Chickens eyes are both swollen up, cannot seem to see

[Robinsteury]

1) Golden Polish Female , about 6 months old, not sure on weight, but defintely smaller than the rest of the flock
2) Recently she has been having trouble finding her way outside of the coop, she's always left behind when the other chickens are out roaming, has trouble getting back into coop, but for the past couple days she will not even leave the coop when we let the chickens out to roam. She also seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order, too timid to even go after the food so she has been even dehydrated and trouble eating.
3) About a month ago we found her lying on the ground in the run most likely after being pecked at by the other chickens and we nursed her back to health, she seemed pretty good, but then a few days ago we noticed her eyes and face were substantially different.
4) The other chickens all have seem to accepted her back from about a month ago, less bullying, but one still pecks at her at times, this causes her to be so scared which leads to even more dehydration ( which doesn't help with her eye problem), she perked up after we took her separate and fed/gave her water. All the other chickens are healthy and let her sleep with them, but they don't look after her or make sure she is with them.
5) There seemed to be alittle bit of dried blood on her neck/chest and she has been itching her face for a week or so, but we never noticed her eyes. I noticed yesterday that they were swollen shut and one eye was worse than the other. One looks more sunken and one looks more swollen. Since she has feathers covering her eyes in the first place, it was hard to tell, but if anyone would take a look at her without knowing it, they would most likely think she either does not have an eye or they are swollen shut completely.
6) She has been scratching her face for a couple weeks by now, not thinking anything of it because we did not notice any problem until I saw her eyes yesterday. She continued to itch and its caused her skin to go raw and I haven't seen her itch it much today, but I have not been able to be out there with her the whole time. I can't tell if maybe her eye was pecked because of how both of them are injured and the severity of it.
7) We put her separately last night in her own little coop, she drank a good amount of water which was surprising because of her condition and we think since she is so timid because of the past bullying she does not drink or eat a lot I can tell when I go to feed them, I try and feed her separately and show her different attention. After we filled her water again this morning about 2 hours later it was gone again ( probably around 2-3 cups) and I noticed she could not quite tell where her food was/ if she could get it.
8)
9) We have tried to rinse her eyes with saline and wondering if there is an anti biotic drop we should order?
10 ) We would like to get feedback on what is thought to be her condition and what is needed to help, ointment, or a special anti biotic drop.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

 

[Eggcessive]

What is your location? She looks pretty beat up, but do you have mosquitoes out at this time? Fowl pox could be a problem if the weather was warm, and mosquitoes out, but it sounds as though she is being bullied and kept from food. If you can separate her inside the coop staying with the chickens, in a wire crate with her own food and water, she might heal and recover. Terramycin eye ointment or Vetericyn eye gel are very good to use and found at most feed stores and TSC. Use one of those 2-3 times a day. Polish chickens in mixed flocks can be a problem since they may be bullied and cannot see well if their poofs of feathers block their seeing. Some trim feathers over eyes or tie the head feathers up with a band to make sure they can see well enough.

 

[Robinsteury]

What is your location? She looks pretty beat up, but do you have mosquitoes out at this time? Fowl pox could be a problem if the weather was warm, and mosquitoes out, but it sounds as though she is being bullied and kept from food. If you can separate her inside the coop staying with the chickens, in a wire crate with her own food and water, she might heal and recover. Terramycin eye ointment or Vetericyn eye gel are very good to use and found at most feed stores and TSC. Use one of those 2-3 times a day. Polish chickens in mixed flocks can be a problem since they may be bullied and cannot see well if their poofs of feathers block their seeing. Some trim feathers over eyes or tie the head feathers up with a band to make sure they can see well enough.

We are in North Carolina and I don't think there are mosquitos still out, but a couple of other chickens have been itching themselves above their tail feathers, but nothing/not enough that has been alarming or anything close to this one. Yes, I agree, I think being without the food and water makes it a lot worse because she seems very fatigue. However, this morning she has been better, been wanting to get back in her coop, but of course, that is not good for her. Were going to try that crate idea that sounds very good since she seems to be missing her flock, so I think that'll help her feel safer and be a part of the flock! We are going to try and get that ointment cream today so thank you for that suggestion and all your help! Do you have an idea for a permanent solution for in the future? I can tell she has been bullied less since the beginning, but that hasn't gone down enough for her to feel safe to get proper food and water. I checked on her recently and she tipped her water again, but I got some in her, I'm not sure if she is eating a lot I think it could also be because she cannot see very well, but I can see one of her eyes are starting to open up. Her left eye is slightly open, but I don't think her right eye is as open. She has been itching worse though around her body which is confusing because again I don't think there are mosquitos around, but her feathers are messed up and she is by herself so it must be from the itching.

