Sick Eye Swollen, Bumpy, almost Closed/Blind! Pls Identify (pic attached/in media)

[Chickiee]

Hi All,
ANY help you're able to give identifying what is going on with this eye would be great. I'm afraid she's going to be blind soon. Started about 4 days ago on my almost 6 yo Easter Egger, Mable. Every morning it's notably worse. I've given her Duvet Duramycin-10 Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder (antibiotic) for a couple days dissolved in water and applesauce at approximately a 400-600 mg dose in hopes it would take care of an infection. She has some of this about 3 times day. I don't know what more to do. What could this be? What more should I do?
Thank you so much!!!
(PS - she is a cross beak and that's applesauce on the end of her beak)

 

[Chickiee]

I'm not sure if the pic is attaching It's in "media" under Mable's Eye. Thank you!

 

[Kiki]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/mables-eye.7896561/#comment-6653
Here is her pic:

 

[Chickiee]

Yes, thank you KikisGirls!!! That's Mable with her ugly eye in my kitchen. Her left eye is the bad one; right one is affected just a bit.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Eggcessive ??

I'm not sure what that is - it reminds me of Fowl Pox, but I don't see any other scabs/lesions.

If you have vet care that may be best. You can try using something like Terramycin eye ointment or order some Ciprofloxcin eye drops and use those. Remove any pus that may accumulate in the eye - you can flush it with saline.

Does she have any other symptoms - coughing, sneezing or have any noticeable lesions/sores in the mouth?

Since you started with Duramycin - make this the only drinking water available for her (offer it free choice). You may want to give her a dosage that would be used for respiratory illness which usually 800mg - so mix 1.5 Tablespoons per gallon of water - you can divide that by 4 to give you a quart ration if you are treating just her.

Hopefully Kim will chime in with better ideas and suggestions.

 

[Chickiee]

Thank you! Besides the eyes, she is completely normal. No coughing, sneezing, nothing. Walking around normal. My chickens are all free ranging so I've been feeling her gizzard for fullness to make sure she's still eating. I'll have to separate her. The ointment you're mentioning... where would I find something like that? Thx!!

 

[Eggcessive]

The eye does look bumpy as happens with fowl pox scabs around the eye. Do you see any other scabs on her face, comb, or wattles that could be pox? The Terramycin eye ointment is usually available in feed stores when you ask for it. The cipro eye drops for chickens can be found online, I believe at First State Vet Supply and are very good. I would clean the eye with saline before applying the ointment, or if you get the drops instead.

 

[Chickiee]

I didn't see any other bumps or scabs. I will take a closer look at her in the morning and try to upload a new pic for an update. I'll see if our feed store has this ointment and pick up some saline. Thank you, everyone, for your help!

 

[Chickiee]

This is Mable this morning. Notice her right eye has now looking bad. There's some scabbing on her little comb, but not much. Left eye worse. She's still acting normal, but I am a bit concerned with her ability to eat soon if her eyes continue to get worse and the crossbeak gets in the way. I'll keep watch on this. I now have a spare dog crate and am separating her from the flock. Should I continue with the antibiotic? If it's Fowl Pox and the antibiotic isn't going to do anything then I can discontinue. Could it be something else? I have four 16 week old chicks that have been around Mable too. Sounds like Fowl Pox is just a virus that runs its course. I don't want any of my other birds obviously to get it, but Mable has been around everyone every day forever so I'm thinking the damage is done and although I am separating her, she could have easily contaminated everybody in the coop... that would be 3 other Hens, 4 (16 week old) Chicks, a Pekin Drake, and 2 Pekin Ducks. Ugh. Thanks for any input!! And, on a side note... my flock is no where near anyone else's. I'm really wondering how she got this.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm inclined to think that it's Fowl Pox. There are 2 forms of Fowl Pox - Dry and Wet. Dry Fowl Pox is seen by scabs on combs, face, wattles and generally clears up on it's own in a few weeks. Wet Form Fowl Pox also has the scabs, but is accompanied by respiratory symptoms and the bird has lesions/plaques inside the beak - this form can be deadly to the bird if not treated.

The antibiotics may help with any secondary infections that arise, but probably won't lessen the severity of the Pox since it's a virus. It would be up to you to determine whether to continue with them - since you started them, you may want to finish the round of treatment. In a couple of days, you may want to add some probiotics/yogurt and vitamins to her diet for a few days as well.

For the rest of your flock - to help limit the virus from spreading, clean out and sanitize your water stations every day. Some people also offer a sanitized drinking solution (sanitized water) by adding Iodine or Oxine to the water for several days - the Chicken Chick has a good article about pox http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/07/fowl-pox-prevention-treatment.html