Eye Injury in Hen

[clucksnducklins]

I checked the nesting boxes this morning and found one of my hens acting strange.. She seemed rather solemn and her right eye is messed up and she is bleeding a bit on top of her head. I'm sure it is from the rooster as he has attacked another one of my hens and she is still not completely healed. My question is, what can I put on her eye that I can just find at home like peroxide or saline spray or even eye drops? I don't have access to tractor supply atm and need to help her immediately. Any suggestions?

 

[azygous]

Flush with saline eye drops or make your own saline eye wash from recipes on the internet. Then place a dab of Neosporin or triple antibioic ointment in the eye twice a day.

By the way, peroxide injures live tissue. It's not a very useful item in a first aid kit beyond the initial washing of an open wound, but not for use in eyes.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can make your own saline at home. The recipe is 2tsp salt to 1 quart water, boiled to make sterile, then let cool to room temp.

If you have triple antibiotic ointment, that can be put in the eye after you clean it with saline.

Same with the top of the head, clean with saline, apply ointment.

Evaluate your rooster and her as to why he may have attacked her. Has she been acting off lately? Laying eggs normally?
How old is this rooster?

I'm inclined to separate a rooster from a flock if they are beating up on a hen, leaving the hen to heal with her flock. Observe ALL hens in the flock - are they now more relaxed?
Once the hen is healed, then put the rooster back with them. Observe, observe...does he just go after her? How do the others react to his presence?

 

[clucksnducklins]

Thank you guys so much for the response. I made a separate pen for him, now all I have to do is catch him! I'm going to put saline on the hen, she hasn't left the coop at all today, she's just been sitting in a dark corner.. I feel very bad for her, the other hen that the rooster attacked is nearly healed but not quite there yet.. She was once missing so much of her scalp and it looked terrible.. I feared she wouldn't make it but turns out chickens are much more resilient than I thought.. I realized that both the hens that the rooster attacked are dominique too so I thought that was kind of strange.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you guys so much for the response. I made a separate pen for him, now all I have to do is catch him! I'm going to put saline on the hen, she hasn't left the coop at all today, she's just been sitting in a dark corner.. I feel very bad for her, the other hen that the rooster attacked is nearly healed but not quite there yet.. She was once missing so much of her scalp and it looked terrible.. I feared she wouldn't make it but turns out chickens are much more resilient than I thought.. I realized that both the hens that the rooster attacked are dominique too so I thought that was kind of strange.

How old is he?

If she's not coming out, then make sure to that she's eating/drinking. Check her over for more injuries too. A rooster can do quite a bit of damage.

If this is the 2nd hen he's beat up, then evaluating whether the hens will be better off without him is something you need to at least think about. I do understand, I like my roosters very much. I had a rooster one time that I liked a lot! He beat up a hen badly a couple of times. When they do that, they won't stop. You can heal the hen, but the rooster will still go after her once he can get to her. When I culled him, I noticed a huge change in all my hens, they were much more relaxed - it was like a collective sigh of relief. All I can tell you is what I've experienced. You may find that things work o.k. but don't be afraid to cull if he's hurting hens, it's just not worth it. In the meantime, keep him separated out, he's going to fuss and crow. Don't treat him bad, do provide him with good eats, shade, room to move about, etc. This is my 2¢

I hope she recovers quickly. Please keep us posted.