Baby chick with eyelid problem

[Farmer Viola]

This Faverolles chick is 1.5 weeks old and has some kind of problem with one of it's eyelids. None of the other chicks have this.

I am wondering if it is genetic, or possibly an injury - maybe it got pecked by a bigger hen?





After these photos, I tried to gently apply some triple anti-biotic ointment to the eye. When I did that, the upper eyelid smoothed out some, so it is almost like there is too much eyelid and it is folding over. It is not permanently in that pointed, folded shape.

Is there anything else I can do to help it?

 

[chooks4life]

Hmm. It's very odd. I think it's an injury, not a deformity.

I don't think it's by henpecking, since henpeckings have pretty regular, almost reliable results, and that's a very unusual result, but I've seen miscellaneous cuts and gouges to faces of chicks from a hen shifting while they're trying to emerge from the egg. The eggshell slices them up.

Not uncommon for chicks to have bits missing from that, I've actually eliminated hens from my 'broody pool' for having such an excessive habit of shifting on hatching eggs. Some hens respond to every peep under them by moving or trying to look, others sit tight. The former sort causes injuries and fatalities.

The pic of the good eye really helps, puts it into comparison; now I know this isn't a line that genetically has those overlarge eyelid span that exposes sclera and mucous membranes, like for example many Brahmas have; instead its eyelid rims sit tight around the eye in correct position.

It looks to me like it was caught on something, could just be straw or wire or even a claw of the mother or a sibling, and ripped, and internal damage is 'sticking' to external damaged surfaces and trying to heal it wrong. That's my guess anyway. The redness of that band around the back is strange too but I don't know what's going on there, sorry.

Looking at the eye when it's shut, I think the chick will be fine, as long as it heals normally and doesn't get an infection.

Best wishes.

 

[boskelli1571]

Today I went into the run and inspected all the wire very carefully. I found an area where there was an edge of chicken wire poking out down at ground level, 2 little spikes were sticking out around a post. I folded it in and secured the wire, now I'm wondering if that might have been the culprit. Chick's eye looked the same today, they ran out of the run when I tried to catch the injured one, will try again later. Going to keep putting the AB ointment daily on it for now, they are all getting garlic and OACV as well.

While I have you here Chooks, I also have another hen with an injury. She is molting first of all, so she looks terrible. Then I noticed her limping and staying in the coop, in a nest box in fact, although she isn't broody and isn't laying eggs. Upon bodily inspection, I found that her right footpad has a bumblefoot sore on it. I separated her in a box with straw, food, and water. She is getting higher protein food for the molt, scrambled egg, oats, and vitamin water. She is quite content to sit in the box and not move at all. She uses her right wing to prop herself when she turns around, not wanting to put weight on the right foot, it must really hurt.

I ordered sterile scalpels from amazon Prime and they arrived today. I also ordered betadine antiseptic solution. I have gauze, AB ointment, and vetwrap per the bumblefoot instructions I've read. Now that I have the scalpel and betadine, I plan to do the bumblefoot surgery today after an epsom salt soak. I have never done it before, but I have read a few threads about it and the chicken chick's how-to page. Just wondering if you have anything extra to add that I should know? I will probably do the surgery this afternoon or evening..

Hi, I'm not chooks, but for my $5 worth - please, please please do not put betadine on the foot after you have done surgery. It's good to splash around on intact skin, but research shows that it can inhibit new skin growth and in extreme cases actually cause harm to new tissue. So, good old fashioned soap and water will do just fine, antibiotic ointment post-op.!

 

[boskelli1571]

Ack, okay, thank you very much for the tip!!!!

The steps will be:
Soak foot in epsom salt water to soften the tissue
Clean the area with betadine to sterilize (wearing sterile gloves myself)
Remove scab and kernel with scalpel & tweezers
Pack hole with antibiotic ointment
Cover with sterile gauze
Wrap with Vetwrap

am I missing anything?
should I use soap and water on the hole before AB ointment?

Looks good. If you are going to be removing the dressing daily, I would gently soak the foot in warm water, soap only if the area around it is dirty. Good luck on your surgery!

 

[chooks4life]

Whether or not it needs something done for it depends on whether or not it can close its eye properly, so all membranes and the eyeball itself aren't in danger of drying out.

Depending on what it looks like when its eyelid is not in that shape (pics would help, of its eyelid 'smoothing out' as you say), it's possibly just a deformity. Some breeds have various eye deformities.

