Visible eye worms in month old baby chicken :(

[ChickenMama308]

Hey guys...

I picked up my hen's only baby chick today and saw that in the corner of their eye closest to their beak, there are clear worms moving around in there I have no idea how long they've had this issue but they seem to be functioning normally and thankfully I haven't seen them scratch at their eyes...

What do you all recommend for treating the eye worms? Should I treat the other chickens as well? I've seen no visible signs of eye worms in them, and I'm not sure if this type of worm only is in the eyes or not or if they can remain unseen or what.

My other hens are almost two years old and have never been treated for worms, wondering what I should treat them with for worms in general though I've never seen any signs.

There are lots of cockroaches around here and unfortunately they always find and eat them and that's where the eye worms are coming from I'm pretty sure.

I would love to hear from someone who's had experience with this.

Thank you so much!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have photos of the eyes and worms?
You can find VetRx at Tractor Supply or online. It has instructions for treatment of eye worms.

Long term, you will need to get the cockroaches under control.

http://www.chickenwhisperermagazine.com/articles/do-your-fowl-have-mansons-eyeworm

 

[dawg53]

Mix equal parts of valbazen and water and flush the chicks eyes with the mixture. Then dose the chick orally 1/8cc valbazen, then repeat dosing in 10 days.
Dose all your chickens orally 1/2cc valbazen and repeat oral dosing in 10 days.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vet Rx claims to treat eye worms, but having only oregano, rosemary, balsam pine, camphor, and alcohol in a corn oil base as ingredients, I would doubt that it would be effective. Maybe it works, but it would be bood to see some research.

I would follow the Valbazen treatment recommended by Dawg53. Thank goodness most of us don’t have to worry about this parasite. Then remove and treat cockroaches.

Manson eye worm is common in Hawaii, and other tropical areas around the world where the Surinam cockroach, the most common host, lives. Eyeworms can also be transported by birds. It lives under the eyelids of affected chickens, causing itching, watery eyes, and swelling of the conjuntiva and nictitating membrane (3rd eyelid.) It travels down the tearduct eventually being excreted in droppings. In my copy of Textbook of Poultry they say that eyeworms usually cnanot be seen due to the swollen 3rd eyelid swelling.

I remember wincing when I read that the recommended treatment is cresol, the active ingredient in Lysol concentrate. A 5% solution instilled into eyes, and then rinsed with water or saline is one treatment. The main way to control it is to remove droppings and cockroaches that may live under coops.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most literature about eyeworms in poultry is from the early 1900’s so there is not a whole lot of research on treatments. University of Florida reports that eyeworms must be physically removed from the eye under anesthesia. Here are a few links about Manson eyeworm:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/helminthiasis/overview-of-helminthiasis-in-poultry

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/eyeworms

 

[Trish1974]

Vet Rx claims to treat eye worms, but having only oregano, rosemary, balsam pine, camphor, and alcohol in a corn oil base as ingredients, I would doubt that it would be effective. Maybe it works, but it would be bood to see some research.

I would follow the Valbazen treatment recommended by Dawg53. Thank goodness most of us don’t have to worry about this parasite. Then remove and treat cockroaches.

Manson eye worm is common in Hawaii, and other tropical areas around the world where the Surinam cockroach, the most common host, lives. Eyeworms can also be transported by birds. It lives under the eyelids of affected chickens, causing itching, watery eyes, and swelling of the conjuntiva and nictitating membrane (3rd eyelid.) It travels down the tearduct eventually being excreted in droppings. In my copy of Textbook of Poultry they say that eyeworms usually cnanot be seen due to the swollen 3rd eyelid swelling.

I remember wincing when I read that the recommended treatment is cresol, the active ingredient in Lysol concentrate. A 5% solution instilled into eyes, and then rinsed with water or saline is one treatment. The main way to control it is to remove droppings and cockroaches that may live under coops.

Thanks for posting that information! I had NEVER heard of eye worms until I saw the title of this thread. Glad I checked it out. You really do learn something new everyday!

 

[ChickenMama308]

Thank you very much! Have you ever used this to treat any type of eye worms in your chickens? If so, which type of worms? I’m in Oahu, Hawaii and though I can’t fond any photos of worms that look like the one in my chickens, I believe it may be manson’s... I’ll post a photo when the sun comes up.

Do you have photos of the eyes and worms?
You can find VetRx at Tractor Supply or online. It has instructions for treatment of eye worms.

Long term, you will need to get the cockroaches under control.

http://www.chickenwhisperermagazine.com/articles/do-your-fowl-have-mansons-eyeworm

Do you have photos of the eyes and worms?
You can find VetRx at Tractor Supply or online. It has instructions for treatment of eye worms.

Long term, you will need to get the cockroaches under control.

http://www.chickenwhisperermagazine.com/articles/do-your-fowl-have-mansons-eyeworm

 

[ChickenMama308]

Thank you very much! Have you ever used this to treat any type of eye worms in your chickens? If so, which type of eye worms? Was it successful? I’m in Oahu, Hawaii and though I can’t fInd any photos online of worms that look like the one I see now for sure in two of my chickens, I believe it may be manson’s... I’ll post a photo when the sun comes up.

Mix equal parts of valbazen and water and flush the chicks eyes with the mixture. Then dose the chick orally 1/8cc valbazen, then repeat dosing in 10 days.
Dose all your chickens orally 1/2cc valbazen and repeat oral dosing in 10 days.

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link regarding albendazole (Valbazen) used as direct eye treatment in killing eyeworm. Magnify page 1 and drag up to read, then go to page 2 in the link and do the same.
Dosing orally after eye treatment kills worms hatched from eggs. Personally I would orally reworm monthly due to the soil contaminated with worm eggs.


https://issuu.com/magnuspaulk/docs/2012-jiva-april-page-43-44

 

[ChickenMama308]

Here are a couple photos of our one month old chick’s worms in eyes - you can see them on the bottom left. Hard to get a good photo but these were the best I could get - they are unmistakably worms as I can see them squirming around in there. They are translucent and thin. My local feed store opens in 30 minutes, praying they have something good for them!