Squinting, swollen & lethargic chicken

[OZ-farm-MS]

One of our usually happy, healthy chickens has taken a turn, and is very sick! Please help us if you can as we don't have much experience with sick chickens...

The chicken's behaviour/ problem:

• Yesterday was squinting and moving slowly, preferring to stay in the chicken coop than come out to the outside area to eat, she was squinting, but her eyes were still open
  
• This morning, squinting was worse, eyes only slightly open and she hadn't moved from the perch
  
• Today midday, she has moved slightly, outdoors, but eyes are now all but closed. She appears to not be able to see and is scared, and slow. I got my camera with zoom lens out so I could get some good shots of her without scaring her by getting too close
  
• One side of her face/ neck appears to be quite swollen
• Both sides eyes are closed
  
• She is disoriented, frightened, and slow, if not completely still
  
• I noticed some white feathers around, possibly, the other chickens are starting to peck her (I have separated them from her now)
  
• Please see attached pictures of our poor chook

Potential environmental Factors:

• We've had a week of fairly bad storms and weather activity- increased moisture and particles in the air, and strong gale force winds
  
• Recently we've noticed rats around the coop. So we'd blocked obvious entry points/tunnels to the coop to get rid of them
  
• Is it possible the chicken has pecked a dead/dying poisoned rat? Or been bitten on the face when battling one? However, I can't see any visible wounds on our chicken...? see pics.
  
• Occasionally a wild bird enters the coop (it is netted as well as heavily protected with wire and mesh), and we believe occasionally lizards or snakes steal eggs, but those factors have never posed a health threat before
  
• The chickens have a sizable indoor/outdoor coop and a free range in acres of paddocks for part of the day, every day

What should we/ will we do?:

• Separate the sick chicken (1), from the other hens (7)- already done.
  
• We are trying to source the following: Saline, Vetericyn Eye Gel, and Water Soluble Tylan
• Not sure if this is a battle injury or a respiratory infection?
• How can we treat this and help her?

Please help! We love our chickens, but have never had a sick one before, and she appears to be quite distressed and in pain, and is getting worse quite rapidly.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She looks really like she feels bad. How old is she? Can you feel of her crop to see if it is empty, full, firm, or puffy. Does the swollen area feel like air under the skin? Is her right eye area swollen? Can you see any foam or bubbles in the eye? Has she been laying eggs recently? Can you hear any sneezing, rattly breathing, or is she having labored breathing? I would hold some water up to her beak and try to get her drinking. Egg or wet chicken feed are usually good to offer. If you have poultry NutriDrench give her 2 ml daily a drop at a time. It can take some time to figure out what might be wrong.

 

[OZ-farm-MS]

Thank you! Yes, she looks really bad... it's really hard to see! I'll try the water and some egg or wet chicken feed and see if I can get close enough to find out answers to the other questions. I couldn't see any bubbles or foam, but there is swelling under the eye, on the cheek and down the neck, particularly on her right hand side. The egg yield overall has been consistently down of late. When I just went up to check on her just now, she was in the same exact spot as a couple of hours ago, standing still. We've only had the chickens for a couple of years, but I'll have to check to see if I can find out her age as I think they are older than that...

 

[Eggcessive]

Try to feel for a stuck egg by inserting a finger up to two inches inside her vent. With her swollen eye, she might have a sinus infection from mycoplasma (MG,) but hard to know. I would look for any nasal drainage, and try to get her drinking.

 

[HennyPenny2019]

One of our usually happy, healthy chickens has taken a turn, and is very sick! Please help us if you can as we don't have much experience with sick chickens...

The chicken's behaviour/ problem:

• Yesterday was squinting and moving slowly, preferring to stay in the chicken coop than come out to the outside area to eat, she was squinting, but her eyes were still open
  
• This morning, squinting was worse, eyes only slightly open and she hadn't moved from the perch
  
• Today midday, she has moved slightly, outdoors, but eyes are now all but closed. She appears to not be able to see and is scared, and slow. I got my camera with zoom lens out so I could get some good shots of her without scaring her by getting too close
  
• One side of her face/ neck appears to be quite swollen
• Both sides eyes are closed
  
• She is disoriented, frightened, and slow, if not completely still
  
• I noticed some white feathers around, possibly, the other chickens are starting to peck her (I have separated them from her now)
  
• Please see attached pictures of our poor chook

Potential environmental Factors:

• We've had a week of fairly bad storms and weather activity- increased moisture and particles in the air, and strong gale force winds
  
• Recently we've noticed rats around the coop. So we'd blocked obvious entry points/tunnels to the coop to get rid of them
  
• Is it possible the chicken has pecked a dead/dying poisoned rat? Or been bitten on the face when battling one? However, I can't see any visible wounds on our chicken...? see pics.
  
• Occasionally a wild bird enters the coop (it is netted as well as heavily protected with wire and mesh), and we believe occasionally lizards or snakes steal eggs, but those factors have never posed a health threat before
  
• The chickens have a sizable indoor/outdoor coop and a free range in acres of paddocks for part of the day, every day

What should we/ will we do?:

• Separate the sick chicken (1), from the other hens (7)- already done.
  
• We are trying to source the following: Saline, Vetericyn Eye Gel, and Water Soluble Tylan
• Not sure if this is a battle injury or a respiratory infection?
• How can we treat this and help her?

Please help! We love our chickens, but have never had a sick one before, and she appears to be quite distressed and in pain, and is getting worse quite rapidly.

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Poor dear, she looks quite miserable. I hope someone has some helpful ideas for you.

 

[OZ-farm-MS]

No wheezing or coughing, and no signs of discharge or bubbling. Just very uncomfortable swelling around the neck (right side face/ neck and now front chest). Her eyes have opened a little today and she's squinting again rather than having her eyes completely closed as she was yesterday. She's also now preening herself and occasionally pecking her own feathers out though she's not interested in food... I'm hoping she's on the mend, but she still looks very sick.

 

[Eggcessive]

She may need to be separated in a basket or crate, and offered water and food often to keep up her strength since she cannot see very well and is lethargic. Egg, tuna or salmon, chopped liver, and wet feed mash with water are normally taken well by chickens. Vitamins can be helpful. Have you tried to feel of her crop in her right chest, to see if it is empty, full, firm, or puffy? It should be empty in early morning and gradually fill up during the day with food and water. Does her chest or right side feel like air under skin?

 

[MissChick@dee]

Benadryl can help with swelling and might offer some relief. 1/4 25mg tablet twice a day. Can be diluted with water to syringe orally.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you answer if the swelling on the right side of her neck feels like air under the skin? Or is her crop enlarged, hard, or puffy? Since she has been opening her eyes more, I would not give benadryl. Benadryl could help if she was stung by something, having an allergic reaction, but it won’t help with swelling for other reasons. We really don’t seem to know what is causing this. Tylan 50 given orally could help if the swollen eye is due to a respiratory disease.

Can you see anything in her eyes yet, such as bubble, drainage, or crust around the eye or nostrils? Is she eating and drinking well? I forgot to ask earlier if she has any swelling or enlargement in her lower belly between her legs?

 

[ChickenMoM2619]

Hi did you ever find out what was wrong/ going on with your chicken? My golden campine is starting to have the same symptoms and I don't know what to do/ how to help her. Any suggestions/ ideas on what I should do. I isolated her but her crop is empty and she wont eat or drink. She also stop laying a few days ago that's when I realized she was completely lethargic.