Chicken 1 eye closed

[GraceKal]

Hi everyone,
I have 4 big black Australorp chickens about 9 months old. 3 healthy and 1 healthy as of yesterday. She has been very slow and lethargic all day, has attempted to eat and drink. Her normally large flopped over red comb and red wattle are very pale. She seems slow and not her normal energetic self. 1 eye is mostly closed however she will attempted to open it occasionally. No discharge noted. I did a very weak salt wash of it this morning and tried to give her some honey water. She doesn’t look any different by bed time this evening.
Any advice would be great appreciated. We are so worried for her. Thanks in advance - Grace

 

[Aapomp831]

Can you post pictures? There’s very little anyone can assess without them. I would post pics of the eye and the bird in general; there may be some dual issues going on.

 

[GraceKal]

Hi there,
It’s night time here. I just went down the garden but photo opportunity is poor. This was as good as I could get. I will post again in the morning. Any ideas ? She looks so poorly. The other 3 looks very bright and perky.

 

[GraceKal]

Hi there,
It’s night time here. I just went down the garden but photo opportunity is poor. This was as good as I could get. I will post again in the morning. Any ideas ? She looks so poorly. The other 3 looks very bright and perky.

This is 2 of my girls. They normally look like this

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I moved your thread to our Emergency forums for more help. I hope she will be ok!

 

[Aapomp831]

In the meantime, I would separate her from the rest with food and water with electrolytes or ACV in it. You can use terramycin (spelling)? for the eye... but with the floppy comb I suspect some kind of illness. Check her crop in the am and make sure it’s flat.... you can also do a fecal float test for worms. Being separated will enable you to examine her poop... although you cannot tell if a chicken has worms from poop alone. If there is blood I would suspect coccidiosis, but they seem a little old for that. There are lots of experts in here; keep us updated. But def check the crop... assuming she has not been eating or drinking overnight, it should be flat in the morning.

 

[GraceKal]

Thank you !! X

 

[GraceKal]

She is with the other girls tonight as I didn’t want her getting cold, and for the moral support. 2 of the 4 have always had floppy combs as they matured but always red and always energetic and happy. Hers has gone very pale and the wattle which is the concern and her over all lethargy. The right eye is closed most of the time and will flicker open occasionally. Will check all stool tomorrow. I did a worming Med in the water only 2 weeks ago.

 

[Aapomp831]

She is with the other girls tonight as I didn’t want her getting cold, and for the moral support. 2 of the 4 have always had floppy combs as they matured but always red and always energetic and happy. Hers has gone very pale and the wattle which is the concern and her over all lethargy. The right eye is closed most of the time and will flicker open occasionally. Will check all stool tomorrow. I did a worming Med in the water only 2 weeks ago.

If you’re concerned about her being cold, you can always bring her in to a garage / back porch in a small dog crate. The concern is that well chickens are not always nice to sick chickens; they instinctually know sick birds attract predators and want them OUT. I would worry about bullying; I’m wondering if your other chickens picked up on this chicken being sick and possibly pecked her in the eye?
what dewormer did you use in the water? Most dewormers aren’t water soluble... but I see you’re in Australia so maybe there are different options there. It could be that she’s still infested with worms.