Swollen Eye and Diarrhea

[Pthertel16]

Hi all, I have a 7 month old Black Sex Link that recently (over night) developed this swollen eye and diarrhea. She’s still eating and drinking normally. Any thoughts?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

My first thoughts go to Coryza, a bacterial infection that springs up very quickly causing facial swelling and sometimes diarrhea. It is essentially a very bad chicken cold but caused by a bacteria rather than virus. Most chickens survive it, but not all.

If Coryza, that is very contagious and will usually spread through the flock rapidly. The bacteria is easy to kill though with cleaning, and disposing of soiled litter, and keeping dry conditions in the coop.

It is treated with antibiotics. Sulmet used to be the product of choice, which you once could get over the counter, but now you'll have to go to a vet if you want an antibiotic targeting this gram negative bacteria.

Other things can also cause facial swelling and diarrhea, such as Avian Flu, fowl cholera, and a few others, that generally leave more dead bodies, but those are not the most common.

Since she seems otherwise active, I suspect Coryza or some other sinus infection.

Others will have good opinions as well.

LofMc

 

[Pthertel16]

My first thoughts go to Coryza, a bacterial infection that springs up very quickly causing facial swelling and sometimes diarrhea. It is essentially a very bad chicken cold but caused by a bacteria rather than virus. Most chickens survive it, but not all.

If Coryza, that is very contagious and will usually spread through the flock rapidly. The bacteria is easy to kill though with cleaning, and disposing of soiled litter, and keeping dry conditions in the coop.

It is treated with antibiotics. Sulmet used to be the product of choice, which you once could get over the counter, but now you'll have to go to a vet if you want an antibiotic targeting this gram negative bacteria.

Other things can also cause facial swelling and diarrhea, such as Avian Flu, fowl cholera, and a few others, that generally leave more dead bodies, but those are not the most common.

Since she seems otherwise active, I suspect Coryza or some other sinus infection.

Others will have good opinions as well.

LofMc

thanks for the response! I bought some VetRX, Nutri Drentch, and Terramycin.Do you think this may help? We dnot have an avian vet anywhere close

 

[Lady of McCamley]

thanks for the response! I bought some VetRX, Nutri Drentch, and Terramycin.Do you think this may help? We dnot have an avian vet anywhere close

Terramycin is listed as treating gram positive and gram negative bacteria, so that should work.
VetRx can help with congestion. NutriDrench is always a good plan to support their immune system.

It is a shot in the dark as we don't really know what is the cause, without a vet doing a culture, however typically it is Coryza or possibly CRD (chronic respiratory disease) in most common backyard flocks. Coryza comes on fast while CRD is more of a growing problem akin to chicken asthma (caused by another bacterium).

Hopefully this approach will correct things in short course.

Good luck.
LofMc

 

[Pthertel16]

I applied the Terramycin this AM, and I will check back on that. She did have some slight nasal drip this morning as well. So I mixed up some garlic and electrolyte water to give her a boost. I just went and picked up the meds, so my next question is how should I administer the VetRX and Nutri Drench?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Vet Rx suggestions for application are linked: https://www.drugs.com/vet/vetrx-poultry-remedy.html

I think most people on this forum simply rub it under the chin and under the wings to help open nasal passages.

NutriDrench can be droppered in (drenched) or added to the water. I personally prefer adding vitamins and electrolytes through water if the animal is drinking to prevent possible flooding of their trachea. I dropper if they are too feeble or disinterested.

I'll link the manufacturer's recommendations:
https://nutridrench.com/poultry-nutri-drench/

 

[Pthertel16]

Thanks for the insight. Luckily she is still eating and drinking fine. I just put some warm VetRX on her head, under the chin, and swabbed the roof of her mouth. She’s been drinking the vitamin cater today as well. Can’t really tell if the eye has gotten better but it doesn’t appear to have gotten worse.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would suspect that she either has MG unless she has a bad odor from her face. Coryza smells very bad according to those who have treated it, while MG does not. Swelling around or under the eye could also be from a peck wound, a sting, or in rare cases, a tumor. Look for bubbles or foam in the eye, or pus. Tylosin or doxycycline can help treat symptoms of MG, while coryza is treated with sulfa antibiotics. Here is some reading:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/poultry/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

https://poultry.extension.org/artic...oultry-diseases/infectious-coryza-in-poultry/

 

[Pthertel16]

Thanks for the input! I didn’t get any bad smells when I was handling her today.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree with @Eggcessive

Coryza typically comes with a bad smell. However, in my experience, MG (CRD) has clear rails, wheezing, or a cough, or at least an asthma sound. I haven't had just swelling.

And very true. It could simply be an injury to the eye from pecking or bee sting if there are no other symptoms (but you stated diarrhea too, which Coryza can also present, while MG/CRD not so much).

Sulmet ( sodium sulfamethazine) was the easy OTC fix, but you can't get it now. So you are left with what the feed stores have unless you go to a vet, get a culture, and get the appropriate (if necessary) antibiotic.

@Eggcessive Terramycin is labeled for gram negative as well, which Coryza is, so you don't think that could work if Coryza? I do know it would work for secondary infection for MG/CRD, though that is often simply treated with supportive care.

I've not been using antibiotics since FDA disallowed them without vet script, so I'm not sure what people are using now generally.

LofMc