Chicks with eye problems?

[Silkies318]

Hello,
I have recently hatched 31 silkie chicks. They have all been healthy and are doing fine except for 3 of them. The 3 im speaking of are having issues with their eyes. One of them is completely blind because both eyes are swollen shut and the other two only can see out of 1 eye as the other one is swollen shut as well. They seem to be healthy other than the eye situation. We have been cleaning the eyes everyday but it doesnt seem to help. My question is, is it safe for me to put them in with my other chickens or should i keep them separate from the others? Is there anything that can be done to help them? Is it contagious? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[azygous]

Try Neosporin in the eyes after rinsing with saline. It needs to be Neosporin because it contain neomycin, an antibiotic that is good for eye infection.

And yes, keep these little patients away from the healthy chicks until their eye issues are resolved.

 

[Silkies318]

Ok we will try that. They have gotten worse and now they just about wont open at all. Is it possible that they will be permanently like this? If so what should we do with them?

 

[azygous]

First of all, eye infections can hurt a lot. This is why they don't want to open the affected eyes. To treat the eyes, you need to gently pull down the lower eye lid to clean the eye with saline. This is important as it removes crust that may "glue" the eye shut.

Do the same with the lower lid when putting the Neosporin in. Edited: Please see followup post below. Don't use topical Neosporin in eyes.

Coincidentally, I have a young hen with an eye disorder at present I'm treating. It began with conjunctivitis or "pink eye". My hen did not respond to two different antibiotics I treated her eye with and by the third day she had gone blind. This looks like an opaque white film over the eye. If that happens to your chicks, there's probably nothing more you can do for them.

Some people try to raise blind chicks, but I'm finding with this half blind hen, that depending on which eye is blind, she may not be able to see food to eat. The thing about chicken eyes is each eye sees differently. The right eye see closeup things. The left eye see distance and danger or their flock mates off a ways. My hen's right eye is now blind, and she cannot see to eat.

Right now I'm tube feeding her, but if my hen can't adjust to having just one eye, I will need to think about euthanizing her.

 

[RNPAULIE69]

Try Neosporin in the eyes after rinsing with saline. It needs to be Neosporin because it contain neomycin, an antibiotic that is good for eye infection.

And yes, keep these little patients away from the healthy chicks until their eye issues are resolved.

I would think it has to be an ophthalmic Neosporin not the one meant for wounds that you can buy anywhere. I have read that topical Neosporin is toxic to the cornea

 

[azygous]

You are so right! I am wrong! I've been treating a hen with eye issues, and I was using teramycin ophthalmic ointment, and it wasn't doing anything, so one of our most respected members told me to use Neosporin. I didn't have any so I use Triple Antibiotic topical ointment with neomycin.

My hen went blind in the eye, and perhaps that's one reason why. So mind what @RNPAULIE69 says and get the right kind for the eyes.

So I stand corrected.

 

[RNPAULIE69]

You are so right! I am wrong! I've been treating a hen with eye issues, and I was using teramycin ophthalmic ointment, and it wasn't doing anything, so one of our most respected members told me to use Neosporin. I didn't have any so I use Triple Antibiotic topical ointment with neomycin.

My hen went blind in the eye, and perhaps that's one reason why. So mind what @RNPAULIE69 says and get the right kind for the eyes.

So I stand corrected.

I am sorry that happened to your hens eye ;( we all try to do what is best to help our feathered friends. I am a registered nurse and tend to question/ research everything