Eyes closed! What is wrong??

[Texaschick75]

My 20 week old Black Australorp, Violet, is the sweetest girl ever! She has been missing some neck feathers rece which figured was molting or due to the Texas heat, but this morning, when we found her sitting on the porch with her eyes closed, then walking and running in to things. She can open her eyes briefly, and they look just fine. But she immediately closes them back. I noticed our Alpha hen coming up to her aggressively, so we are going to put her aside in our brooder to tend to her until she heals. She is also pretty lethargic and is resting most of time time, only eating a little bit of food and treats we offer her. Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated!!! We are new to chickens (just 6 months in) and I have NO IDEA what is wrong or how to help her! Please please advise!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your pullet. Do you have a rooster? Has she ever started to lay eggs yet? How does her crop feel—empty and flat, somewhat full, firm, doughy, or squishy? Can you open her eyes and look for anything unusual? Could ahe have been pecked in her eyes by bullies? How is the ventilation in the coop? What does her poop look like? Can you see any lice or mites on her lower belly or elsewhere? Is she eating and drinking, and what do you feed? I would take her aside and offer some water with electrolytes or a tsp of sugar up to her beak, and dip her beak to get started. Soft cooked egg, watery chicken feed, and some dry crumbles can be offered a couple of times a day.

 

[Texaschick75]

Sorry about your pullet. Do you have a rooster? Has she ever started to lay eggs yet? How does her crop feel—empty and flat, somewhat full, firm, doughy, or squishy? Can you open her eyes and look for anything unusual? Could ahe have been pecked in her eyes by bullies? How is the ventilation in the coop? What does her poop look like? Can you see any lice or mites on her lower belly or elsewhere? Is she eating and drinking, and what do you feed? I would take her aside and offer some water with electrolytes or a tsp of sugar up to her beak, and dip her beak to get started. Soft cooked egg, watery chicken feed, and some dry crumbles can be offered a couple of times a day.

Thank you! No rooster, and she hasn't laid an egg yet (though we did get a very small one yesterday that we were wondering if it might be her first...but we have another hen who is still laying small eggs, so we are not sure).

My first guess was being pecked in the eyes by the alpha hen, since she keeps coming up to her. My second guess was that I cleaned out the coop and run yesterday and added some First Saturday Lime, and maybe it was too dusty in the coop last night for her. They free range most of the day.

I haven't seen any lice or mites, but I will check that and her crop when she wakes up.

We have used Grubbly Farms crumbles since she was born. Baby Chick feed for her and her sisters and layer feed for the older two (though sometimes the younger ones get into that layer feed). We give them table scraps as treats (watermelon, berries, peas, lettuce, apples, mint, rosemary, sunflower seeds, etc). They've ad a lot of treats the past few days. I did notice some dark watery poop yesterday after they ate blueberries and blackberries, but I'm not sure who it came from.

She has eaten a little bit when we hand fed her this morning, and drank some electrolyte water from my finger and from a small bowl (but not much). She's mostly been sleeping or laying quietly in our laps all day.

 

[Texaschick75]

Thank you! No rooster, and she hasn't laid an egg yet (though we did get a very small one yesterday that we were wondering if it might be her first...but we have another hen who is still laying small eggs, so we are not sure).

My first guess was being pecked in the eyes by the alpha hen, since she keeps coming up to her. My second guess was that I cleaned out the coop and run yesterday and added some First Saturday Lime, and maybe it was too dusty in the coop last night for her. They free range most of the day.

I haven't seen any lice or mites, but I will check that and her crop when she wakes up.

We have used Grubbly Farms crumbles since she was born. Baby Chick feed for her and her sisters and layer feed for the older two (though sometimes the younger ones get into that layer feed). We give them table scraps as treats (watermelon, berries, peas, lettuce, apples, mint, rosemary, sunflower seeds, etc). They've ad a lot of treats the past few days. I did notice some dark watery poop yesterday after they ate blueberries and blackberries, but I'm not sure who it came from.

She has eaten a little bit when we hand fed her this morning, and drank some electrolyte water from my finger and from a small bowl (but not much). She's mostly been sleeping or laying quietly in our laps all day.

Crop is fine, no mites or bugs, vent is clean