Advice about injured eye & healing

[Danny451]

So I posted about my Chicken (pulet-13 wks) a few weeks back. She had an eye injury. She was very lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink. I thought she was likely going to die but we nursed her though. She is eating and drinking normally. Her energy has retuned and her feathers looks good. Her eye is so much better then it was 3 wks ago. The outer area appears to be healed. I used antibiotic (Ofloxacin Ophthalmic drops) eye Drops. I treat the eye 2xa day by flushing it and the drops. It seemed to heal but for the bulging and the gray. She is rubbing at it but not causing any issues. The skin on the eye lid is healthy and she has been opening it intermittently. I think she is likely blind I'm concerned about the bulging and it's fully cloudy gray. I don't know what that means. Is this getting better? Do I keep treating it. Is they eye going to die? I’m not sure what to do at this point. A vet visit is not an option right now. The only vet that does avian is full till late July and cost $175 to walk in the door.

The other issue is the fact that the rest of the flock will not accept her back. She wants to be back and has flown into the coop. We have moved her crate into the coop area to sleep near them and she is in a temporary pen next to them during the day. She is now escaping the pen and flying into chickens area the other I've let her out when the others are free feeding. The birds chase her off but she wants to join them. She was pecked at yesterday and I immediately separated her. So I'm not sure if she can ever filly rejoin the flock if the eye is permit. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Especially about her eye. I'm trying to figure out how to proceed. She a tough little girl. She is very bonded to me and my wife. She even came in yesterday though the dog door!! Holy cow, right! I turn-around in the kittech and she was just looking at me. Making her little sweet noises. I think we have a pet chicken now.

Any ideas about the eye.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It seemed to heal but for the bulging and the gray. She is rubbing at it but not causing any issues. The skin on the eye lid is healthy and she has been opening it intermittently. I think she is likely blind I'm concerned about the bulging and it's fully cloudy gray.

The other issue is the fact that the rest of the flock will not accept her back. She wants to be back and has flown into the coop. We have moved her crate into the coop area to sleep near them and she is in a temporary pen next to them during the day. She is now escaping the pen and flying into chickens area the other I've let her out when the others are free feeding. The birds chase her off but she wants to join them. She was pecked at yesterday and I immediately separated her.

She may have lost the eye, does she seem to be able to see out it on that side at all?

You may want to be with her, but let her with the others for a while and see how it goes. She's low in pecking order and it's common to be pecked at. You are the one there and seeing what's happening, if it's just a peck --- "Move! You are in my space!" "That's my piece of scratch!" type of thing - then let it work and see what happens. IF, it's a full on attack, then move her. Chickens are not nice to one another, they squabble...but it's up to you to decide how much is too much.

An alternative plan would be to house her separately with her own coop/run and introduce a couple of younger pullets and see if they can be agreeable. She may end up being a bit of a bully. You just don't know what chickens will do.

 

[Danny451]

It’s hard to tell if she can see out of it but my guess is no. She is with the flock all the time. Mostly an issue around food. No it’s not a full on attack. If I’m right there I’ve actually pecked them with a finger. This seems very effective and they stop and are not afraid to come back over to me after it. I remind them I’m the big rooster in the end. Today she was up on the perch with all of them. So it’s improving. I try to not interact with her much during the day. I’m in and out of there there to get stuff and I ignore her completely until it’s medication time. I still have her sleeping in a crate at night inside the coop so she can eat and rest without any stress. She is so much more smaller then the other girls. She is not gaining weight and her cone is not developing and my other girls have some red in there. So I know she is behind.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is with the flock all the time. Mostly an issue around food. No it’s not a full on attack. If I’m right there I’ve actually pecked them with a finger.

She is so much more smaller then the other girls. She is not gaining weight and her cone is not developing and my other girls have some red in there. So I know she is behind.

She may not be getting enough to eat.
Keep her on chick starter or use an all flock feed. She may also benefit from poultry vitamins 1-2 times a week.
It's absolutely normal for top ranking birds to have first dibs on feed and peck lower birds away. The issue is when they control a feeder. Adding another feed station (or 2-3) depending on the amount of birds can help. A bird can't control all stations at one time.