Swollen eye

[janaedwards]

Good morning y'all! I have a hen who is one year old. She has a swollen gland under her right eye that comes and goes. It is always, even when not swollen, more white than her other eye. She is a bit thinner than the other chickens, but other than itching, she acts just like everyone else. She is laying, runs around, looks for food, has no foul smells, no unusual poop, etc. She started getting this at about 5 months old. I have treated her multiple times with antibiotics (both oral and injections), ointments, rinsing multiple times a day, etc etc. Nothing seems to help or cure it. I do not know what to do. No one in the rest of the flock shoes symptoms. Is she a health risk to the other poultry? How do I help her? (Vet is not an option). Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like she has symptoms of a chronic respiratory disease, possibly MG that causes sinus infection and conjuntivitis, but testing would need to prove that. Does she respond temporarily to the antibiotic? If there is white gunk in the eye, it needs to be removed. An antibiotic eye ointment or drop should be applied after cleaning. I would guess that all of your birds would test positive for the disease she has, but they are not showing symptoms because their immune systems are fighting off. You might see another that becomes stressed during a molt or cold weather become symptomatic. Here is a graphic bideo of removing pus from an eye, but it may be more difficult if left too long: