Swelling/infection around eye, hard to the touch

[mindy_marvelmom]

We’ve been cleaning it and treating it with anti microbial pet eye gel for the past week and a half. The swelling went down some, but it still looks like this. It’s hard to the touch, and has a bad smell (smells like infection). Her breathing is kind of raspy so we wonder if it is sinus related? She’s still eating and drinking. She’s three and a half years old and has been healthy otherwise. Not sure what caused the injury/infection.

I don’t have a poultry vet here, so I need self treatment I can do. Have been trying to read up on antibiotics that might be recommended that I could get, but thought I’d post here and ask for advice.

Thank you for your help.

 

[LaFleche]

This looks like a coryza infection to me which would be treated with antibiotics like tetracycline or erythromycin and the accumulated pus needs to be removed from the eye.

Here is how to do it:

Infectious Coryza in Chickens - Poultry - MSD Veterinary Manual https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultry/infectious-coryza/infectious-coryza-in-chickens

Feeding some grated carrots with germ oil will increase the vitamin A uptake which will be helpful to restore her eyesight and make the mucous membranes more resistant.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would get some sulfa antibiotic, such as SMZ TMP, Albon from a vet, or other sulfa, and start treatment for coryza, unless you want to cull her, and get a necropsy through your state vet to confirm coryza. There is pus behind the eye in the sinus cavity, and it will need to be squeezed out. Then clean the eye with saline and use some Neosporin ointment in the eye. Here is a graphic video on getting the pus out of the sinus:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/swelling-infection-around-eye-hard-to-the-touch.1619894/

 

[mindy_marvelmom]

I spent Friday reading about coryza and feeling pretty discouraged, but I was able to get some SMZ TMP and started that this morning. We did a first attempt to remove the pus but it didn’t seem to be behaving at all like the videos we’ve seen. We could not get the bulge to budge at all. Any recommendations? Coryza seems to fit but the pus doesn’t behave like what we are seeing in the videos.

 

[LaFleche]

I spent Friday reading about coryza and feeling pretty discouraged, but I was able to get some SMZ TMP and started that this morning. We did a first attempt to remove the pus but it didn’t seem to be behaving at all like the videos we’ve seen. We could not get the bulge to budge at all. Any recommendations? Coryza seems to fit but the pus doesn’t behave like what we are seeing in the videos.

Try to soften the area up with warm compresses prior to gently squeezing the pus out.