Eye Issue - What in the World?

[Aplatn]

Hi,
I received this hen from a friend about 6 months ago. Her eye has been pecked by her old flock mates, so she came to live with my flock who have accepted her and they all live happily together (no pecking/aggression). She came to us with an injured left eye (right eye is completely normal). This injury has been present for about a year.

However, this morning when I checked on her, her eye was completely swollen (seems like it may be filled with a fluid?) and has a bit of brown crust and a little bit of yellow crust.

Should I “pop” this and drain the fluid or let it be? Our vet isn’t open on the weekend.

Thank you!! All thoughts welcome!

Photos attached.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wouldn't pop it.

I would try to gently open the eye, flush with saline, press a little to see if there's pus that will come out. Flush again, then put an eye ointment in the eye.

Do you have photos of what the eye looked like before all this swelling so we can make a comparison?

 

[Shezadandy]

Chickens have multiple sets of eye lids. The one closest to the eye is called the nictitating membrane. It goes from side to side, i.e. from the front of the eye to the back of the eye, while the other eye lids of course open up and down.

I mention this because getting whatever icky infected material out of this eye will need to be done keeping their eye anatomy in mind.

First make sure you get all the hardened and dried stuff off the outside of the eye so you're not injuring the skin accidentally when you try to extract the (probably) pus from the eye. Warm water, a small syringe and qtips will help with this.

Here is a video on getting pus out of a chicken's eye - notice how after opening the eye the way you would expect, then she applied pressure from the front of the eye to the back of the eye to get it out. And the pus must be manually removed for healing to start. And it's possible there's a pocket of pus both in front of her 1st set of eyelids and then between the membrane and the eye.

 

[Aplatn]

This is FABULOUS @Shezadandy! Thank you thank you! The video is especially helpful.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Solid advice. I will try to open & flush it tomorrow. I did get some antibiotic ophthalmic ointment and started it tonight. I’ll apply that 2x/day for 10 days.

I checked with her previous owner and she doesn’t have any photos post-injury. It looked like her eyelid half covered her eye and it was white in color she either had no or limited sight in that eye, so mostly worried about infection (vs saving her eyesight).

Oh good, I'm glad you have some ointment.

I figured you may have some photos of what she's looked like in the last 6 months you've had her, certainly the eye hasn't been that swollen this whole time.

 

[Aplatn]

Oh good, I'm glad you have some ointment.

I figured you may have some photos of what she's looked like in the last 6 months you've had her, certainly the eye hasn't been that swollen this whole time.

Correct. The eye just started swelling this week.

So, I just tried to clean the eye like @Shezadandy recommended. But there was no pus. I did not lance/drain the liquid, but was able to flush it pretty well and put more antibiotic ointment into the eye pocket.

Here is a photo that shows it better. It seems like the fluid is caught within the eyelid itself—rather than between or under the 3 eyelids.

Thoughts??

 

[Aplatn]

Solid advice. I will try to open & flush it tomorrow. I did get some antibiotic ophthalmic ointment and started it tonight. I’ll apply that 2x/day for 10 days.

I checked with her previous owner and she doesn’t have any photos post-injury. It looked like her eyelid half covered her eye and it was white in color she either had no or limited sight in that eye, so mostly worried about infection (vs saving her eyesight).

 

[Shezadandy]

This is FABULOUS @Shezadandy! Thank you thank you! The video is especially helpful.

You are welcome. A little ointment on the outside of the eye for a few hours will probably also help get the exterior crusties off.

 

[Shezadandy]

Correct. The eye just started swelling this week.

So, I just tried to clean the eye like @Shezadandy recommended. But there was no pus. I did not lance/drain the liquid, but was able to flush it pretty well and put more antibiotic ointment into the eye pocket.

Here is a photo that shows it better. It seems like the fluid is caught within the eyelid itself—rather than between or under the 3 eyelids.

Thoughts??
View attachment 3138583

Wow, all that swelling and no pus. That is odd. I wonder if she got bit by something. Usually an eye that size will have an infection going- or it's new enough that it hasn't made pus yet. The other option is her nasal passages could be plugged up - so a sinus issue could be causing it.

 

[Aplatn]

@Shezadandy, Yes. I was expecting pus, too. It’s still swollen (though liquid-filled is probably a better description) today with no difference from yesterday’s saline flush. I’m super tempted to put a needle in it to see what happens…but worried that if there is an infection that it could make it worse.

I’m still applying the erythromycin ointment 2x/day. (Which was available without prescription.) I could do an oral antibiotic, but that would be an expensive vet visit. Here in Georgia, vets are required (legally) to charge a visit fee (~$60-70) on top of the treatment fee. Last time we had a pneumonia in our chicken, it was a $380 bill.