Eye discharge and offset beak in 28 day old chick.

[lengel]

We are raising twelve chicks indoors. I went to put them in a larger enclosure today and noticed dried gunk on one of their eyes. It looked almost like wet mash had dried around the eye. I went to clean it a bit and she is able to open the eye but there are a lot of tears so I'm assuming that it was trauma of some sort. No discoloration. So I was thinking that it had to be recent and couldn't be too bad. But then I saw that her lower beak is offset toward that eye. I've never seen anything like this and I don't know if it's coincidence.

She is otherwise active (very) with no other discharge (nasally or otherwise). I left her in the original enclosure by herself after transferring everyone else.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Judy]

Try doing a search here in emergencies on crossbeak. Fairly common. They usually do OK if they can eat, sometimes need a different kind of feed dish and/or beak trim, from what I've read. Never had one myself.

For the eye, you can pick up an antibiotic ophthalmic ointment in the feed store, usually Terramycin. Just wipe it gently across her closed eye; some will get inside. Chickens love to peck each others' eyes -- and yours.

 

[lengel]

Thanks. I didn't know what to search for!