# Chicken with swollen eye - graphic pictures



## TwoAcresAndAGoat

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I have had several birds in the past that get these swollen eyes. This Dutch Bantam Hen is about 5 or 6 years old. The mass will continue to grow if not removed.

I made a slice with a single edged razor blade or other similar sharp instrument.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Remove the mass with forceps or tweezers. You can see the edges it is a solid yellow mass. There will be some bleeding.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I put some blood stop and small pieces of paper towel to from a bandage that will fall off on it's own. 
Put the hen by herself in a clean bedded cage. Do not put her back with the flock as they will pick at the wound and in all probability kill her.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
A cross section of the removed mass.

This is her right eye that was done 3 weeks ago. It healed up nicely but there is a little baggy skin under the eye.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

OK now for my question. What causes this mass to form and how can I prevent it from happening?


----------



## Cyngbaeld

That is wet fowl pox. Give them the Fishzole 250mg/1 gallon of water. For the ones with swollen eyes, mix the tab in 1 cup and add a tablespoon of sugar and make them take several swallows. Put the rest in the water for the flock.


----------



## WstTxLady

see i had a couple silver laced wyandottes couple years ago get the wet fowl pox or Infectious Bronchitis. i treated the ENTIRE flock big time for both just to make sure. 

they had the canker like white thingys in and around their mouth and had the eye scabs. after penicillin shots and cleanings they got over it real well/fast. plus i scrubbed the coop like crazy. after researching it and seeing that we had BAD misquotes that year, i figured it was that or when we got a bad rainy spell and the coop matter got wet and funky before i knew it to change it. lesson learned, regardless of weather/conditions...clean coop & change hay regularly.

if not fowl pox, could it be?

-Infectious Coryza? Clinical signs: Swelling around the face.

-Swollen Head Syndrome? Clinical signs: In chicks and poults, there is initial sneezing, followed by reddening and swelling of the tear ducts and eye tissue.

I found a lot of this on : http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044


----------



## Cyngbaeld

No, it is wet fowl pox. I've seen it here in some of my birds. Lost a bunch before I found out how to treat it. The plaques will clear up with the Fishzole.


----------



## PrincessFerf

Very interesting. Thanks for the education!


----------



## WstTxLady

Good info to have at hand:goodjob:


----------



## TwoAcresAndAGoat

I have one or two birds a year with this condition. Some years none of them will show this swelling so it is not very contagious.

I looked up Wet Pox on the Mississippi State University web site
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disviral.htm

This is just an extract from the article please go the the above website to read the entire article.

"Wet pox is associated with the oral cavity and the upper respiratory tract, particularly the larynx and trachea. The lesions are diphtheritic in character and involve the mucous membranes to such a degree that when removed, an ulcerated or eroded area is left."

The mass was removed from below the eye not in the larynx or trachea and was not attached to any tissue it popped right out after the incision was made.


I also sent my pictures to:
David A. Halvorson, DVM
Diplomate, ACPV
Professor Emeritus
College Of Veterinary Medicine
University of Minnesota

His response follows:

"Below the eye of birds is a sinus - called the infra-orbital sinus - 
that is connected to the nasal cavity. Any respiratory disease that 
affects that area can cause "sinusitis" or inflammation of the sinus. 
Usually this inflammation is associated with a liquid exudate that 
can drain naturally into the nasal cavity. Sometimes this exudate 
solidifies into a yellowish mass - sort of solid pus - and then is 
unable to be removed naturally by the chicken. That is what your 
chicken's mass seems to be.

There are probably several respiratory infections that can cause this 
type of mass.

David Halvorson"


From this information I do not think it was a form of fowl pox, but a sinus infection that got out of control.


----------



## Cyngbaeld

Yes, I know what the book says. I've seen birds with just the eye stuff at the same time other birds had dry pox and still others had classic wet pox. Frequently only one or two will have a symptom. Other times it goes like wildfire thru the flock.


----------



## Dazlin

If it were infectuous coryza, wouldn't it have a had a bad smell? Another way to differentiate?


----------



## Hill Billy Hens

I have two chickens with this swollen eye and want to remove the mass. Do you make the incision down the center or below the mass?


----------



## Cyngbaeld

I'd recommend you try the Fish Zole before you start cutting on your birds.


----------



## Hill Billy Hens

Cyngbaeld said:


> I'd recommend you try the Fish Zole before you start cutting on your birds.


I have tried the Fish Zole for a week or more and it is not working. How long does it take to start seeing a difference? I seperated the chickens from the group and put them in a clean cage. one of them looked as if it was shrinking but hasn't changed much. The other is still swollen shut. Are the egg's they're laying safe to eat?

Thanks,
HBH


----------



## TwoAcresAndAGoat

If the mass has solidified "then is unable to be removed naturally by the chicken" as stated by David A. Halvorson, DVM, Professor Emeritus, College Of Veterinary Medicine,University of Minnesota in his reply to my question to him.

I had pictures that showed the incision but they were removed as "forbidden".

You may ask the moderator for them perhaps they are on record somewhere.


----------



## LittleRedHen

Oooooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!!! this is very interesting! i had several birds with this this year. I didn't know it was Wet Pox! i had treated my birds with antibiodics thinking it was something else and I just couldn't get through this so i finally butchered a few girls who kept having it. It helped a bit but the girls just wouldn't lay anyways so i cut my losses before it spread worse. I even have fishzole! but oh well! i will keep it in mind for the future if i ever see it again


----------



## Cyngbaeld

The moderator did not remove the photos. Your photo host site removed them.


----------



## DayBird

Does anyone have any photos of this they might be willing to share?


----------