 

[Banana01]

It looks like mild MG because of the clear discharge and yellow crusted mucous flow on her face.

All the crust, mucous, and dirt around her eyes, below her eyes, and top of her head you can wipe off with a wet cloth. It should soften up when you soak it with some water. I use a combination toothbrush and tweezers to clean off the crust., and with a wet towel remove it all, and at the end dry her face and give medicines.

Once you clean it, her eyes will be open and she can eat. A mild case like this you can get away with cleaning every other day or longer. A bad case you will see her eyes sealed shut from the sticky discharge every morning and need to clean it again.

Just bathe her face. Maybe deworm and treat for mites may be necessary too. Hope ahe gets better.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can make some saline or buy it at your drugstore, to flush the eyes twice a day. A warm wet compress held onto the face for a few minutes can soften any crust. Most feed stores sell Terramycin eye ointment, and a small dab can be applied twice a day into the eye. Others if Terramycin not available are Vetericyn Eye Gel and plain Neosporin ointment can be substituted. If she continually gets pecked and bullied, she might do better with someone as a pet or in a more gentle flock. I have had to keep a bullied hen on the other side of my chicken fencing during the day, and putting her in a crate at night.

 

[Robinsteury]

It looks like mild MG because of the clear discharge and yellow crusted mucous flow on her face.

All the crust, mucous, and dirt around her eyes, below her eyes, and top of her head you can wipe off with a wet cloth. It should soften up when you soak it with some water. I use a combination toothbrush and tweezers to clean off the crust., and with a wet towel remove it all, and at the end dry her face and give medicines.

Once you clean it, her eyes will be open and she can eat. A mild case like this you can get away with cleaning every other day or longer. A bad case you will see her eyes sealed shut from the sticky discharge every morning and need to clean it again.

Just bathe her face. Maybe deworm and treat for mites may be necessary too. Hope ahe gets better.

Thank you for the response and help! I looked up MG and compared it with her and I think that is most likely what it is. We bought Terramycin ointment and saline to flush her eye then apply. Would that ointment work with her condition?
Thanks again!

 

[Robinsteury]

You can make some saline or buy it at your drugstore, to flush the eyes twice a day. A warm wet compress held onto the face for a few minutes can soften any crust. Most feed stores sell Terramycin eye ointment, and a small dab can be applied twice a day into the eye. Others if Terramycin not available are Vetericyn Eye Gel and plain Neosporin ointment can be substituted. If she continually gets pecked and bullied, she might do better with someone as a pet or in a more gentle flock. I have had to keep a bullied hen on the other side of my chicken fencing during the day, and putting her in a crate at night.

Thank you! We've been trying to flush her eyes with saline as much as we could due to how small her opening was and then we applied the Terramycin ointment today. I agree, it's hard since her flock consists of 6 other chickens I don't think there would be much change with them):
Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Robinsteury]

It looks like mild MG because of the clear discharge and yellow crusted mucous flow on her face.

All the crust, mucous, and dirt around her eyes, below her eyes, and top of her head you can wipe off with a wet cloth. It should soften up when you soak it with some water. I use a combination toothbrush and tweezers to clean off the crust., and with a wet towel remove it all, and at the end dry her face and give medicines.

Once you clean it, her eyes will be open and she can eat. A mild case like this you can get away with cleaning every other day or longer. A bad case you will see her eyes sealed shut from the sticky discharge every morning and need to clean it again.

Just bathe her face. Maybe deworm and treat for mites may be necessary too. Hope ahe gets better.

I forgot to ask, for MG will there be a likely chance it will go through our entire flock?

 

[Banana01]

Thank you! We've been trying to flush her eyes with saline as much as we could due to how small her opening was and then we applied the Terramycin ointment today. I agree, it's hard since her flock consists of 6 other chickens I don't think there would be much change with them):
Thanks again for all your help!

It may seem uncomfortable for her but it really helps to get all the gunk off her face and around her eyes, its a little bit more of a chore than just flushing the eyes. She will appreciate a clean face again and see if it gets worse tomorrow.

I forgot to ask, for MG will there be a likely chance it will go through our entire flock?

I have MG in my flock and it effects maybe 15% of the birds mildly. It does spread through drinking water and unsanitary practices. It also flares up worse if there are worms, mites, or other stress like cold weather or moisture. It reaponds well to some antibiotic treatments, but never goes away, only the symptoms disappear, they can reemerge again.