Hi there,
I am a relatively new chicken owner and have been growing my flock for the last several months. Saturday I brought home 5 new Bantam Cochin chicks between 5 and 6 weeks old from a local breeder. When I got home I noticed one of the girls (no clue if she will actually be a hen or not) was keeping one eye shut and was sleeping toward the back of the pen away from the other chicks, and looked a little lethargic. When I picked her up I got her to open her left eye and saw that it was watery and looked a little cloudy or filmed over. It appears that she has some sort of vision loss in the eye as well, as it takes her a bit to register when my hand is drawing near her left side.
I brought her inside and made a cozy box for her in my bath tub. I originally thought she had simply been pecked by one of the others (a little black Silkie had been pecking at their faces and I thought he may have got her in the eye) and just needed a little TLC and eye ointment. But then later that night I saw that one of the other Cochins also had a watery eye and was keeping it closed and was sleeping a lot and lethargic. I brought him inside as well.
All the other chicks appear to be perfectly fine. Last night I was worried the two in my bathroom weren't going to make it through the night. I put Vetericyn eye ointment in their eyes, washed them off with warm water, made certain they had clean water and accessible food.
They ate off and on. I finally saw one of them drink this morning, but for the most part they have been sleeping all day. I can rouse them, but it only keeps them up for a few moments.
This morning I went and bought some tetrocycline (spelling?) and some sulfa. I put the tetrocycline powder in their water, but since they did not seem to be drinking much I gave them both a 1ml syringe of the medicated water several times today. I also put in the eye ointment. I called every Avian vet in my area and none have an actual Avian vet in until Wednesday. I'm so worried these little ones won't make it that long without the right treatment.
From everything I have read online, I can't figure out what is going on. They still keep their "bad" eyes closed 95% of the time, but they actually seemed to look a little better from the Vetericyn. They sleep all the time. Once in a while I see them pecking their starter mash and grooming. No runny nose, no sneezing that I have heard. Just the eye issue and extreme lethargy. And loss of a big appetite. They don't seem to be having trouble breathing.
Any advice would be wonderful. I am really worried about these little gals. (And the rest of my flock, should it be contagious! Worried I may have exposed everyone to this...though none of the others are showing any symptoms at the moment).
Thank you so much!
I am a relatively new chicken owner and have been growing my flock for the last several months. Saturday I brought home 5 new Bantam Cochin chicks between 5 and 6 weeks old from a local breeder. When I got home I noticed one of the girls (no clue if she will actually be a hen or not) was keeping one eye shut and was sleeping toward the back of the pen away from the other chicks, and looked a little lethargic. When I picked her up I got her to open her left eye and saw that it was watery and looked a little cloudy or filmed over. It appears that she has some sort of vision loss in the eye as well, as it takes her a bit to register when my hand is drawing near her left side.
I brought her inside and made a cozy box for her in my bath tub. I originally thought she had simply been pecked by one of the others (a little black Silkie had been pecking at their faces and I thought he may have got her in the eye) and just needed a little TLC and eye ointment. But then later that night I saw that one of the other Cochins also had a watery eye and was keeping it closed and was sleeping a lot and lethargic. I brought him inside as well.
All the other chicks appear to be perfectly fine. Last night I was worried the two in my bathroom weren't going to make it through the night. I put Vetericyn eye ointment in their eyes, washed them off with warm water, made certain they had clean water and accessible food.
They ate off and on. I finally saw one of them drink this morning, but for the most part they have been sleeping all day. I can rouse them, but it only keeps them up for a few moments.
This morning I went and bought some tetrocycline (spelling?) and some sulfa. I put the tetrocycline powder in their water, but since they did not seem to be drinking much I gave them both a 1ml syringe of the medicated water several times today. I also put in the eye ointment. I called every Avian vet in my area and none have an actual Avian vet in until Wednesday. I'm so worried these little ones won't make it that long without the right treatment.
From everything I have read online, I can't figure out what is going on. They still keep their "bad" eyes closed 95% of the time, but they actually seemed to look a little better from the Vetericyn. They sleep all the time. Once in a while I see them pecking their starter mash and grooming. No runny nose, no sneezing that I have heard. Just the eye issue and extreme lethargy. And loss of a big appetite. They don't seem to be having trouble breathing.
Any advice would be wonderful. I am really worried about these little gals. (And the rest of my flock, should it be contagious! Worried I may have exposed everyone to this...though none of the others are showing any symptoms at the moment).
Thank you so much!
