a month ago, i received a baby chick for my birthday. the chick was maybe one to two weeks old. last week, it started scratching its eye. it scratched, bled, and continues scratching until something bloody came out. it was only scratching one eye, but now it's scratching both eyes. both eyes are red around the corners, near where the gunk piles up in our eyes. its back is also bony. i can see the bones. idk what to do...
oh my goodness. i hope someone on here helps you out! poor baby, im sorry you and the chick are going through this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=81586 This might help don't lnow for sure... I did a search and there are a couple under " Chick with Scratchy eyes" Also check your messages I sent you a pm
the only thing i can think of to tell you is make sure its getting enough to eat. the best thing to feed is Dumor Starter/Grower. I get it at tractor supply. Let it have food free choice, meaning keep food in front of it at all times so it can eat whenever it wants. The same thing with water. It needs all the water it wants. Is it eating and drinking ok? What do its poops look like? Do they have any form to them or are they real runny? Make sure to keep the vent clean and dont let poo pile up around it or it cant poop. What are you keeping it in? I would put it in something where it has just enough room to run around if it wants to. Also, I like to use wood shavings for bedding. Get a heat lamp with a red bulb and put it over the brooder (area your chick is in) but make sure its not too hot and that the chick can move away from the heat if it wants to. If its too hot youll see it start panting. you dont want that. i usually keep my brooder between 88 and 94 degrees. they seem happiest at these temps. you can get a thermometer at Walmart in the hardware section real cheap. Also, once you see that its improving, id get it a buddy. Another thing, check it over for mites and lice. Youll see little eensy weensy creepy crawly things on its skin, theyre usually black and/or white. If you see that let us know and that may be causing your problems. Youll need to dust it, but well have to make sure its not too young to dust if for lice/mites. Ive never dusted a chick before and im not sure that its recomended. You can get the Poultry lice/mites dust at Tractor Supply or your local feed store, as you can all the other things i mentioned. good luck! and keep us posted. pics make also help! i just realized your chick is a little older than i thought so i dont think that the temps for the brooder should be that high like i told you. i would keep them in the high 70s to low 80s. Just keep an eye on him and hell let you know whats comfortable
I have one of these as well...it just scratches and scratches. It hatched this week from MissP's eggs. I don't know what to do for it. I thought it was maybe allergic to the pine shavings under the paper towels so I put it in it's own little box but it still scratches.
