Two 11-month pullets swelling around eyes

[hagoesch]

Hello,

While evicting a broody from the nesting box yesterday morning, I noticed one of our 11-month-old Golden Laced Wyandotte pullets had swelling around her left eye; only the one. [photo attached]

A different 11-mo GLW pullet came in after her and was also sporting swelling around only one of her eyes, but with hers there was also little black bit clinging on. I scooped her up and, with the help of my husband, we determined it was a small tick and promptly tweezed and squished it.

For as much as I could tell, none of the other five pullets, two cockerels or five adult hens appear to have swelling. None of the flock are displaying any "off" symptoms of note. Though, I did notice that one of the two girls with the swelling has a bit of a droopy tail, kind of the penguin thing but she laid an egg yesterday just fine and doesn't have that upright walk often associated. [photo attached] (Sadly I only noticed it later and don't know if she was the tick girl or the other.)

I checked under the roosting bars and on the walls of the coop for mites/lice and saw nothing. We have had a relatively cool and damp spring with bouts of hot days thrown in, but quite wet lately, with loads of tall vegetation in their run, some of which are stinging nettles, thistle and I noticed several poison ivy plants as well. These have been present all spring with no effects previously. Given the prime weather conditions and our area (southeastern Wisconsin), ticks are indeed quite prevalent. Obviously we positively identified the one, but do you think it's possible that two separate girls both had ticks (maybe the same tick went from one bird to the other?) near their eyes to cause the swelling? Or is that too unlikely and I should suspect other issues? There has also been a recent surge in the number of wasps near the barn in the past week, and I'm working on making a trap.

In the meantime, I added extra garlic and herbs to my standard Sunday egg scramble for them and sprayed a VetRx dilution over top of everyone on the roosting bars last night. Routinely I add apple cider vinegar to waterers every other day, and will give them a NutriDrench dilution in their water tomorrow. I will continue to monitor for other symptoms in these two girls or new manifestations in other birds, but appreciate anyone's thoughts! Hopefully it is "nothing."

Thank you!
Heather

 

[azygous]

You sure do have the hazards in your run. I would be concerned for the humans more so than the chickens. If the chickens eat the poison ivy, it could end up in the eggs. I used to be a park ranger in parks with lots of poison oak, and it can end up in your intestines if somehow ingested. The "effect" is extremely unpleasant. I found this out the hard way trying over the counter concoctions of poison oak extract to build up resistance only to suffer a case of poison oak of the nether parts. Trust me. You never wish to experience this.

Tics are another hazard that is even more hazardous to humans as the disease they transmit can be extremely serious for humans. It's another good reason to clean up the run.

Treating those swollen eyes would be the same no matter the cause. Flush with saline and use an antibacterial ointment in the affected eye twice a day. This could be a simple bacterial infection or irritation from the tic bites. But if it's a respiratory disease, the chickens may become lethargic and begin to exude fluid from the eyes and nares. Then you would need an oral antibiotic, Tylan or Tylosin to treat the secondary infection.

 

[hagoesch]

You sure do have the hazards in your run. I would be concerned for the humans more so than the chickens. If the chickens eat the poison ivy, it could end up in the eggs. I used to be a park ranger in parks with lots of poison oak, and it can end up in your intestines if somehow ingested. The "effect" is extremely unpleasant. I found this out the hard way trying over the counter concoctions of poison oak extract to build up resistance only to suffer a case of poison oak of the nether parts. Trust me. You never wish to experience this.

Tics are another hazard that is even more hazardous to humans as the disease they transmit can be extremely serious for humans. It's another good reason to clean up the run.

Treating those swollen eyes would be the same no matter the cause. Flush with saline and use an antibacterial ointment in the affected eye twice a day. This could be a simple bacterial infection or irritation from the tic bites. But if it's a respiratory disease, the chickens may become lethargic and begin to exude fluid from the eyes and nares. Then you would need an oral antibiotic, Tylan or Tylosin to treat the secondary infection.

What a boon to have a former park ranger with this specific knowledge here in the forums! Thank you, azygous. I had no idea that the effects of poison ivy/oak could pass not only into eggs but on to humans who ingest them.

By "clean up the run" are you referring to: 1) eradicating the poison ivy (and how best to do that with chickens in the area?); 2) eradicating the harmful plants, meaning poison ivy, nettles and thistles; or 3) knocking down a lot of the tall vegetation to open it up so not only are the noxious things gone but also the potential homes for ticks? Half of their run is in the woods with loads of tree cover too but we will leave those as they're old growth.

 

[azygous]

Yes, you have the general idea. If the area is quite large and you find yourself expending more energy than you possess, you can spray the offending plants with 2-4D, a very safe for people and animals herbicide, and it's easy on the budget as well. Just let the plants completely dry after spraying and then it's safe to let the chickens back out among them. The herbicide isn't a poison. It acts on the leaves to force extreme growth that finishes off the leaves. Eventually, deprived of eaves, the plant system dies.

This herbicide is extremely short lived in the environment, and even if ingested, it is eliminated from the body in just one day. No carcinogens.

