swollen eye - need some help!! Graphic Pic's

[spoolin]

so does hydrocortisone work?...i need help guys

 

[CrazyChickMom]

bump

 

[California Ducken]

Don't know Bump.....

 

[Brindlebtch]

I would try benadryl, hydrocortisone ointment, and baytril. Put some terramycin water in a dropper and give it to her to make sure she gets enough to help.

Good luck.

 

[satay]

I had a chicken recently with a swollen eye from a small cut. I read it on here some where and it seemed to work a treat. Get a tea bag and put it in a cup with boiling water. Let it steep til the water is cold then wash the eye with it. Did this with my chicken and by the next day her eye was all better. Something you may like to try if nothing else is working.

 

[satay]

I made sure some actually went inside the eye as well was washing all the outside of the eye with it too.

 

[NightHawksShadow]

I actually just a couple weeks ago had a 16 week aracana who one day was fine, and the next day i went and checked and she looked like your youngster does...the itself was swollen closed, gunky, and a knot behind the eye is where i think the swelling originally come from, see i thought at first it was a sting as well, till another one had the exact same problem pop up a few days later. Well i had pulled the first out immediatly from the other 3, then when the 2nd happened, they ended up being together in the shed in 'quarantine' and i made a quick simple run, on the other side of the house from the main chicken coop. These guys come from my hens i've had for a couple years, and never had any problem with any of the others.

Longer story a bit shorter, the first one, i treated it with the eye ointment, washed the eye and area out with saline, and a small dose on penicillin every day....4th day after it started, the swelling had gone down, but whatever it was deteriorated the eye and it litterally fell out of the socket - yes very gross, had a bit of smell, upped the penicillin to a 'normal' dose, by day 7, the area was healing up nicely, swelling going down, ect.

Chicken number two, was seen with swollen eye on day 2 after first one, so i upped this ones penicillin the same day i did the other one, and i had put electrolytes in their water, and #2 Chubbs, swelling went down, the area is bare, and her eye is 'squinty' and i dont know if she has sight in it, though i think she has some because she is vigilant with either side.

Now, two weeks later, both chickens seem fine, and almost fully healed up, but are still in isolation from everyone. But someone else has suggested that my flock has MG, and that my older hens are carriers not infected, and the young chicks ended up getting it from their mother hen. Since my hens had gone broody, i had let the silkies and one aracana/silkie cross sit on eggs of a few of each of my breeds' eggs, and i let the silkies raise the babies, so they were continuously with the group of hens in the smaller 'mama coop' .....

Now i dont know if thats what they have, and i still dont think so since they nor any other chicken in my flock is showing any other signs of MG, even so I have had them tested and am now waiting on results, I don't know exactly what I am planning on doing, I know i have seen other posts from other BYC'ers have had MG invade their flock from new birds that were introduced without being tested and not showing signs...But i got all of my elder hens from Ideal and McMurray back in '06 and '07, and the others are these guys' offspring...But yes i know i could have infected them myself....

I suggest you test this sick bird, only this one at the moment, and see if anything is up. I'll feel better knownig one way or the other, and when i get my results back, i will make my decision on which course of action after the fact.

Good luck with this guy and any decision/action you take.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Never ever use hydrocortisone on an eye. If there's a scratch or cut on the eye, the bird could lose the eye.

Terramycin opthalmic (eye) ointment is available at many feedstores, online if you want to buy a tube now to have. It only takes a very small "ribbon" of the ointment to treat - so though the tube seems expensive, they last for ages.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Just as another note (and I hate to be so pressing about this, but I *must*)

Please note: anything containing cortisone (including hydracortisone cremes) should never ever be used near the eye in case of a scratch to the eye itself. This includes around the eye as birds wipe their eyes on themselves and can get the ointment into their eye.

This is essential advice that I was given from all of the vets for whom i worked, and in the case of my own animals when they've had eye injuries.

The only true way of eliminating the possibility of a scratch on the eye is by doing a dye test.

Now if the vet prescribes cortisone, that's another matter. But please - leave that to the vets. Terramycin ointment, sterile eye wash (not drops, but the wash available in first aid sections of pharmacies), etc should be the only thing going into eyes except VetRx for respiratory issues.

Please learn from my near mistake.

 

[threehorses]

Nighthawksshadow - good luck with your flock. I hope it turns out to be nothing, but in case it's something big - I wish you luck and good fortune in deciding what to do.

There's a lot of talk about MG on the boards - and culling. I agree that the best thing to do is get a bird tested if you are concerned and have one that sick.

If you do it as a carcass, then there's a way to prepare to make sure you get a good test. Unfortunately it's info that should be shared "just in case".

If you lose a bird, cool them under a running faucet. In case of respiratory problems where there's exudate on the head, do not wash that off. Just cool the body. Pat dry with paper towels and wrap finally in a layer of paper towels. Place the carcass in a plastic bag appropriate for the size of the bird. Or two bags. Or four if it makes you feel better because the bird will go into the refrigerator. Not the freezer. Freezing distorts the cells and the condition of the organs which are important to have as 'original' as possible for the necropsy and for a histopathology. It's important to get the body to the vet within 24 hours. If you have a histopathololgy done (where they don't just examine the body, but do testing often for organisms or microscopic damage) then ask them to take two samples of everything. (They take samples of every organ.) That way they'll have a backup in case something happens. This doesn't cost any more and can be quite important.

Then the vet takes care of the rest.

Sorry for the morbid information, but it can mean all the difference between clear test results and difficult ones.

To the original poster, I'd follow Nighthawksshadow's advice on this one. It's really good and experienced advice. I wish you the best of luck and will be watching, as the others are, to see how you do.