Crusted-over Eye, Damaged Comb, and Lethargic Chick. Really need opinions and help. *pictures*

[Pyxis]

I just bought two bantam chicks from TSC to add to my flock, and the employee scooped up the only black one left, probably because it was eye-catching, and a yellow one. The yellow one is doing just fine, and peeping up a storm. The black one, not so much. I noticed that it seemed to be picked on, since part of its comb was inflamed and sore-looking. Then I noticed one of its eyes isn't in the best of shape, either. The eye seems to have some discharge. It's just lethargically sitting in the brooder, doing nothing but sleeping and breathing heavily.

EDIT: The little bird slept, and slept, and slept some more, and seems a bit more perky now. However, its eye has now crusted over and is stuck shut. The comb looks like it's painful. I think both are injuries from being picked on by the other chicks. Can I clean the eye? Is there anything else I should do?

EDIT AGAIN: It went right back to be lethargic and not moving. I'm getting really worried.

I couldn't get a good picture of the comb damage, unfortunately.

Spoiler: Here are some pictures of its bad eye before it crusted shut. Sorry for the quality, until my camera shows up I'm stuck with my cell phone:

Is there anything I can do to help it?

 

[Pyxis]

Posting to bump because I'm really worried about the little bird...

 

[Aeropennchick]

I don't have experience with this myself, but I saw on another thread that if the eye is infected from being pecked (which is likely) you can get a terramycin ointment to put on it, probably from TSC. Until you get that you can use neosporin.
Other than that, all you can do is make sure he's warm and doesn't have to compete for food and water. Some people use a supplement in the water, gro-gel or an electrolyte solution, to help give the chicks a boost.

Hope this helped a bit!


And good luck with your little one!

 

[Pyxis]

I don't have experience with this myself, but I saw on another thread that if the eye is infected from being pecked (which is likely) you can get a terramycin ointment to put on it, probably from TSC. Until you get that you can use neosporin.
Other than that, all you can do is make sure he's warm and doesn't have to compete for food and water. Some people use a supplement in the water, gro-gel or an electrolyte solution, to help give the chicks a boost.

Hope this helped a bit!


And good luck with your little one!

Thanks very much! He's about to get a dab of neosporin right now, and I was going to TSC tomorrow for oyster shell anyway, so I'll pick up those things as well. Really hoping he pulls through.

 

[Aeropennchick]

I have been using the electrolyte supplement you mix in the water with my chicks (I got my chicks and the supplement at our TSC) and they are all doing well - they will be three weeks old on Monday.

 

[Pyxis]

A quick update before I head to bed, and to TSC in the morning. I decided to flush his eye out with saline solution. Good call - there was a ton of icky gunk in there. Got it all cleaned out, and with the fluff all wet around his eye, you could see that it was sooo swollen. Poor little thing definitely has an eye infection. Who knows how long he was like that in TSC. I applied some bacitracin after I got it all cleaned out. He seemed a bit better, and i got him moving enough that when I put him back in the brooder he immediately dove into the food, gulped some water, and now he's back to sleeping. Hopefully he's a bit better in the morning.

 

[Aeropennchick]

 

[Pyxis]

As an update, it's doing much better. Much more perky, peeping more, and its eye stays open now. I got the electrolytes for the water, but TSC didn't have terramycin, so I'll be heading to the vet on Monday to see what they have. Its eye got flushed again, and it protested much more today than yesterday. A side effect of feeling better, I presume! The eye is still swollen and still gunks up, but the chick seems much happier today than last night.

 

[Aeropennchick]

YAY! I was worried about your little one - so happy to hear he's doing better!! You are doing a great job

 

[ProudK911]

Pyxis-
I sure hope you check your emails before you head out in the am... don't go to your vet- you'll get robbed! Well, maybe this once since you don't have any on hand...
next time you need fix-up supplies for your birds, shop online at http://www.jefferslivestock.com Jeffers sells many supplies for cheaper than you can get them elsewhere. It's a lifesaver place for all my 'pets'! I wanted to cry to see that poor baby. Glad he/she has you to fix it up!
Jen P & the Pack learning chicken math...