 

[hagoesch]

Yes, you have the general idea. If the area is quite large and you find yourself expending more energy than you possess, you can spray the offending plants with 2-4D, a very safe for people and animals herbicide, and it's easy on the budget as well. Just let the plants completely dry after spraying and then it's safe to let the chickens back out among them. The herbicide isn't a poison. It acts on the leaves to force extreme growth that finishes off the leaves. Eventually, deprived of eaves, the plant system dies.

This herbicide is extremely short lived in the environment, and even if ingested, it is eliminated from the body in just one day. No carcinogens.

Another excellent, thoughtful comment that is most helpful. Thank you again, azygous! We always hope to avoid chemicals but there are times when Mother Nature has too strong an upper hand. In terms of removal by hand, in your professional opinion, what are the smartest PPE methods for poison ivy? And once pulled, I know never to burn or compost, but have read various disposal methods from bagging and trashing to burying. (I'm getting wildly off topic but figured it doesn't hurt to ask )

 

[azygous]

PPE should cover all exposed skin. Mindfulness must be maintained so as not to touch your face with a gloved hand that has touched the poison ivy. When removing clothes after tackling the poison ivy, shower immediately and put the clothes into the washer immediately, and wash separately from other laundry, especially underwear and towels. And last, all clothing must be laundered in strong detergent and hot water and not worn a second time without laundering. The reason is that you will not be able to avoid contact with your skin putting the clothing on.

Shoes are probably the most problematic and tricky. Shoes become more contaminated by these oils than any other clothing except gloves. Shoe laces will give you the most excruciating case of poison ivy reaction of anything. Imagine the oozing, burning, itching blisters on the tender skin between your fingers. Take special care to use surgical gloves to tie and untie shoe laces.

Last, be prepared to stop work if you suspect you have made direct contact with the poisonous leaves and stems with bare skin. Wash immediately with soap and water to avoid the oil remaining on your skin long enough to cause the allergic reaction. Even if you think you have never had an allergic reaction to poison oak or ivy or sumac, the second or third exposure is almost 100% guaranteed to get you into miserable trouble.

This advice comes to you after learning all of it by trial and serious error. You can't be paranoid enough when dealing with this stuff.

 

[hagoesch]

PPE should cover all exposed skin. Mindfulness must be maintained so as not to touch your face with a gloved hand that has touched the poison ivy. When removing clothes after tackling the poison ivy, shower immediately and put the clothes into the washer immediately, and wash separately from other laundry, especially underwear and towels. And last, all clothing must be laundered in strong detergent and hot water and not worn a second time without laundering. The reason is that you will not be able to avoid contact with your skin putting the clothing on.

Shoes are probably the most problematic and tricky. Shoes become more contaminated by these oils than any other clothing except gloves. Shoe laces will give you the most excruciating case of poison ivy reaction of anything. Imagine the oozing, burning, itching blisters on the tender skin between your fingers. Take special care to use surgical gloves to tie and untie shoe laces.

Last, be prepared to stop work if you suspect you have made direct contact with the poisonous leaves and stems with bare skin. Wash immediately with soap and water to avoid the oil remaining on your skin long enough to cause the allergic reaction. Even if you think you have never had an allergic reaction to poison oak or ivy or sumac, the second or third exposure is almost 100% guaranteed to get you into miserable trouble.

This advice comes to you after learning all of it by trial and serious error. You can't be paranoid enough when dealing with this stuff.

GREAT TIP about the shoes/laces. Neither my husband nor I have been "stung" in working around various patches of poison ivy that positively thrives in several of our acres (thanks, Mother Nature), but we know it's only a matter of time... especially as every year it seems to have marched further into novel territory. [sigh]

All of your help is greatly appreciated, azygous. CHEERS! *Heather

 

[hagoesch]

GREAT TIP about the shoes/laces. Neither my husband nor I have been "stung" in working around various patches of poison ivy that positively thrives in several of our acres (thanks, Mother Nature), but we know it's only a matter of time... especially as every year it seems to have marched further into novel territory. [sigh]

All of your help is greatly appreciated, azygous. CHEERS! *Heather

Hi again, azygous. We ended up having to use the 2-4D on the poison ivy -- it was more widespread than we originally thought. The spray was administered last night after the chickens were cooped and it was warm overnight and this morning to hopefully dry it well enough before they went out. I can't find anything online about whether or not an egg withdrawal period is required. Clearly this isn't a particularly researched topic but might you know if it would be best practice to give egg consumption a couple days, longer? Thanks for your help.

 

[azygous]

No, use of an herbicide will not affect the eggs in the least. 2-4D isn't a poison or a medicine. It's a plant cell accelerant. It speeds up plant cell growth until the plant kills itself.

 

[hagoesch]

No, use of an herbicide will not affect the eggs in the least. 2-4D isn't a poison or a medicine. It's a plant cell accelerant. It speeds up plant cell growth until the plant kills itself.

HUZZAH! You're my BYC guru. Thanks, and cheers!