puffy eye

[naturespace]

sorry I don't know what that is. very different from what my hen had.

 

[Haunted55]

I also have one chick of 12 days old that has a puffy eye. I'm new to BYC and to chickens so any advice you can provide will be much appreciated. I'm going to try to upload two pictures of the little darling. For what I've read here it seems that adding tetracycline to the water would be the best approach. It's only in one eye, and this is the only bird that has the problem. S/he seems to be as active as the others and I'm keeping an eye on all of them. Please let me know what you think. Many thanks.
]

Know what? I would add the Duramycin-10 just to be sure. I'm not sure about the cloudiness of the eye, but suppose it could be caused by either infection or allergy. that's me, I would much rather err on the side of caution than to take the 'wait and see approach'. A lot can happen during that time frame and I would rather not lose a one to 'prove' that an antibiotic was needed. Real cutie by the way!

 

[naturespace]

i have another girl with a puffy eye. i didn't see any thing in the eye or around the eye like another tick. it's been hot and humid all week as well as a lot of the summer. i would hate to put everyone back on Druamycin. that's two weeks of throwing eggs away. I also now have 3 week old chicks that probably don't need any antibiotics introduced so early in life.

i cleaned her face off and did the VetRx in the roof of her mouth and on the puffy areas.

 

[Haunted55]

How many birds total do you have with the puffy eys now? Did the Duramycin help the first round? How about any changes in eye color or the shape of the pupil? I can suggest this...find a bottle of buffered saline nasal spray. Please make sure it's buffered! You can use that to spray and wash their eyes. I would also check their coop for mold.

 

[naturespace]

we have 12 birds. the other girls eye cleared up quickly. I'm not sure if it was the Duramycin being her eye cleared up quickly. no eye color or shape of the pupil. good advice about the eye wash. I'll try that.

i cleaned their coop out 2 days ago because it was wet from all the rain. it still smells fresh and i didn't see any mold when cleaning.

 

[Haunted55]

Maybe isolate this one and give the antibiotic just to her. You can try the eye wash and maybe some cold compresses a couple of times to see if it's allergy, but it sounds as if you've got something running through the flock. If it were me, I'd get her away from the others and treat.

 

[Stokley]

Thanks for the advice. I put them all on Tetracycline for 3 days and they are now back on straight water. Everyone is doing great and growing quickly. The puffy eye is still not normal and is mostly closed. S/he appears to be as active as the rest and eating and holding her own when fighting for treats.

Do you think it could be an injury?

 

[Haunted55]

Thanks for the advice. I put them all on Tetracycline for 3 days and they are now back on straight water. Everyone is doing great and growing quickly. The puffy eye is still not normal and is mostly closed. S/he appears to be as active as the rest and eating and holding her own when fighting for treats.

Do you think it could be an injury?

Okay, why 3 days? The tetracycline should be for 7-10 days. I know what the package says, but in reality, that dosing just doesn't cut it. Please put them back on it and continue for at least another 4 days. Even if they seem better, the antibiotic still needs to kill anything that still may be floating around in the system. This is one of the major reasons we have 'bugs' that are now resistant to the antibiotics we currently have available.

Yes it could be an injury, but I know that when the boys I have penned together start their foolishness, one will end up with an eye injury that will show infection on the inside lid of the eye. Not swelling around the eye or behind. When I see the swelling I give the Duramycin for 3-4 days, evalvuate and decide if I am going to go the 7 day course or the 10 day course, not 3.

 

[Stokley]

Ok thanks, I'll put them back on it for 4 more days. What doesage do you recommend?

 

[Haunted55]

1/2 tbls per gallon of water. This is the 400mg dosing and should be fine. Mix this fresh every 24 hrs. as it will start to break down after this amount of time.