I had a line of hens I got from a breeder, looking back they were supposed to be RIR I think but they were such poor imitations I never reconciled their image to the RIRs I was used to... Hatchery type RIRs, they were... Anyway, when these hens became broody, they'd fluff up in hostility like normal hens, but when they did so, the skin around the back of their heads would somehow tighten like there was a knot contracting underneath it, on the back of their skulls, causing scalp to crawl into their eyesockets. Hard to explain. They just had skin curling up into itself, as though their scalp was trying to go into their eyesockets at the back, introducing feathers into touching the eyes, when they did the usual nest defense display.

Would like to see what that eyelid is like when it's relaxed.

Best wishes.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Whether or not it needs something done for it depends on whether or not it can close its eye properly, so all membranes and the eyeball itself aren't in danger of drying out.

Depending on what it looks like when its eyelid is not in that shape (pics would help, of its eyelid 'smoothing out' as you say), it's possibly just a deformity. Some breeds have various eye deformities.

I had a line of hens I got from a breeder, looking back they were supposed to be RIR I think but they were such poor imitations I never reconciled their image to the RIRs I was used to... Hatchery type RIRs, they were... Anyway, when these hens became broody, they'd fluff up in hostility like normal hens, but when they did so, the skin around the back of their heads would somehow tighten like there was a knot contracting underneath it, on the back of their skulls, causing scalp to crawl into their eyesockets. Hard to explain. They just had skin curling up into itself, as though their scalp was trying to go into their eyesockets at the back, introducing feathers into touching the eyes, when they did the usual nest defense display.

Would like to see what that eyelid is like when it's relaxed.

Best wishes.

I do think it is in danger of drying out, it may be stuck in this position because it is dry? The ointment I put on and inside the eye helped moisturize it, and that is when the eyelid was able to smooth out (I also used my sterile finger, pressing the eyelid flat when I applied the ointment). I have not yet seen the eye on a normal day, when I have not interacted with it, smoothed out on it's own.

The chicks are being raised by a broody, so I do not have a lot of interaction with them like I would in a brooder. I will spend some time out there observing the chick today and see what I can see!

 

[Farmer Viola]

Ok I took some more photos of the eye. The eyelid does not smooth out on it's own, only if I touch it.

this is how the chick closes the eye. the bottom eyelid comes up to meet the top eyelid.
now, it seems like there is excessive amount of eyelid tissue. it also looks slightly less swollen and red than yesterday:


this is the eye after I put some ointment on/in it.


his/her good eye:

 

[Farmer Viola]

Thank you so much for your input, Chooks

I feel slightly better if it weren't an injury from a hen, but any of the things you listed are possible since they hatched outdoors. they have a straw nest, not much wire, but claws or hatching interference is possible. there are 2 broodies, 1 is a new mom and 1 is an experienced mom who imho is doing better than the new one. the chicks also follow her more. No way for me to know which hen hatched which chick though..

I hope it heals normally, I'll post again as the chick grows up!

 

[Farmer Viola]

Today I went into the run and inspected all the wire very carefully. I found an area where there was an edge of chicken wire poking out down at ground level, 2 little spikes were sticking out around a post. I folded it in and secured the wire, now I'm wondering if that might have been the culprit. Chick's eye looked the same today, they ran out of the run when I tried to catch the injured one, will try again later. Going to keep putting the AB ointment daily on it for now, they are all getting garlic and OACV as well.

While I have you here Chooks, I also have another hen with an injury. She is molting first of all, so she looks terrible. Then I noticed her limping and staying in the coop, in a nest box in fact, although she isn't broody and isn't laying eggs. Upon bodily inspection, I found that her right footpad has a bumblefoot sore on it. I separated her in a box with straw, food, and water. She is getting higher protein food for the molt, scrambled egg, oats, and vitamin water. She is quite content to sit in the box and not move at all. She uses her right wing to prop herself when she turns around, not wanting to put weight on the right foot, it must really hurt.

I ordered sterile scalpels from amazon Prime and they arrived today. I also ordered betadine antiseptic solution. I have gauze, AB ointment, and vetwrap per the bumblefoot instructions I've read. Now that I have the scalpel and betadine, I plan to do the bumblefoot surgery today after an epsom salt soak. I have never done it before, but I have read a few threads about it and the chicken chick's how-to page. Just wondering if you have anything extra to add that I should know? I will probably do the surgery this afternoon or evening..

 

[casportpony]

Hi, I'm not chooks, but for my $5 worth - please, please please do not put betadine on the foot after you have done surgery. It's good to splash around on intact skin, but research shows that it can inhibit new skin growth and in extreme cases actually cause harm to new tissue. So, good old fashioned soap and water will do just fine, antibiotic ointment post-op.!

I'm curious, what research is this?

-Kathy