My question is, how do I get her the rest of the way ? We seem to have come to a halt with her eye getting no better, no worse. She opens her eye quite a lot and sometimes I see her wipe it on her side. I do think she can see a tiny bit out if it.
There is still some swelling but no discharge.
Should I do another week with the remaining tylan and eye drops ? Is there anything else available to me in the uk ?
This is my little girl.

Many many thanks
Shabana

 

[Shabana]

I should also add that she is a little bit porky due to being hand fed and basically treated like a princess which of course she is !
And she has just gone through a molt. She hasn't laid an egg since she arrived and that's probably due to her injuries, then the molt / chubbyness. I wouldn't mind if she never laid - I'm just adding this info incase it's pointing towards her still being in discomfort.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated xxx

 

[Shabana]

Would be ever so grateful if there's any advice out there please xx

 

[ten chicks]

I should also add that she is a little bit porky due to being hand fed and basically treated like a princess which of course she is !
And she has just gone through a molt. She hasn't laid an egg since she arrived and that's probably due to her injuries, then the molt / chubbyness. I wouldn't mind if she never laid - I'm just adding this info incase it's pointing towards her still being in discomfort.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated xxx

You have everything covered,i would continue the treatment. Poor girl,she is lucky you purchased her,disgusting how some people do not look after their animals.

 

[Shabana]

Thanks for the reply hun

Ok I will do another week with the drops and the tylan

Yes the place they came from was a nightmare. The cockerel (we've called him Slipper), was in with another cockerel and had really quite bad wounds on his neck, and Flipflop was in such a state and was such a sad little girl. The only one that seemed reasonably ok was Boots who is in my main coop with my banties - her feathers on her feet are a bit of a mess but she's a bit of a tom boy and forever digging so don't think she'll ever look well turned out lol

Flipflop and Slipper are like an old married couple They perch on their outdoor perches together and quite often if he finds a tasty beetle or worm he will shout her over and let her have it. They really are a pair of sweeties.
Its so maddening when people keep these beautiful creatures badly and don't love them or even appreciate their basic needs.

 

[Blackberry Hill]

Hi, Shabana --- I am so sorry that it took me so long to get here! I had one of those days. After your PM, I was worried that it was an emergency.

What you have here are three very lucky lil' chickies for having been found by you. Poor Flipflop was in just dredful shape.... as I was reading & taking notes, I kept saying, "oh, no... oh, no...." then as I got further along, I began to feel a great deal of relief as you have done wonders in a short period of time.

I understand that you want to take it just a bit farther. I am happy to help you all I can. I just want to be clear that I am NOT an avian vet. I got my undergrad degree in Biology, my Master's in Biochemistry and did 3 years at Veterinary Medical School. I am one year short of my doctorate. I have spent 19 yrs in Research & Development of drugs used in vet medicine. Nine yrs ago, I began working as back up at a Vet Clinic. I do have extensive hands on experience taking care of animals including chickens. When you have a few minutes over coffee, read my other posts. Although it is distasteful, many with backyard poultry will come to deal with Myiasis so you may want to file my comments on that. I hope you NEVER need them but it's good to be prepared.

The reason I tell you all that is so that we have a clear understanding that you can trust me while you also realize that an avian vet would have a lot more knowledge --- I think that specialty would entail 2 additional years of school.

Regarding Flipflop, let me say that I think you have done a fantastic job!

Now a few questions:
1) How old do you think she is approximately?
2) I take it that you got the Tylan from the Vet? Did the Vet exam the eye?
3) Is the chloramphenicol available over the counter at your local shop? Is that the correct spelling? I need to make sure that I know exactly what drug you are giving her. And these drops are meant for the eyes? Human or animal?
4) There are different Tylans --- 50 or 200? Injectable or powder? What dosage are you giving?
5) What do you feed them on an average day? Vitamins?

Now, I can think of a lot of things to cover. The eye drops & the Tylan have worked wonders so far so go ahead and start another week while we weigh your other possibilities.

It is very late here and I need to get to sleep. I will be back every evening to check on Flipflop. Tonight I wanted to touch base and see what was what. All in all, I think she has a good chance of being just fine. It may take some time and tender, loving care --- I think you have that covered!

Take care, Sherilyn

 

[Shabana]

Thank you so so much !!!

- The chloramphenicol drops are for humans but where recommended by my vet and they are available in most supermarkets in the UK, made by Optrex they are an antibiotic drop for the eye. I,ve used them myself to clear conjunctivitis.
I,m not sure about the Tylan dosage but I,m off to the Coops shortly so i will have a look but its a powder that you mix into 5ltrs of water and they drink the solution. It was originally prescribed by the vet (who is not very good with chickens - her words not mine) for a little barred wyandotte bantam (Humbug) who had been sneezing a little and I had quite a bit left.
I think Flipflop is 18months roughly.
Her food is Layers pellets, mixed seed and maize with grit and oyster shell. She also has access to short grass bugs and such as their pen is pretty huge for 2 little munchkins. She has treats and fruit. She was wormed along with all my the other hens 2 weeks ago and presently has apple cider vinegar in her water, which i will replace today with the tylan solution.

Thanks again so so much. I'm sure she's on the mend but seems to have remained unchanged for a while and I'd like to be able to get her as close to 100% as I can

Best wishes
Shabana xxxx

 

[Shabana]

Heya
I had a look at the tylan but all it says on my bottle is their printed label which indicates 2.5mg in their water but doesn't say what strength it is unfortunately.
Xx

 

[Blackberry Hill]

Good Morning, Shabana
(I think as it is Good Night here.....)

Thanks for the info. It was very helpful.

So, we are starting on a week course of the Tylan & eye drops. By the end of that week we will have a plan in place. I think the key here is to switch to a stronger antibiotic. Note that we can definitely state that we are dealing with an infection as if it were say, a tumor, then it would not have responded so favorably to the first course of antibiotics. Often reaching a cure lies in the right antibiotic.

I admit I am falling asleep so I will sign off. Keep up the great work that you are doing. I am sure Flipflop adores you! Take Care, Sherilyn

 

[Shabana]

Thank you again ! I will keep you posted on how she goes on