Eye infection or socket deformity?

[Leeloo7]

Hi chicken buddies! I have an odd situation with my 11-week LO that I’d love some feedback on. To provide a little context - This sweet orpington has not had the strongest start to life. At first I thought I had a “failure to thrive” situation because she was half the size of her brooder-mates for the first couple months, didn’t start feathering whatsoever until after 7-weeks (she just looked like a large day-old chick!), and when her feathers finally grew in, they had major stress barring/shredding. I know the LO breed can have some genetic issues due to how much they are bred for color but I was hoping she was just a late bloomer. Luckily around the 8-week mark, she started to catch up with the other girls, both in weight, size, and feathering but she’s always had a little bit of a gawky appearance.

Fast forward to 11-weeks and within the last few days, I’ve noticed her eye sockets look a little droopy, almost like the skin around her socket is too big for her eye/skull. Could this just be an eye infection that’s causing the skin around her eye to stretch? I can’t seem to find a diagnosis where the inner eye tissue would swell but there is no discharge, and no other signs of illness. Both eyes are like this. Any idea on what this could be?

PS - I’m 99% sure “she” is actually a “he”

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have you ever had respiratory illness within your flock?

It looks like conjunctivitis. Could be from an irritant, but sometimes sunken eyes like that can indicate Mycoplasma as well.
I'd give general care to see if there's improvement. Flush the eye with saline, then apply Terramcyin eye ointment in the eye - do this 2X a day for 7-10 days. If there's no improvment or if it worsens, then you may need to give an oral antibiotic like Tylan/Tylosin or a Tetracycline.

 

[Leeloo7]

Thank you everyone for your advice! I’m happy to report that the eye infection is clearing up! I cleaned out her eyes each morning and applied Neosporin (original kind). I couldn’t get my hands on Terramycin locally but the Neosporin I had in my chicken first-aid kit was a good alternative. She is happy and foraging this morning

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Look inside the ear, see if there's pus in it.
Look inside the beak for any lesions, white or yellow pasty material.
Any bad odors?

Yes, you will want to still treat the eye.
Depending on what's causing the infection, Tylan may still be the correct antibiotic to give.

 

[coach723]

VetRX is basically like vicks vaporub, it won't treat anything. You would be far better off with the options that @Wyorp Rock rock gave you in post #3 above.

 

[CoopBoots]

Following. I'm not sure what's going on--to me it looks more like the eye is getting pushed out of alignment due to swelling of that inner tissue, but I've never seen anything quite like that. Can he/she properly close the eyes to sleep, and is the thin inner eyelid also still functional??

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had a hen whose eye didn't swell, but it turned white. I think she may have had a brain tumor. She was a LO. Other than the one bad eye she was fine. I ended up giving her away because i was going on a trip.

 

[Leeloo7]

I checked her ears closely and no discharge whatsoever. She enjoyed stealing the q-tip though Aside from these weird symptoms, she seems fine and energetic.

I have no idea if this is related but there was another LO chick from the same clutch that ended up growing severely deformed (her beak and legs would grow at a normal rate but her body wouldn’t). I am wondering if this line of LO has some major genetic/health issues.

 

[coach723]

When I zoom in on the last picture, it appears there are bubbles in the eye, at the bottom. That is often a sign of a respiratory infection like MG.

 

[Leeloo7]

Thank u all for ur feedback! I noticed another symptom this morning - the area between her eye and ear seem to be swollen too so I’m thinking this may be a big infection. Any recommendations on treatment? Should I use a topical antibiotic still on her eye or does she need a more comprehensive antibiotic?