What the heck is this???? HELP!

[georgialee]

I was given 5 chicks by a lady I got some peachicks from. 2 of them have developed eye problems. It started about a week ago. They're in with 4 other chicks that I hatched here ... none of the others have developed symptoms. They are eating and drinking fine, no lethargy. I'm putting teramycin on 2x a day and its looks like its starting to help.

eta: no respiratory symptoms... just the crusty eyes (both of the eyes on both chicks are affected)

 

[georgialee]

Anyone??? I really want to know what I'm dealing with.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I have no idea.


Does that chick have muffs (check puffs?) - if so - this happened with one of my EE with huge muffs - one of the fluffs would bend back into her eye and irritate it, causing it to tear and crust when it dried. I plucked the offensive fluff from her check and her eye has cleared up, basically overnight.

But with it affecting both eyes and two chicks

 

[redhen]

I dont know..sorry.
But if its affecting both chicks... i'd say its something catchy...

 

[Jenski]

It's hard to tell from the pic what this might be. Have you checked your coop with a flashlight at night? If they are getting crusties around the eyes - - and IF it is not from a respiratory/contagious illness - - you could be experiencing issues with red poultry mites. The tiny red mites reside in the coop (as opposed to on the bird, like grey or straw-colored Northern fowl mites), and if you shine a flashlight on wood areas near your birds you can see them crawling around. They can chew up your birds' faces, even getting inside their noses and mouths. They will leave little crusties on birds' faces where they have been chewing.

Check tonight if you have a chance, and let us know what you find. If you can get a better-resolution photo of the birds' faces, this might help too. (I know, nearly impossible when you're trying to hold them, LOL!)

If you have new birds, they could also be picking at each other. Watching them for a little while might give you some clues to this.

In the meantime, antibiotic cream applied directly to the area is a good idea.

Good luck, and please keep us posted!