crittercaretech
out of the house and into the grow out coop
- Mar 1, 2020
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Hello,
I have an Ayam Cemani rooster with a swollen eye and itchy comb that needs some experienced chicken keepers to offer suggestions as to what could be going on. I need to mention our equine vet very reluctantly took a look at him today from several feet away and had no suggestions. This is our only veterinary option for chickens in our area.
Approximately a week ago I noticed this guy was away from the others and had his eye closed with some swelling around it. He is one of two roosters. I have never seen them fight and the only aggressive behavior is our naked neck rooster occasionally chases this guy away if he gets too close but the Cemani always retreats quickly. Therefore I'm not sure if it is an injury or something else going on. I brought him inside and have flushed his eye and applied antibiotic eye drops daily with no improvement or deterioration in his condition. There is no discharge or crust around the eye. There is no sign of respiratory infection his nose is clean and dry and his breathing is normal with no sneezing or coughing and no head shaking. The swelling has remained the same as far as i can tell and it is not hot or hard to the touch. It doesn't feel like there is a pocket of fluid under the swelling, it feels more like the swelling lies within the tissue. Although he is not happy about being inside he isn't lethargic or depressed and is eating well. I'm not sure how painful it is but he doesn't seem to mind if I push on it or manipulate it. After a few days I noticed he was scratching that side of his face and also the comb on the same side.the scratching seems to be isolated to his head he isn't scratching anywhere else. When I first gave brought him inside I didn't see any mites crawling on him but his leg scales looked to be raised a little so I gave him a rub down with Vaseline and repeated a second time. His scales look normal now so unsure if there were any scaley leg mites or not. None of the other chickens show signs of infestation. He really seemed to enjoy the foot massage though. Although I didn't initially notice any body lice or mites, I did notice some mites on him about the same time the scratching was noticed. I gave him a bath in dawn dish soap and his scratching has continued. Last night I wormed him with Ivermectin paste wormer and when I opened his mouth I noticed a slimy white saliva ball in the back of his mouth isolated to the opposite side of the head. I removed it with a q-tip. This evening there is another white slimy buildup of saliva in the same spot. The white saliva wasn't full of bubbles or giving off an odor and it came out in one glob about the size of the cotton on the tip of a q tip . His mouth looked normal after I removed it. Our polish chicken recently had an ear infection. I thought perhaps his itching might be caused by an infection so i treated it last night and again this morning with drops. The vet said it wouldn't hurt so will continue for a few days to see if they offer any improvement. I have been fairly lucky with chicken illness and have not experienced anything like this before. Am I missing anything that may be causing the symptoms? The photo from the front shows the comparison to the other side of his face. The overall size of the swelling is isolated to the featherless portion around the eye. the wattles and comb and under the jaw are not noticeably swollen. His comb always lays to the side. I considered facial paralysis but when I put medication in his eye he can move the skin above his eye but I don't see his bottom lid move. The main target of his scratching is the small grayish colored spot behind the eye and another grayish area on the comb directly above the eye extending toward the back of the comb and it has a dry rough feel to it. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I have an Ayam Cemani rooster with a swollen eye and itchy comb that needs some experienced chicken keepers to offer suggestions as to what could be going on. I need to mention our equine vet very reluctantly took a look at him today from several feet away and had no suggestions. This is our only veterinary option for chickens in our area.
Approximately a week ago I noticed this guy was away from the others and had his eye closed with some swelling around it. He is one of two roosters. I have never seen them fight and the only aggressive behavior is our naked neck rooster occasionally chases this guy away if he gets too close but the Cemani always retreats quickly. Therefore I'm not sure if it is an injury or something else going on. I brought him inside and have flushed his eye and applied antibiotic eye drops daily with no improvement or deterioration in his condition. There is no discharge or crust around the eye. There is no sign of respiratory infection his nose is clean and dry and his breathing is normal with no sneezing or coughing and no head shaking. The swelling has remained the same as far as i can tell and it is not hot or hard to the touch. It doesn't feel like there is a pocket of fluid under the swelling, it feels more like the swelling lies within the tissue. Although he is not happy about being inside he isn't lethargic or depressed and is eating well. I'm not sure how painful it is but he doesn't seem to mind if I push on it or manipulate it. After a few days I noticed he was scratching that side of his face and also the comb on the same side.the scratching seems to be isolated to his head he isn't scratching anywhere else. When I first gave brought him inside I didn't see any mites crawling on him but his leg scales looked to be raised a little so I gave him a rub down with Vaseline and repeated a second time. His scales look normal now so unsure if there were any scaley leg mites or not. None of the other chickens show signs of infestation. He really seemed to enjoy the foot massage though. Although I didn't initially notice any body lice or mites, I did notice some mites on him about the same time the scratching was noticed. I gave him a bath in dawn dish soap and his scratching has continued. Last night I wormed him with Ivermectin paste wormer and when I opened his mouth I noticed a slimy white saliva ball in the back of his mouth isolated to the opposite side of the head. I removed it with a q-tip. This evening there is another white slimy buildup of saliva in the same spot. The white saliva wasn't full of bubbles or giving off an odor and it came out in one glob about the size of the cotton on the tip of a q tip . His mouth looked normal after I removed it. Our polish chicken recently had an ear infection. I thought perhaps his itching might be caused by an infection so i treated it last night and again this morning with drops. The vet said it wouldn't hurt so will continue for a few days to see if they offer any improvement. I have been fairly lucky with chicken illness and have not experienced anything like this before. Am I missing anything that may be causing the symptoms? The photo from the front shows the comparison to the other side of his face. The overall size of the swelling is isolated to the featherless portion around the eye. the wattles and comb and under the jaw are not noticeably swollen. His comb always lays to the side. I considered facial paralysis but when I put medication in his eye he can move the skin above his eye but I don't see his bottom lid move. The main target of his scratching is the small grayish colored spot behind the eye and another grayish area on the comb directly above the eye extending toward the back of the comb and it has a dry rough feel to it. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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