Unknown Illness; Older Chicks

STX_hobbyist

In the Brooder
Jun 26, 2021
7
15
23
I am facing an illness I have never seen before and have tried to diagnose and treat all the chicks in the brooder the best I can. Right now I have used saline rinse for their eyes, administered VetRx for poultry to help them feel better but I am at a loss for words. Symptoms include watery/teary eyes, some foam on eyes, development of sores or swelling of eye areas once the lids are shut. I'm confused as well because some of the chickens look perfectly fine. They are indoors and I have changed the bedding so it's nice and clean. They don't seem to have any discharge from their eyes except for tears and their poop looks normal. Nothing smells out of the ordinary. The biggest question is if anyone knows what this might be. If so, is it curable and will the chicks lead normal lives, or is it more humane to cull them and monitor the seemingly normal ones? I have my adult chickens outdoors and separate but I don't know if this illness can cross to them or not. If it helps, the infected chicks are also 1-2 months old and have never been sick since I've had them. I've attached pictures of the worst chick, a chick with one sick eye, and one that has a sore near her beak and teary eye. (I took the pictures outside in natural sunlight so that they would be clear)
 

Attachments

  • chick3_eye2.jpg
    chick3_eye2.jpg
    367.8 KB · Views: 8
  • chick3_eye1.jpg
    chick3_eye1.jpg
    388.1 KB · Views: 7
  • chick2_eye2.jpg
    chick2_eye2.jpg
    400.6 KB · Views: 6
  • chick2_eye1.jpg
    chick2_eye1.jpg
    384.5 KB · Views: 5
  • chick1_eye2.jpg
    chick1_eye2.jpg
    436.4 KB · Views: 5
  • chick1_eye1.jpg
    chick1_eye1.jpg
    459.2 KB · Views: 5
I've never seen them peck but I could probably observe today. I will look into fowl pox, thank you
Been watching them, it appears the lavender/grey pullet's eye is doing better but the bantam I posted pictures of has passed away later this morning. I checked in on them at lunch and everyone appears to be alert and drinking and eating otherwise than the chick we lost.
 
Update: I used a saline solution to rinse eyes and gave VetRx (poultry remedy). Chickens have since healed so I'm assuming the issue was dirty bedding. The chickens that never had symptoms, never developed symptoms either.
 
I'm thinking it was fowl pox. I am dealing with it right now and don't believe it to be a coincidence that one of my girls is exhibiting the same eye symptoms as you describe, but I could be wrong. I flushed with biotrue (neutral pH) and she is eating and drinking.
Is this, in fact, one side effect to the pox or is it coincidence? Does anyone know?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom