eye swollen shut

[libbybeth]

I came home from work today to find my poor little Penelope in the coop with an eye swollen shut. It looks like one of the other girls pecked her in the eye. There is some crusty blood near her eye too. I took a warm damp cloth and tried to soften up and remove the blood. What else should I do? Poor little thing!

 

[libbybeth]

Sorry, I panicked a little.... I should also say that she is a "Broiler" that she is still drinking and ate a little in front of me but wasn't out in the run as is typical when I get home -- instead was cuddled in the coop. She is approximately eight months but has always appeared less healthy than more other two of the same species.

 

[hencackle]

I suggest keeping Penelope separate from the others. I assume she is a Cornish-Rock Cross--if she is, this breed doesn't live as long as a typical layer breed. Leg problems and heart attacks are common for broilers, sorry. I'm guessing that since she is named, she is a pet.

Maybe using an ophthalmic antiobiotic ointment will help. My vet prescribed this for my dog, "neomycin & polymyxin B sulfates & bacitracin zinc ophthalmic ointment"--you might be able to find something similar.

I'm sure somebody else will see this and can offer more advice.

BTW, Welcome to BYC!

 

[fallenweeble]

hi libbybeth.
sorry your hen is injured! it's always such an unhappy feeling when one of our pets is unwell or hurt.
one of my little silkies had an eye injury this week. not sure the origin of the injury but her eye was all squinty and she had bubbles and discharge in the corner. i took her to my vet who gave me "tobramycin ophthalmic solution usp" and i've only been using it for one day but the results are tremendous. today little peeps eye is wide open and there is only a tiny bit of discharge in the corner!
i recommend if you can get a hold of some or if you have a vet who will give you some to go ahead and do it - it seems like good stuff!
(plus, it keeps for a long time so if you buy it you can keep it on had for other eye problems in the future!)

p.s. this is all provided that the eye is still there and not severely injured. if this is a severe injury it sounds like she should see a vet no matter what.

 

[libbybeth]

Thanks to all of you who replied and gave suggestions. I thought I'd give an update on the situation now that it's resolved.

I went to the local farm supply store and luckily one of the employees on shift just happened to be an expert in chickens. He suggested a powdered antibiotic that you mix in their drinking water (about 1 tsp per gallon) to help ward off any possible infection around the swollen eye. I used the stuff for a week and slowly but surely Penelope's eye came open and the swelling went way down. She stayed in the coop for about two weeks after this incident and so did my other two girls. They are just now starting to venture back out and enjoy the outdoors. This leads me to believe that something tried to get at Penelope and I no longer think it was one of the other girls. They have never pecked at each other; in fact, they hang pretty closely together even when they are given free roam of our yard. I've read on a couple of other posts about people's chickens staying inside the coop after being frightened by a predator until they muster up the courage to venture back out again.

Anyway, thought I'd share a happy ending. Penelope is doing just fine and her eye is perfectly normal now!