What is this?!?!?!

[ellpel]

Found this in the eye of a sick chick I have. She is lathargic and her eye is shut closed

here is a zoomed in pic

 

[ImpulsiveFarmer]

Picture isn't good enough to ID what it is. From what I can see it looks like part of a claw to me. Is it hard or soft. Do you have something to place it beside so we can get a better idea of how big it is?

 

[ellpel]

No, I don't sorry. It looked like some kind of parasite, brown in color. The white part is just gunk from her eye.

 

[terryg]

Was she sick before her eye got gunky, or was that the first symptom? She could be lethargic from the pain of an eye injury.

 

[leadwolf1]

It almost looks like a maggot of some kind to me. Maybe a parasite layed an egg in her eye...it does happen.

 

[ImpulsiveFarmer]

My thought was that it might be a botfly (I think the correct term is warble fly, but we always just called them botflies). I've pulled them out of cats and dogs before, but never their eyes. I just can't tell though. Botfly larvae are good sized though, so that's probably not it. (WARNING: Don't google botfly while eating)

 

[ellpel]

She was lethargic first and then I noticed her eye was milky from their her eye got worse. Have been giving meds to her.

 

[ellpel]

Was thinking she had mareks until I pulled this out

 

[leadwolf1]

How old is the chick? Marek's doesn't normally present like that.

 

[ellpel]

They are almost two months old. Maybe it's just fowl pox. The eye continues to create white gunk and stay closed. Have been putting a gel on it.