PLEASE HELP! Bubbly Eye on my hen!!

[Madie]

Please someone tell me what to do!?! My GL Wyandotte has a bubbly eye. I got 3 GLW about 2 months ago along with 2 EE and 2 BO. Not long after one of the GLW got a bubbly eye and started making really wierd noises. I Quarantined her for about 1 and a half weeks...she got worse so my husband put her down. NOW one of the others has it too!!! What should I do??? I am new to this all. We brought home chicks 3 weeks ago that have been in the house..I am so afraid I am going to lose everyone of my babies AND hens. Why can't I do this....Please help!

 

[crystalchik]

Try putting them on antibiotics like water soluble Tetracycline (check your local feed store, there are different kinds), it may be a bacterial infection or it could be a virus. In the case of a virus, the antibiotics wont help, just prevent a secondary infection. If its a virus, all you can do is just let it run its course.
What you could also try doing is going holistic; maybe some green tea to help immunities and get some electrolytes. Give to them the foods that you would take if you were sick to help boost immunities like blueberries, raw spinach, oranges, cabbage (ALWAYS helps my peacocks!) or some thing like that. You could also try apple cider vinegar, which seems to help just about anything. My birds have that now, and I am trying to get my hands on Oxine, which is supposed to help with the respiratory infections. Many swear by it. Mine are on green tea (yes, I brewed 2 huge pots of green tea!) electrolytes, and I gave them an antibiotic shot yesterday because I could get the water soluble in time...all. 50. of. them. I am getting cabbage and I think I am going to add in ACV if they dont seem to be making a marked improvement.

Dont let the babies come in contact with the ones outside, which if theyre 3 weeks may be difficult, but keep them on the opposite side of the yard or something if you need to move them out. Use sanitary precautions to prevent spreading, i.e. separate feeding buckets, sanitize cloathing and shoes after you care for the sick ones, wash hands, feed the healthy ones first, sanitize the coop and feed/water cups and let them bake in the sun afterwards for a while....etc.

Try and quarentine the ones that are visibly ill, but other than that, there's really not too much you can but prevent the others from catching it. You are ahead of the game with the ones inside as long as they have had no contact with the sick ones.
I wish you the best of luck!

Oh! by the way, I wouldnt kill any of them unless they are REALLY suffering, because a lot of the times if it is a virus, they can pull through. If they make it, their resistance will be much better. Just give them the chance to pull through it...you'd be surprised at what a chicken can handle!

 

[Madie]

Thank you for your reply!!! I am going to begin with the apple cider vinegar...do I just add that to the water? I will do some more research too! I did feel badly about putting the first girl down. She stopped eating and just sat on the perch for days and days. :-( I am going to say a prayer that this girl will pull through. She is having diahrria, but I think it's because she was quarentined.

Thank you again!! Blessings to you!

 

[crystalchik]

You're very welcome, you're so sweet.

But yes, it says about 2tbsp per gal, but I just do a rough guess, a little more wont hurt them.

When my chickens start that, the not eating and drinking, I usually try to force some medicated water down them, and on occasion tube feeding also or just pieces of bread in the beak. Usually if you put a small piece of food in the back of their throat, they will just swallow it. Ofcourse, there is always one that doesnt cooperate.

But, I have good news! My flock is getting better! So something that I did was right! I am going to put them on antibiotic water tomorrow, today i did ACV because the injectable antibio is good for 2 days. But let us know how they are doing. I would definitely recommend the antibiotic water as soon as possible. Esp for the sickly girl. If she is having diarrhea, make sure she stays hydrated.
Good luck and I will say a prayer for you too!

Blessings to you and your flock too!

 

[MakNat]

Oxine! Google it. Works wonders!!!

 

[Terri O]

Well that sounds like a miracle product according to the reviews on Amazon! I am going to take a look for it at my feed store. Seems like it would be a good idea to have it on hand! Thanks--Terri O

 

[MakNat]

It is!! I'm so thankful I found it!!!

 

[RAWR]

can you post a pic?

 

[Madie]

Soooo....I tried the Apple Cider Vinegar...It worked well for the one I had isolated. But then the other girls started getting runny noses and one was sneezing. SO we decided to go get an antibiotic and put it in the water. They are all on it now. The girls are not producing eggs :-( so we haven't had that joy in a couple of weeks. I am missing those little presents! My baby girls are doing great...getting big every day. Also, this weekend my son brought home a baby (approx. 3 day old) flying squirrel. His mother was injured and died. He had two other little siblings but they died...we are nursing this little guy...praying he will live.

I am glad to hear that crystalchik's girls are better!!!!

Thank you for the other posts I am going to check out that Oxine!!

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Sounds like Coryza. Antibiotics are a good idea. If they recover they'll be carriers. The get it so fast from one another, within 24 hrs. You will need to bleach their food containers and drinkers and just about anything else before putting them back into their pen/coop. It does not live outside the bird for more than 3 days, but I've been told it's important to clean as well as you can. Do a "search" on it. I wish I would have taken pics of some birds I got. It's just as you describe starting with puffy eyes, then bubbly, then runny noses, sneezing etc. It's a highly contagious virus.

I'm no expert, but my very first batch of chicks I bought were infected and contaminated all the others. I returned them and was told by the seller that she had had it in her flock 6 mos. earlier. She said she culled 17 out of her flock but apparently she still had a carrier. I had bought some pullets from her, then bought some from another person. I decided I wanted a roo and went back to the first source. I know now that the roo was the carrier as he was sneezing. I didn't know any better at the time...I thought he's around 12 weeks & maybe he was trying to crow