Please help: Eye infection--bubbles and stye on eye lid (PIC)

[Stef in Davis CA]

Hi BYC,

Please help me with my sweetest little chicken. Fluffy, my gentle white easter egger arrived this morning with an eye infection

. In the front corner of her eye are white foamy bubbles and on the bottom lid is a swollen bump, like a stye or something. Her little cheek puff is gummed up from discharge from the eye. Any idea what this is? What should I do? She seems healthy otherwise and the other eye is fine. You can see this all in the pic.

Recently my flock had some lesions on their feet that the vet said were likely due to fowl pox they had gotten last year, kind of how people get shingles later on from chicken pox. Could this be related to that fowl pox virus too? Or is it something more terrible???
I'm so nervous about my chicken!
Thanks for any help or advice...my last vet visit for the foot lesions cost $150 including Clavamox pills earlier this month, but I'm willing to go back if this is very serious and she won't be able to fight it off.

 

[Stef in Davis CA]

Hi, it's been two days and the eye seems a bit crustier. Does anyone have any advice? Has anyone seen this before or think it's worth going to the vet for? I swabbed the whole area with warm water and a cloth to clean it, but that's all I can think of.
Thanks!

 

[loralei]

Sorry you're going through this! I know how scary it is. I am currently going through what seems to be a pox thing myself. I have been flushing Fancy's eye with saline solution with a few drops of Tylan-50 (the injectable). I only started this yesterday but today her eye was much improved. I was afraid to try it but I'm glad I did.

Hugs to you and your girl!
Laura

 

[Chickenaddict]

You could try terrimycin eye ointment on the eye but if it is fowl pox it has to run it's course. The eye ointment won't hurt in any case. I had to order mine online for a hen with a similar situation only hers looked like cherry eye with no legions. Hers oozed as well and occasionallly bubbled. Is the hen displaying any other symptoms?

 

[happi752]

looks like fowl pox to me.

 

[luvarabhorses]

Put some neosporin ointment on a q tip and carefully put it in the corner or if possible along the lower inside of the lid. You want the regular neosporin (or triple antibiotic generic) not the one with pain relief. It's not really going to stay there but enough will be absorbed to do the job.

That's terrible about the foot lesion, we definitely could have helped you on here with that one also.

 

[Stef in Davis CA]

Thanks for all the support! Dealing with chicken illness is so draining cause I just feel kinda helpless...I never imagined fowl pox from last spring could cause something like this, so it's good to hear it looks like pox again from someone with experience, because that was my hunch (after the other bird got lesions on the feet from the virus...).

Well, Fluffy has no other symptoms that I can see, she's eating her layer pellets and lettuces well and I sniffed her all over and no smell or respiratory symptoms. What kind of saline rinse would be good for the eye...would contact solution work??

What do you think of this plan? If it is the pox virus, there isn't much I can do except try to prevent secondary infection, so I'll try:
-warm water & cloth to wipe away discharge in morning (I'll try to get saline so possibly this too?) & neosporin triple antibiotic
-try to get terrimycin eye ointment at feed store tomorrow after work & apply in the evening for a week or so
-hopefully this just heals on its own

I'll try this plan and hope I have good news to report sometime soon....

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[Lynn57]

Here on the signs of Fowl Pox according to the disease site on the poultry site.

Signs

Warty, spreading eruptions and scabs on comb and wattles.
Caseous deposits in mouth, throat and sometimes trachea.
Depression.
Inappetance.
Poor growth.
Poor egg production.

How come you guys think it is this?

 

[Stef in Davis CA]

Also, what makes people think this looks like the pox virus? Is there anything that tips you off?

And Lorelei, where did you hear about Tylan50 in the saline flush?

Thanks!

 

[Chickenaddict]

Regular over the counter saline you get at the drug store would work fine for a flush or there is a recipe on here to make your own. I never said it was foul pox it looks to me like she may have gotten bit in the eye thus causing her infection. However I have never dealt with fowl pox here so I wouldn't have a clue as to what it looks like. Glad to hear there are no other symptoms or funky smells

The terramycin eye ointment will work for the eye infection but needs to be applied at least 2 times a day. I'd flush her eye with saline at least 2 times a day as well to help get rid of the gunk