A puffy eye is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Here are the likely causes on a Ghanaian farm, the signs that separate them and what to change this week.
Halaal Farms Ghana team17 August 2026 · 11 min read
The first sign is usually one bird. It stands a little away from the others with one eye half shut and a puffy patch under it. It may sneeze when you walk past, or shake its head as if something is stuck in its nose. By the time several birds look like this, the problem has usually been moving through the house for a while.
Swelling around the eyes and sinuses is a symptom with several possible causes, and they do not all need the same response. Some are infections that spread bird to bird. Some come from the air in the house. A few come from feed or from a fight in the pen. This guide walks through the likely causes, the signs that separate them, and what you can change this week while you wait for the vet.
The sinuses are air spaces in the bird's head, near the eyes and above the beak. When they fill with discharge, the face swells below and beside the eye. The eye itself can swell shut, and the bird may shake its head to clear the nostrils. The discharge can start thin and watery, then turn thick, yellowish or foul-smelling as the infection settles.
Look at the bird closely before deciding. Is the swelling on one side or both? Is there a discharge from the nostrils, and what colour is it? Does the breath smell bad? Is the bird eating and drinking normally? Is it still laying, if it is a layer? Those answers narrow the list far more than a guess from a distance.
Infectious coryza is one of the classic causes of facial swelling and sinus trouble in layers and growers in the tropics. It spreads quickly through a flock, often through birds that move from pen to pen or drink from the same contaminated line. Birds with coryza sneeze, have watery or thick discharge from the nose, and often have swelling around one or both eyes. The smell can be unpleasant, and the birds lose appetite.
In a layer flock, a drop in egg output usually shows up alongside the face swelling. Birds that are sick for a while may not get back to full production, and that lost lay is the real cost on a laying farm.
Coryza is a disease where prevention matters more than cure. Keep ages apart as far as you can, use an all-in, all-out approach where possible, and do not bring in birds from unknown sources without a holding period. Clean and disinfect drinkers and feeders between flocks. Ask your vet to look at the flock before anything is decided, because antibiotics are sometimes used but should only be chosen after a diagnosis.
Some infections of the airways are slower and quieter than coryza. Chronic respiratory disease, caused by Mycoplasma, is one of them. It tends to run through a flock over weeks, with a persistent nasal discharge, sneezing, a noisy breath or rattle, and a slow drop in performance. Birds may look fine most days, which is why the problem can be overlooked until the egg count drops.
Infectious bronchitis is another common airway disease, which can cause sneezing and rattling, and in layers it can damage egg quality and output. Some of these infections make birds more vulnerable to bacteria, so one disease can lead to another in the same bird.
If you see a slow, repeated pattern of sneezing, a rattle when the birds breathe, or eggs that look different in shape or shell, write it down with the date and call the vet. These diseases are much easier to manage when they are caught in the early weeks.
In broilers, a swollen head syndrome can produce puffy faces, swollen eyes and a discharge, sometimes with swelling of the wattles. It is often linked to a viral infection that weakens the birds' airways, with bacteria taking advantage of the damage. It tends to show up in flocks that are crowded, that have poor air, or that have mixed ages moving through the same space.
Because the signs overlap with other infections, do not treat it as a simple cold. Note how many birds are affected, their age, whether they are eating, and how quickly the signs spread. Ask your vet to look at a few birds, and if possible send a sample for testing. A diagnosis changes what you do next.
A great deal of eye and sinus trouble in Ghanaian houses is not infection at all. It is the air. Wet litter gives off ammonia, and the gas irritates the eyes and the lining of the nose and airways. A simple test is to walk into the house and see how your own eyes feel. If they sting or water within a few minutes, the birds are already suffering from it.
Harmattan adds dust. Fine dust from the outside, from the feed and from dry litter sits in the air and on the birds' faces. Birds in a closed house, with curtains down to keep out the cold, breathe that air all night. Dust and ammonia together are a hard combination, and they make any infection worse.
Fix the litter first. Keep it dry and loose, and remove caked patches each morning. Check the curtains and fans, so air moves across the birds without drafting them at night. In layer houses, check that droppings pits and belts are cleared on schedule. Good air is cheaper than any treatment for a flock that is struggling with the house.
Some eye problems come from the feed. Vitamin A deficiency, for example, can cause watery, foamy or sticky eyes, and eyelids that stick together. It is more likely when feed is old, badly stored, poorly mixed or very low in premix, and when a bag has been damaged or mouldy. Maize-heavy mashes that were never properly balanced can also be a risk.
Do not treat this with supplements from the shop on a guess. Ask your feed supplier or your vet to check the bag, the mix and the storage. Bring the bag number, and tell them how long it has been in use. A feed problem often shows up across the whole house, not just in the birds with swollen faces, so look at the other birds too.
Not every swollen eye is an infection. A bird that has been pecked around the face by a pen mate can swell badly, and the wound can get infected later. Look for scratches, scabs or a cut near the eye. Separate the bird that is being picked on, and check the pen for the causes of pecking, such as overcrowding, boredom or a lack of feeders and drinkers. A pecked bird that is removed quickly often recovers.
Use this table to think through the first questions to ask your vet. It does not give a diagnosis, and more than one cause can be present at once.
| Sign | Causes to discuss with the vet | What you can change now |
|---|---|---|
| One or both eyes swollen, with watery or thick nasal discharge and a bad smell | Infectious coryza, or a secondary bacterial infection | Separate the sick birds, clean the drinkers and check the water line |
| Sneezing and rattling spread slowly over weeks, with eggs changing | Chronic airway disease or infectious bronchitis | Note the egg output, check ventilation and limit visitors |
| Puffy face, swollen eyes and wattles, mostly in broilers | Swollen head syndrome, often with bacteria taking hold | Reduce crowding, improve air and avoid mixing ages |
| Eyes watering, red or stinging, and the house smells strongly of ammonia | Ammonia and dust from wet litter | Remove caked litter, dry the floor and check fans and curtains |
| Watery or foamy eyes, eyelids stuck shut in several birds | Feed quality, especially vitamin A | Check the bag, the storage and the mix with the supplier |
| A wound or scab near the eye after pecking | Injury, possibly infected later | Separate the bird and check the pen for pecking causes |
| Twisted neck, staggering or a drop in water intake with many birds sick | Nervous or systemic disease, possibly Newcastle | Call the vet at once and limit movement between houses |
Separate any bird that is clearly sick, and put it in a holding pen where you can watch it without it moving among the healthy birds. Keep your hands and boots clean between pens. Walk the flock at dawn and dusk and count the birds with discharge, swelling or a closed eye, and write the number down each day. A simple count tells you whether the problem is growing, and it is the first thing the vet will ask for.
Look at the water. Clean the drinkers, check the flow and make sure the birds can reach them. Look at the litter and the air. Then call the district veterinary office and describe what you see. Ask them whether a visit is needed, whether a sample should be sent, and what they want you to keep an eye on in the meantime.
Do not give antibiotics from leftover stock, and do not guess at doses from a friend's advice. Antibiotics can hide the signs, make the disease harder to diagnose later, and leave residues that matter at slaughter or in eggs. The vet decides what is used and how long to keep birds off sale.
Most of these problems are cheaper to prevent than to fight. Start with the chicks. Buy from a clean hatchery that vaccinates every batch and tells you what was given, and keep those records with the flock. Then build the routine: all-in, all-out where you can manage it, a proper rest and clean-out between flocks, and disinfection of drinkers, feeders and equipment.
Limit visitors and their vehicles near the houses. Keep a footbath or a boot-dip at the door, and do not move equipment between houses without cleaning it first. Source birds from known places and do not mix different ages in one house.
Finally, watch the air. A house that is dry, well ventilated and free of caked litter will be harder for infections to take hold in. A house that smells of ammonia at the door is telling you it needs attention today.
Point-of-lay pullets from us are in the GH₵1,000 to GH₵1,150 range, depending on the breed, and that figure is worth protecting. A bird lost to a slow airway infection is an expensive bird, and a clean start is the cheapest protection you will buy. Confirm today's price with us before you plan the budget.
No. Ammonia, dust, a pecking injury or a feed problem can all cause swelling or closed eyes. An infection is common, but it is only one possibility, so check the other signs before you decide.
Not without a diagnosis. The wrong product or the wrong dose can hide the signs and make the next treatment harder. Ask your vet to look at the flock and choose what is used, and keep records of anything given.
That is a decision for you and your vet, based on the diagnosis, the number of birds and the health of the rest of the flock. Do not sell or eat birds that are clearly sick without the vet's advice.
Dust and cold, closed-up houses trap more ammonia and dust around the birds. Those irritate the eyes and airways, and they make any infection hit harder. Open the air where you safely can and keep the litter dry.
If the same eye and sinus problems keep returning, the cause may be the house, the feed or the way the flock was started. Read our guides on humidity and draughts in the brooder and storing feed to stop spoilage, and keep a daily count of affected birds using the simple post-mortem checks to back up what you tell the vet.
When you are ready to order, send the order form on our site or call 024 915 1503. An order starts with a message, not with money. We confirm the price, hatch date and delivery cost before you pay, and any chick dead on arrival is replaced free in the next hatch. For the full list of what we supply, see our how to order page.
Written by the Halaal Farms Ghana team. We hatch and import day-old chicks at Opeikuma, Kasoa, and deliver to all 16 regions. This article is general guidance for farmers. For diagnosis and treatment of sick birds, speak to a vet or your district veterinary office.
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