4 month old Welsummer with eyes closed

[windhorse]

we're newbies.
One of our Welsummer hens is keeping her eyes closed for most of the day (seems mostly in the afternoons).. she's eating ok, drinking ok, crop seems ok (not full or empty, not mushy either)... we'll feed the chickens some tomatoes... she's right there, acting fairly active and gobbling up her share. Then a few minutes later... she's off by herself, with eyes close... hunkered down by herself. We were told she maybe ready to start laying, just not sure that's it. She's free ranged during the day, currently on starter crumbles, always has grit, just started oyster shell this week for all of them. Today is day 2 of the issue... and now I do hear a little bit of breathing issues. A little bit of heaving breathing. not panting or anything but, i hear her bring a few heavier breaths. ... (we did just get past a major 100 degree heatwave) Any assistance appreciated!

 

[windhorse]

also...
walking around with eyes closed... and occasionally bumps into things. then opens her eyes for a second or two then closes them again.
no Mites (checked)
no discharge from eyes or nostrils
not walking funny or looking egg bound... checked vent
help!

 

[binders]

I have something very similar going on. I have my Welsummer separated in a dog crate and she is eating and drinking well but doesn't want to keep her eyes open. She will when she has to but seems to like to have them closed. I can't find anything else wrong with her.

I hope you find out what is going on. I am having someone come look at her for me to see if they know what it is. Will let you know if I find anything out. Good luck and may she get back to herself soon!

 

[windhorse]

Thanks for the good wishes. Any word on your hen and what the issue might be? Ours was a little perkier 1st thing this morning, still eating fine, but now she's showing the same listlessness and walking, standing, eating with eyes shut tight. Just gave her a direct dose of electrolyte solution with an eye dropper, added some to the water also and will watch for the next few hours. We listened for wheezing when she breathes and didn't hear anything suspicious, so we'll hold off a bit longer before starting her on Duramycin and just monitor closely for any signs of CRD. If you get any clue on what's up with your hen or if anyone else has suggestions, would love to hear them so we can stop worrying.

 

[binders]

I haven't noticed any changes today. I don't know when I will be able to get together with the local chicken keeper to get his opinion on what is going on but I will let you know if I find anything out. How is your chicken doing? Any changes?
Hopefully someone here on the forum will give us some advice.

 

[windhorse]

Not much change here either. Decided to play it safe and isolate her, as all the others seem to be fine right now. We've got her in the house in a pen; started her on Duramycin last night and will continue to give her the Nutri-Drench vitamin/electrolyte supplement along with a mash using her chick crumbles and water. She's still eating and drinking plenty so that's encouraging; poop is normal and no runny eyes or nose. Still can't/won't keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds, so we're still stumped.

A woman at the feed store suggested maybe she's getting ready to start laying but our books and online research didn't indicate this as pre-laying behavior. We've not had our first egg yet, so if anyone out there experienced something similar prior to egg laying, let us know. Of course, now we'd have to wait 21 days before eating her eggs if they do come along (because of the antibiotic she's taking)! We'll keep you posted on her progress (we hope).

 

[binders]

I still haven't found out anything. I was wondering how your pullet is doing? Any idea what it is and how to treat it? Any help out there - suggestions?

 

[windhorse]

She seems to be making steading improvement. We saw a noticeable difference in how alert she is over the last 48 hours. Still have her isolated and giving her the Duramycin each day along with the Nutri-Drench. I put her in the yard yesterday with the rest of the flock for about an hour and she seemed happy, alert and perfectly normal. We still don't know what the problem was but if it was something coming on, maybe the Duramycin nipped it early. We've decided to keep her in the pen for the weekend so she can get a full 7-day dose of the antibiotic to prevent developing a resistance to it and plan to put her back in the coop tomorrow evening. Then we'll just keep our fingers crossed and watch her closely. Have been watching the rest of the girls for any signs of the same behavior, but thankfully all seem to be fine. Any change on your end? If she's still the same (or worse), you might try a similar treatment and see if it makes a difference. Hard to say if we did the right thing putting her on an antibiotic so quickly, but I'm glad she's getting back to normal. As newbies, we were worried sick that something might spread through the entire flock!

 

[Reyvaughn]

I had two Speckled Sussex the same way. One died yesterday and the other isn't doing well. She's limping and nearly falling down. I was assuming it was Cocci, since I had a younger pullet go through this same thing. With all the rain we just got, and I know I already have an Cocci problem in my yard, Cocci was the only thing I could think it would be. They are on day 2 of Corrid.