Chickens going blind in one eye

[WhereisTina]

I'm looking for some information. A couple months ago I noticed one of my hens was sick, she was staying in the coop, not eating and I noticed she keep closing her eye. Within a couple days she lost sight in her right eye. She didn't make it back to the coop one night and I assume she was taken by a predator. They are pasture raised, on organic laying feed and Icelandic. Today I noticed my dominant rooster showing same symptoms of closing his right eye (conquidence?). I'm afraid that something bigger is going on and I'm afraid for my flock. They are my landlords chickens who has left the state and I'm looking after them. I have no previous experience with chickens however I work from home and spend a lot of time observing them. I love learning about their individual personalities and flock dynamics. This is the oldest rooster, he is probably 3 years old or older. He has been acting normal and I haven't noticed any other behavior differences beside closing of the eye. You can not touch/pick up these chickens. He seems to be eating just fine. I change water and lay new shaving down frequently in their coop. I also give them a separate water container with ACV. I have grit and egg shells down and give them oats as a treat. We live in Missoula County in Montana, USA. Can you help?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Hard to know what's going on there. It would be good if you can get a hold of him and examine the eye better and tend to it. Could be he just got something stuck in there and it needs to be removed (which would be good).

Since they are not used to being handled, wait until dark when he's roosting, then go grab him. You can wrap him in a towel so you have better control.

General care for the eye would be to rinse it out with saline, then apply an ointment in the eye like Terramycin eye ointment or you can use plain neosporin.

 

[WhereisTina]

He seems to be doing better, meaning he is not closing his eye and I can see that he is following me with that eye. Let hope that it was just a coincidence and not a problem. Thanks for the suggestion of grabbing him while he is roosting.