Eye infection...am I doing this right?

[BarkerChickens]

My chick (almost 6 weeks old) has a bad eye infection (just one eye only). It is swollen all around the eye and the eye itself is watery and mildly pussy. It has a piece of something (~1 inch long) in her eye. It looked like a very thin piece of wood, not much thicker than a coarse strand of hair. When I tried to pull it out, it was stuck to the inner eye lid. I trimmed the piece and figure the rest will have to come out naturally. I don't know if that caused the infection or if it got in her eye after the infection started. She has no other symptoms and it is only the one eye. She is separated from the rest of the chicks, but has view of them, so she doesn't feel lonely. I wiped her eye with a warm wash cloth and put her on Aureomycin. Am I doing this right or is there something else I should be doing?

 

[Mahonri]

I'd try and get all of the foreign body out of the eye....since that is the source of the infection.
Got Tweezers?

I've used neosporin dabbed over the eye before and it's work, others may have different ideas for you.

 

[BarkerChickens]

I have tried several times to get the "thing" out of her eye, but it is under the eye lid and difficult to keep her still enough to retrieve it. I think I will need DH's help to hold her and try to keep her head still, so I can get it out. Her eye was crusted shut this morning with green mucus, but was able to fully open her eye once it was clean though it is still very swollen and irritated). I will try the neosporin as well! Thanks, Mahonri!

 

[jenni2142]

i don't think you should use neosporin on the eye, terramycin(sp) eye ointment works very well in addition to what you have added to the water. Also maybe give vitamins, poly vi sol, if you have the meds in the water already. This is what I used for mine when she was about 5 weeks old, very healthy and thriving now.

 

[BarkerChickens]

We got a preservative-free eye wash from pharmacy and the pharmacist gave me a small oral syringe to use (since the eye cups obviously won't work!

). The pharmacist was very helpful (and did not seem too shocked when I explained that my questions were regarding a chick, not a human). We are trying our best to keep it clean. It looks like she has a lose piece of tissue in her eye, which may be from her either scratching it or from one of the chicks pecking her before we separated her. We though the lose piece of white tissue was something that stuck in her eye, but it seems to be attached to the inner eyelid. So, at this point, we are leaving it.

 

[jaredslilcluckers]

I hope you get it out.

 

[BarkerChickens]

I decided that I think we need to Terramycin eye ointment (as recommended all over this site...and on this thread). So, I looked online. Well, apparently it is prescription only in CA. From what I saw online, all sites said "Cannot ship to CA" or "Not sold in CA", so are we the only state that doesn't sell this at the Vet Supply? Weird if ya ask me.

So...the little chicky is off to the vet in the morning for eye ointment. She better be a great layer!

I thought I'd never be taking a chicken to the vet...especially for a stinkin' eye infection. But, on a positive note, I am grateful to have a vet who will see "anything you can bring into the office". So many vets nowadays are cat/dog only vets. Our vet has a small backyard farm herself.

 

[NotTheMomma]

oh best of luck and please keep us posted!

THinking of you and your chickie dee!

 

[Horsewell]

Please keep us updated, good luck with her

 

[Judy]

Somewhere here I read that a vet said that regular Neosporin ointment, off the shelf, can be used in the eye. For sure you need to get the foreign body out of the eye. Even if it has gone through the eyeball and she winds up blind in the eye, it needs to come out. I would have yanked it out and gobbed the area with Neosporin.

I agree, it is ridiculous that you cannot buy ophthalmic ointment in your feed store. My sister lived in California for most of her adult life. I would never consider it.