Chicken with swollen eye

[louiseschwieker]

My chicken is about 2 years old and her eye is really swollen. I treated her for her itchy eye (because of swelling I guess) and a respiratory infection for about a week (used vet rx in her water and put ophthalmic gel in and around her eye) and she seemed to be getting better but it just now started to get worse. She tilts her head to the left (swollen eye side) and can't seem to get her balance. What can this be?

 

[louiseschwieker]

Pic didn't post correctly in the main question

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is there any pus in the eye?
Have you added any chickens to your flock in the last 30days?
Do you have vet care?

For the eye you can flush it with saline, check it for any pus and remove any that you see, apply Terramycin eye ointment or Vetericyn eye gel to the eye a couple of times a day.

If you feel that she has a respiratory illness, you can try using an antibiotic like Tylan50 to see if there is any improvement.
Try to keep her hydrated, offer poultry vitamins in her water and some extra protein like egg or tuna to give her a boost.

 

[louiseschwieker]

I didn't see any pus in it. When I open it, it seems like it's sunken in but i don't see anything in it. It's red where it's supposed to be white like in the cornea.
I haven't added any new members to the flock in a really long time and we don't have any vet care around here for poultry.
Thank you so much for the advice. I'll try What you suggested. Can I give her tylan 50 even if she doesn't have a respiratory infection? Would it kill her if she doesn't have the infection

 

[louiseschwieker]

Her head is tilting to the side and she's wobbly

 

[louiseschwieker]

It's like this constantly now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I didn't see any pus in it. When I open it, it seems like it's sunken in but i don't see anything in it. It's red where it's supposed to be white like in the cornea.
I haven't added any new members to the flock in a really long time and we don't have any vet care around here for poultry.
Thank you so much for the advice. I'll try What you suggested. Can I give her tylan 50 even if she doesn't have a respiratory infection? Would it kill her if she doesn't have the infection

Sorry it took so long to get back to you.
When was the last time she laid and egg - do you feel any swelling/bloat in the abdomen?

It's hard to know what's going on with her - check her ears for any lice/mites or infection, just to make sure that's not the cause of the head tilt. Offer her vitamins that contain E, B vitamins and add some egg for Selenium.

The swelling of the eye - if she shows no respiratory symptoms - it could be infection from a scratch, dirt/debris, etc. Tylan50 may help with that, but it may be better to use Terramycin eye ointment or find some Ciprofloxcin eye drops (usually online) since the cause is unknown.

It could be a number of things going on with her - if she has not been laying eggs, then she may have some reproductive disorders going on too.

 

[louiseschwieker]

She hasnt laid because it's been not outside. And when I brought her in she didn't lay any eggs because (I thought) she was just sick. She didn't have any mites anywhere that I saw. I don't feel any swelling or bloading anywhere. Only swollen thing is her eye. And she isn't sneezing or anything that reminds me of a cold. She moves her head like something is stuck in her throat but she struggled when I held her to look and I couldn't get a good view.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can she walk or move around at all?

Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight - moving the head could be adjusting the crop.

 

[louiseschwieker]

She can walk. It's sometimes in circles and she sometimes falls over like she loses balance and she doesn't try to get up. Her crop does empty and I have to give her most food so she can grab it. Her head is almost completely horizontal. I also have her some scrambled eggs with a little bit of garlic powder, crushed red peppers, and organic oregano. I just put her on some apple cider vinegar water a few minutes ago.