Sick rooster - alternate ways to administer meds???

[ChickenMama17]

One of our roosters, Honey Badger, has had an icky eye for quite a while. A few months ago it seemed as though he had been pecked and his eye was watering a bit for a day or two then seemed better. He is not easy to catch/hold as he doesn't like people much. With the colder weather they have been staying in their coop (-50 windchills) so I have been able to see him closer up. I'm attaching pictures of his "good" eye and his "bad" eye. He is eating/drinking fine and is not sneezing/wheezing, etc. No one else is showing any symptoms either. I picked up a bag of Duramycin-10 at the store today, but I don't want to treat the entire flock for something that this one has been dealing with for months without passing on to others.

I read how to mix by the gallon, but want to know if I can mix this in a dose small enough to feed to him by syringe. It is not possible right now to separate him in a place where he will be able to stay warm enough in this cold blast.

Thanks for your help!

Good eye

bad eye

 

[Eggcessive]

Does his head smell bad at all? If it were me I might get a bottle of Tylan50 injection, and either give him 1 ml into the breast muscle daily for 3-5 days, or just give it orally. The problem with the Duramycin is that it would be hard to mix it in the concentration he needs, which is 400-800mg per day I think. If you can figure that out, it would help. If you have a good relationship with your veterinarian, they might could give you an even better oral antibiotic such as Baytril or Cipro.

 

[ChickenMama17]

His head does not smell at all. It's really weird as it doesn't seem to bother him and hasn't spread!

 

[Eggcessive]

Is his pupil on the right side perfectly round? In the picture (which may be distorted by light) it looks slightly irregular. Does he scratch at the eye?

 

[ChickenMama17]

It is hard to tell from the pictures that I currently have about the pupil and they are already in bed for the night. I will go out and take some more pictures tomorrow when the light is good. Most of the pictures do look like it is more of an oval shape and not a circle. What does that mean???

I have never seen him scratch at his eye or rub it on anything.

 

[pwand]

Possibly Marek's disease.

 

[seminolewind]

pwand, I was thinking the same thing, hopefully not.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is hard to tell from the pictures that I currently have about the pupil and they are already in bed for the night. I will go out and take some more pictures tomorrow when the light is good. Most of the pictures do look like it is more of an oval shape and not a circle. What does that mean???

I have never seen him scratch at his eye or rub it on anything.

Yes, it may mean Mareks disease if the pupil is not round, or if it is pinpoint. This is known as ocular Mareks. It may be fine, just look at the right eye in good light.
Here is a link--look at all 18 photos: http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/502

 

[ChickenMama17]

Really hoping it isn't mareks! If it was, shouldn't it have spread to some of the other chickens? Should I treat it as an infection in the meantime? wish I had a chicken vet in the area!!

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm also hoping it isn't Mareks, but it is fairly common since it is in the environment just about everywhere. Since he has been with the others, all are exposed if it is Mareks. Just do some reading about it and educate yourself in case it is. It's a strange disease--all chickens don't get every symptom, maybe just one or two, and each case is different. Here are a few good links to read when you have time:
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock