Help - Eye Injury

[Shadowsbane0]

Hello,

I have a 12 week old Welsumer hen who was exhibiting lethargic behavior and was very unbalanced when we got back from a weekend away during the holiday. When I started to look her over I noticed her right eye was closed. My first thought was that she was pecked by another of the more dominant hens that we have. I then moved on to thinking maybe she got some debris in her eye because I didn't see any blood. I rinsed her eye with some eye wash solution and cleaned a large chunk of crust from the corner of her eye that I hope contained the debris. I applied some triple antibiotic to prevent any bacteria from catching hold. She started opening her eye a little during the next day. It seemed cloudy but I can't tell if that is the antibiotic coating her eye. Today I went to start another round of cleaning and antibiotic and found the cause of her pain. She was in fact packed by another hen in the eye. There is a laceration in the corner of her upper eyelid.

Here are my concerns:

I've separated her into a pen we have in my garage. I'm concerned about the reshuffling of the pecking order by keeping her away from the flock for a week so she can heal. I don't have another box that I can used for shelter if I fence off a section of their run for quarantine.

I'm really concerned about the health of her eye. I can't tell if it was damaged by the peck that caused the laceration.

How long should I keep her separated to convalescence?

I'm personally invested in this hen because I've already had to save her life once before. I made the mistake of putting chicks of different ages together and she wasn't able to get to food and water. She nearly died. I had to stay up til around 3 a.m. forcing fluids down her with an eye dropper every 30 minutes. She made it through. If there is anything else I should be doing I open to suggestions.

 

[mia.c]

it can be an internal infection around the retina

 

[mia.c]

if shes lethargic you can drop gartorade or dyoralyte down her to get the electrolytes back in her

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Shadowsbane0,

Sounds like you are doing just fine. Stay on top of infection, by applying the antibiotic twice a day. You don't have to wash the eye anymore, unless she gets dirt into it again.

It will take a few weeks for the eye to heal. And it will heal faster if you administer an oral antibiotic, as well. You should also be vigilant for secondary infection, such as upper respiratory or even intestinal. It is common for an injury to require so much from the immune system that a secondary infection sneaks in. This was the case for one of my roosters that had an eye injury from being pecked.

As for the pecking order, yes, she will be at the bottom when she is returned. Or, you can section out an area in the run with some chicken wire to protect her, and let her spend the days where the flock can see her. Another solution is to alternate hens to stay with her during the day. Hopefully hens that you know she gets along with. I have done this, and haven't had any problems returning the sick hen.

I have a hen that's been out sick for two weeks, she is the alpha hen. Each day I set her outside, and let the flock out to forage. The first thing they do, is head straight for her. Then, they stand near her and preen. She is too weak to go with them, so after a few minutes, they run off to forage. They still recognize her as the boss lady. She too, has been out several times this year for a relapsing illness. So, I can understand how much your investment in the hen means to you.

Every flock has different personalities that form the flock dynamic. Some scramble to take a new spot in the pecking order, and some wait to see what happens. Especially if it is a hen with high rank, that is missing. My alpha, will give a thrashing to any hen that looks at her wrong, right on the first day back. She is saying, I am boss here still, unless you want to challenge me. All the hens in my flock go back to their original spot in the pecking order. Your flock dynamic will be different. So, you will just have to supervise when you re-integrate the hen.

These are my thoughts on your hen's issue. I hope they are helpful.

God Bless

 

[Shadowsbane0]

To all, I've kept her wound cleaned out and it seems to be mending without complications. On the negative side, it's as I feared she seems to have lost her vision in that eye. She's happy to be back with the flock. My Welsummer Roo sticks by her pretty close. He's a good Roo it's a shame he isnt the dominate of the two I have. The Silver Laced Wyandotte i got by surprise seems to be in that role. I don't like him as much.

 

[pennyJo1960]

easiest pull a few more birds put them in another crate perfectly the lead hen put them back in the same day

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Shadowsbane0,

Be sure to apply the antibiotic ointment twice a day, three times if needed. The eye is a delicate tissue. If there was a laceration it could take several weeks to a month to know for sure, if the vision is completely lost.

Colloidal silver is another good treatment for the eyes. Just one drop, of 10 ppm colloidal silver 3 times a day can really work. I used colloidal silver on my dogs cherry eye, along with warm compresses, and she healed in 4 days.


God Bless