Chicken will not open eyes

[HeatherKellyB]

I'd rinse his eyes out with saline. I am a worry wort, so I'd do that as soon as possible, even if it meant getting him off the roost tonight. If his eyes are irritated, a nice saline rinse may help him to sleep more comfortably. I wish you the best. That's scary. I hope everything improves very soon

 

[SnowflakeMama]

I'd rinse his eyes out with saline. I am a worry wort, so I'd do that as soon as possible, even if it meant getting him off the roost tonight. If his eyes are irritated, a nice saline rinse may help him to sleep more comfortably. I wish you the best. That's scary. I hope everything improves very soon

I will definitely do this! I didn't even think of it. Thank you!

 

[Swbertrand1]

We're having insane wildfires where we live right now and today it got very smoky in the afternoon. The sky is orange and there's ash on my car. I wondered if this could be affecting his eyes/sinuses?

I think you just answered your question for the cause. Can you get them out of the smoke at all? Saline sounds like a good choice, but it's really just going to rinse the eye and not really do anything to help the irritation.

 

[SnowflakeMama]

I think you just answered your question for the cause. Can you get them out of the smoke at all? Saline sounds like a good choice, but it's really just going to rinse the eye and not really do anything to help the irritation.

Unfortunately no, when the smoke rolls in it's literally everywhere, even in the house. He looks good this morning, still perky and even opened his eyes for a moment when I went to sit with him. I'm thinking the smoke was just too much - which is awful because the way this summer is shaping up for fires he's going to be uncomfortable for a while yet. He can see though, that's reassuring. We'll keep up with the saline rinse for comfort and see if he feels better as the day goes. Today is less smoky, hopefully that helps him and there's nothing else going on.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Unfortunately no, when the smoke rolls in it's literally everywhere, even in the house. He looks good this morning, still perky and even opened his eyes for a moment when I went to sit with him. I'm thinking the smoke was just too much - which is awful because the way this summer is shaping up for fires he's going to be uncomfortable for a while yet. He can see though, that's reassuring. We'll keep up with the saline rinse for comfort and see if he feels better as the day goes. Today is less smoky, hopefully that helps him and there's nothing else going on.

Just like our eyes get irritated, I'm sure theirs do too. Smoke burns my eyes badly and I don't want to open them either any more than he does.
I'd like to say try Visine for him, because it has other ingredients, besides saline, that soothe the eye, but I just don't know if that is something chicken eyes can handle like human eyes. It sure helps mine though!

 

[SnowflakeMama]

Just in case someone else has a similar issue down the road... I now suspect Frank has Marek's. This morning his eyes were still pretty clear but now they are very definitely cloudy. We've been advised to cull immediately and deal with the coop/run cleaning, etc. And we'll be watching the rest of the flock closely to determine if we need to do anything further, and if more culling or necropsy will be necessary. This sucks.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Oh no! I'm so sorry. I'll tag a few folks that may be able to offer their thoughts on this. I can't imagine how difficult this is and how it feels uneasy knowing with the smoke issues.

@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@casportpony
@LaFleche

 

[azygous]

Not wanting to open his eyes is an indication that his eyes hurt. Using saline eye drops in his eyes several times a day will help. There's a product Walmart has called "Pink Eye" and it can soothe the pain. You can also get terramycin antibiotic eye ointment at most feed stores, and I suggest using it along with the eye drops.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Just in case someone else has a similar issue down the road... I now suspect Frank has Marek's. This morning his eyes were still pretty clear but now they are very definitely cloudy. We've been advised to cull immediately and deal with the coop/run cleaning, etc. And we'll be watching the rest of the flock closely to determine if we need to do anything further, and if more culling or necropsy will be necessary. This sucks.

PLEASE can you take some photos of his eyes?
Have someone help you, open them and get photos.

Culling immediately may be needed if the bird is in poor condition but it's not going to stop the spread of Marek's. Neither is coop/run cleaning. Marek's lives in the environment for years, even if cleaned well.

If you do cull, then send the body for necropsy so you can get confirmation of Marek's so you are not playing a guessing game. Contact your ministry of ag to find out where the body needs to go.