Pullets with swollen eyes

[wallacesl]

Please help

I have been raising chickens and chicks for 10 years now and I have never seen anything like this. These 7 chicks now about 12 weeks old have been not well Since I picked them up 1st week in August. They were not very active and lethargic. It has been hot and humid here in M.D. the last month so I thought the heat was getting to them. They have been separated from the flock since they arrived but this last week They have developed these swollen eyes. One has died but not sure related since she was ill from the start. They are eating and the poo looks normal. I have been giving them electrolytes in the water along with ADV and started them on the probiotic mash. I don't know what else to do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor things!

Is there a bad odor about them? Any mucous or lesion inside the beaks.
They have infection in the eyes. Infectious Coryza can cause the large swelling like that. Mycoplasma would be something else to look into.

Clean the eyes with saline, press out the pus the best you can, then apply an eye ointment like Terramycin.

IF there's a bad odor, then a good guess would be Infectious Coryza, but without testing it's hard to know. Some folks cull, but if you want to treat, then a Sulfa antibiotic would be needed. Sulfadimethoxine or SMZ-TMP can sometimes be ordered online or you may be able to get those from your vet.

Tylosin is commonly used to treat MG, it would need to be ordered online. It can be used in conjunction with the sulfa antibiotics to treat Coryza too, but alone, it's not effective against Coryza.

If you lose another, sending the body for necropsy to confirm what you are dealing with is a good idea. I'm sorry you are having to face this.

 

[wallacesl]

My husband is thinking Coryza so we went to TSC and got the Terramycin for their eyes and also oxytetracyclin because that is what was available. There doesn't seem to be an odor. They do have some sneezing and wheezing. Guess we will know in a couple days if the antibiotics will work. I'm worried about the main folk even though they are separated. I will look into the Mycoplasma.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad you were able to find the ointment. It may help loosen what's in there, but pus had to be pressed out in order for the eyes to heal. Chicken pus is semi-solid and won't dry up on it's own.