[WoodlandsDevon]

I have an Orpington hen whose eyes are foaming! It looks like a clear white foam coming out of the corner of her eyes and at times nearly covers them! Is this a disease or will a treatment of cider vinegar (natural anti-biotic) heal this?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks

[Womble]

It could be a number of things, but foamy eyes are often an indication of Mycoplasma. Does her breath smell unusual at all, and are her sinuses puffed up? Also what does her breathing sound like? Is it wheezy or 'rattley'?

I'd separate her from the rest of the flock immediately as Mycoplasma is very contagious. I'm sure others with more knowledge will be along soon though!

[Marches Farmer]

Mycoplasma sounds a likely candidate.  It's highly infectious so I'd isolate the hen immediately.  It can be caused by a number of factors, including stress and in conjunction with infectious bronchitis or e coli.  I'd cull any bird affected in my own flock.

[chrismahon]

Sounds like Mycoplasma to me as well WoodlandsDevon. Many Pedigree flocks carry it, including ours, but it remains suppressed if they are healthy and happy. We have only lost one bird to it due to us foolishly using ant powder to control red mite- it caused her immune system to collapse. If she was an immunised hybrid in a flock it could also be an IB flare-up.


Separation is a wise precaution as she may have recently contracted it from wild birds, then you need to work on giving her system a boost. She needs to be kept warm and dry. Try 0.5mL of Cod Liver Oil with multi-vitamins daily. Extra vitamin A in it will help the immune system. Vets prescribe Tylan in the drinking water, but I'm not keen on that.


If the symptoms subside you then have to decide whether to re-introduce her. If you have the facilities you could start a closed flock with any others that may show symptoms. Good luck with her.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

My vet recommends Denaguard as it dosent bugger up the gut flora. My vet brought his in from pedigree stock purchased at the poultry auction but wild birds can bring it in too.


my vet would tell you to treat the lot for 5 days but in my experience treating birds which havent yet developed symptoms with an antibiotic isnt effective. A pulse dose is usually recomended 3 weeks later.


The one with the foamy eyes has a mild form and I personally suspect that these ones are the carriers. The virus and the antibiotic seem to have little effect and the watery eyes seem to resurface from time to time which is why people cull them. The others have almost certainly been exposed to it so separate the foamy hen and and keep a super keen eye on the others checking several times a day if possible.


Those that havent been exposed to it before can develop the blocked synuses version where the skin around their eyes becomes incredibly swollen and painful and they are full of a thick white cattarh. They struggle to breathe and cant sleep for days for fear of suffocation, they loose their sense of smell and cant detect food and wont drink as swallowing stimulates a choking response.


It takes 4 /5 days to see an improvement and the lowest point is day 3 when the fatigue gets the better of them but if you syringe them 2 or 3 times a day with critical care formula and water and clear as much of the cattarh out of their mouth and upper beak cavity as possible so they can breathe while swallowing they will pull through.


I have nursed 2 through this and am not sure weather they really responded to the antibiotic or the TLC. Whatever your chickens suffer from the main reason that hens die is from dehydration when they are too ill to drink so I cant over stress the need to syringe them if you havent seen them drink.


Lack of liquids causes liver damage and can result in death at a later stage. Once the antibiotics are over you can give them a probiotic and critical care in their water to give them a boost.

[Eve]

I agree, the most likely culprit is mycoplasma, it runs in one of my flocks but hasn't shown itself for 2 years now. Ask the vet for Baytril or Tylan, they work well.