Baby Chick Eye Problem

[LorryElizabeth]

We have four baby chicks that a hatchery yesterday morning. All four arrived in seemingly good health and all ate and drank right away. They spent most of their day and pretty much all night under their radiant heater. This morning, we noticed that one baby didn't seem to want to come out from under the heater. The others were eating and drinking, but she never did. We moved her out from under the heater, and she drank -- a lot -- and then went right back under. She still isn't coming out voluntarily, and hasn't eaten anything. We noticed one eye wasn't quite opening (it was fine yesterday). Posting pictures of her "bad" eye and good eye in hopes you can help us identify if something might be going on that we need to treat. Could she have gotten pecked/scratched in that eye or is it a sign of an infection?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She may have gotten pecked or something in her eye that has caused it to weep and become crusty. I would clean the eye with warm water or saline, and apply a small dab of either Terramycin eye ointment or plain Neosporin twice a day. A couple of drops orally of Poultry NutriDrench might give her a boost. Sugar water can be used as well. Offer some moistened wet feed, crumbles, and a little egg. Dip her beak in the food and water often. She may have a little shipping stress, but also check for pasty butt. The more she drinks and eats, it might perk her up.

 

[LorryElizabeth]

Welcome to BYC. She may have gotten pecked or something in her eye that has caused it to weep and become crusty. I would clean the eye with warm water or saline, and apply a small dab of either Terramycin eye ointment or plain Neosporin twice a day. A couple of drops orally of Poultry NutriDrench might give her a boost. Sugar water can be used as well. Offer some moistened wet feed, crumbles, and a little egg. Dip her beak in the food and water often. She may have a little shipping stress, but also check for pasty butt. The more she drinks and eats, it might perk her up.

Thank you! As an update: I'm wondering now if there's actually a problem with her eye or if she just doesn't tend to open it. I just went to give her some electrolytes with a dropper, and she had it open and it looked normal. The Hatchery thinks it could be Coccidiosis, I guess because they think her eye being closed is a sign of lethargy, and the fact that she's not eating and drinking like the others. My husband is bringing home some raw apple cider vinegar to make up a water-ACV solution for all of them. I just tried to feed her egg yolks, but she really isn't interested in eating. The others ate it off of my finger with no problem. She is also making a lot of chirping noises, which makes me worry she is uncomfortable.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would skip the ACV, and use electrolytes with vitamins, or a tonic, such as Poultry NutriDrench. New baby chicks seldom have coccidiosis when they are only 2 days old.

 

[LorryElizabeth]

I would skip the ACV, and use electrolytes with vitamins, or a tonic, such as Poultry NutriDrench. New baby chicks seldom have coccidiosis when they are only 2 days old.

Thank you!

 

[LorryElizabeth]

Hi, all. I fed egg yolk by hand at 6 p.m. at 8 p.m. yesterday and gave her droplets of electrolyte solution every hour up until 10:30 p.m. But she's dying. This morning, she can't stand and really can't sit. She just rolls onto her side and back. What should I do? Remove her from the brooder? I just want to keep her as comfortable as possible, and in the brooder, she can stay under the radiant heater.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that you are losing her. I would try to keep her in a warm spot in the brooder or put a little divider there. A heating pad can be fashioned for warmth as well. Many times when weak chicks show signs, it can be too late to reverse the outcome.

 

[LorryElizabeth]

I moved her to a warm box next to the brooder, and wrapped her in a warm cloth. I knew it was likely too late, but I wanted to at least try. I used a dropper to attempt to get some fluid in her, but she wasn't even able to hold her head up. So I laid her in her soft cloth and let her go in peace. This is the first time we've had chickens. The other three seem to be thriving. A farmer friend of my sister's explained to me that the fourth day is a big day for chicks since it's the first day they are surviving without the benefit of the yolk and that she could have been born with an issue that didn't show up until then, which would have been yesterday. I just feel absolutely terrible, though. Thank you for your help and your supportive words.