I have two hens about a year old, that have one eye they can't open. It doesn't look swollen, but I noticed a white spot in the corner of the eye on one of them a day or two before it was shut. Is this a symptom of a disease or virus that they could be spreading to the other chickens.
Sorry we haven't gotten back to you before. We have been out of power here. Is the open eye watery at all? According to Damerow's diagnosis charts, there is a good chance it could be coryza. If it is this, it can be treated with erythromycin, streptomycin, or sulfadimexothine. The birds will still be carriers, however.
This sounds like some of my jersey giant hens. They would always go around looking squinty eyed, sometimes w/only one closed, more often w/both. They didn't have any kind of material in them either, they weren't crusty or weepy or anything...just shut, and otherwise appearing totally normal in terms of behavior and feeding. Perhaps it was reluctance to open them rather than not being able to at all. All of these hens eventually died despite quarantine and erythromycin.
Thanks in advance
By Dr. Bruce Smith (Brucesmith) on Monday, April 29, 2002 - 11:51 am:
Please describe all symptoms you can observe. Any face swelling? Noisy breathing? reduction in feed consumption? Lethargy? Any odor around nose? What is their housing like? Bedding? Outdoor temperature? Recent changes in weather?
By Gayle J (Joyousgayle) on Wednesday, May 1, 2002 - 11:49 am:
Hope you do not have the same outcome!