Help! Eye infection (?) won't go away

[chickensinthephilippines]

I really hope someone can offer some advice because I'm running out of options! I should start by saying I live in a rural area in the Philippines without access to a chicken vet, and that I'm fairly new to keeping chickens.

About two to three months ago, I found worms in my hen Wendy's poop, so we dewormed all our chickens. Wendy got pretty sick and we were worried she wasn't going to make it, but she pulled through. It must have affected her immune system because around the same time, she developed (what I assumed was) an eye infection. I gave her antibiotic tablets (doxycycline) and eyedrops and the infection seemed to have gone away. She started gaining weight and seemed better again.

But then the eye infection returned, and after doing some research I thought that maybe it was eyeworm instead - also because I read this is fairly common in the Philippines. I ordered eyeworm drops (Oxyrid) online but it did nothing - if anything, the swelling became worse. Not sure if that was because of the drops or not.

So I decided to put her back on antibiotics, this time a formulation of Tylosin Phosphate, Amoxicillin Trihydrate, and Paracetamol (I ran out of the doxycycline). That was a few days ago, but it's getting worse by the day. Her eye is super swollen, always shut and pus is coming out. Yesterday we removed a lot of pus, and carefully squeezed the area around the eye to see if there was more, but nothing else came out. Obviously, this is very painful for her, so I didn't want to squeeze too much. Yesterday she stopped eating and drinking, and honestly, I'm at my wits end. I'd hate to lose her because of something like a simple eye infection, but if she won't eat or drink, I'm worried that will be the outcome.

In the photos:
- photo 1: The affected eye, it's always shut. When we open it, you can see the inner eye lid, swollen and red, it covers half of her eye. Sometimes pus comes out.
- photo 2: Her other eye for reference.
- photo 3: From the front you can see that the area around her affected eye is swollen, compared to her healthy eye.

(She's wet in the photos because she got stuck in the rain and wouldn't move.)

ANY advice or words of encouragement would be very appreciated! Almost everything I know about keeping chickens, I've learned here on this forum, so I'm hopeful someone can help me. Thank you for reading this far!

 

[Eggcessive]

Swollen eyes with gunk are usually a sinus infection from MG or coryza. Sometimes the eye can get infected from something getting into the eye. Since the doxycycline helped, I would try to get more. Tylosin works in the right dosage to treat MG, but amoxicillin does not. Doxycycline can treat MG. Do you smell a bad odor from her beak or eye? That could indicate coryza, which is treated with sulfa antibiotics. With a chronic respiratory disease they may get an outbreak again and again, and they can get secondary infections. They are carriers for life. The best thing would be to treat her again with the antibiotic, clean out her eye and flush with saline, then apply an antibiotic ointment or eyedrop twice a day. Terramycin, Neosporin, or ciprofloxacin are some examples of those. Here is an article on MG:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

 

[chickensinthephilippines]

Thank you! That is extremely helpful. I had never heard of MG but after looking it up, it seems like that could be it.

I'll go to the vet clinic tomorrow to get more doxycycline. They only treat cats and dogs but hopefully they'll be willing to give me a prescription for my chicken.

I'll post an update here!

 

[Eggcessive]

Keep in mind that coryza is also common in your part of the world. Large pus filled eyes and thick nasal mucus which smell bad are common in that one. Sulfa antibiotics are best for that one. It is possible to have more than one disease at the same time.

 

[chickensinthephilippines]

Keep in mind that coryza is also common in your part of the world. Large pus filled eyes and thick nasal mucus which smell bad are common in that one. Sulfa antibiotics are best for that one. It is possible to have more than one disease at the same time.

Thank you! There is no nasal mucus or bad smell though, but I'll look into it anyway!

I was able to get some doxycycline just now, so fingers crossed!

 

[chickensinthephilippines]

Update on our girl Wendy. She initially responded well to the doxycycline, but after the first two days there was no more improvement. Her eye is definitely less red and swollen, but still not back to normal and she still keeps it shut.

What worries me more is that she still won't eat or drink. She will occasionally eat a tiny bit of white rice (never chicken food) and we give her electrolyte water with a syringe, but she's getting skinnier and weaker by the day.

When my dog was on doxycycline earlier this year, one of the side effects was loss of appetite, and she needed an IV because she refused to eat or drink. So I'm worried the same thing might be happening to our chicken.

Does anyone have any suggestions what to do? Stop the doxycycline, even though her eye is still not back to normal? Or keep going, even though she won't eat or drink?

 

[blueroosterinn]

Keep in mind that coryza is also common in your part of the world. Large pus filled eyes and thick nasal mucus which smell bad are common in that one. Sulfa antibiotics are best for that one. It is possible to have more than one disease at the same time.

i have the same problem with my chicken i’ve used enrofloxin injections, 2 rounds of oral baytril, fish erythromycin oral, a $500 surgery, iodine flush, mineral oil flush, cortizone 10 and triple antibiotic. how would i administer Doxicyline and which specific sulfa drug?

 

[Eggcessive]

@chickensinthephilippines is the swelling of the eyelid or eye drainage improved? Antibiotics can affect the appetite, make them sleepy, and she might benefit from probiotics or plain yogurt. What dosage of doxycycline are you using daily?

 

[Eggcessive]

i have the same problem with my chicken i’ve used enrofloxin injections, 2 rounds of oral baytril, fish erythromycin oral, a $500 surgery, iodine flush, mineral oil flush, cortizone 10 and triple antibiotic. how would i administer Doxicyline and which specific sulfa drug?

Welcome to BYC. It might be less confusing if you started a new thread of your own. Tell us why you were giving flushes, what type of surgery, and other details.