Swollen above / in front of eye not responding to RX or antibiotics

[Bootsintheboot]

Following up- I tried to express pus but it’s very hard and even after a warm compress nothing happened :/
I never saw any pus at all. I’m wondering if the infection might be deeper inside a cavity? We pushed and squeezed until we couldn’t bear putting her through so much :/

(Like the actual swollen area is very hard)

 

[Susan Skylark]

I think abscess is correct but could also be a granuloma (scar tissue or some other hard material instead of pus/blood/serum) or it could be a very thick walled abscess. I saw a peacock once with one the size of a chicken egg full of what looked to be ground corn! Basically you get a bit of grit/dirt/in grown feather in a crevice and the immune system tries to wall it off but the process snowballs and you get a weird lump that is thick and hard and possibly slowly enlarging. Antibiotics won’t reach the inside so ineffective in these cases. If you can get a large gauge needle (18 or 20) on a syringe (check your local farm supply or cow vet) poke it in there and see if you can pull out any pus or gritty material, even if you don’t get anything you now have a decent hole for drainage. Have someone hold the bird firmly, and if worried about the eye, place something solid but not abrasive between the lid and the eyeball (a moistened popsicle stick, plastic tea spoon or baby spoon with soft/rounded edges). Once you have your hole don’t be afraid to squeeze it or enlarge the hole a bit (poke a closed hemostat or blunt scissors into it and open slightly to stretch the hole. Keep hot packing and antibiotics going, keep open and draining for 3-5 days.

 

[alinas2010]

I’m so sorry your chicken (and you) are having to go through this. I don’t blame you at all for not trying further to express anything. At this point we should see what the educators think. It could possibly be a tumor or as stated above a granuloma of some sort. Although chicken pus will be hard, exactly like a cheese curd. Let’s wait a bit and see what they think.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I noticed 5 days ago my hen had a swollen eye, red without any other symptoms that I’ve noticed other than she seemed a little lethargic sometimes and shakes her head here and there there.

I’ve treated her with RX and terramyacin for 5 days but there was no change until last night when her swelling increased a little bit. Any advice/help? I don’t see any worms, mites or otherwise but could they still be there? Or what else could it be and what can be done (no avian vet available)

It feels hard to the touch- should I massage it to get it out or cut into the swollen part? Probably a very silly question

I agree, it looks like the swelling is pus and she has an infection.
Without getting the pus out, the eye won't heal.

I'd try to press the pus out if possible. Chicken pus can be hard and difficult to remove. Seeking vet care is best.

Do continue with the Terramycin in eye. It may take working on the eye with warm saline soaked compresses over the course of several days to work the pus out.

Does she have any lesions or pus inside the beak? Is her Choanal slit clogged with any material?