Help needed asap! Hen with swollen, closed-up eyes. What can I do?

[Picklestix7866]

I have a little Silkie hen. She's getting older (4 1/2 years) and her eyes are swollen shut. They look mucousy and they have a foul odor. I don't know how else to explain it. She wants to drink water but she doesnt know where it is so she can only drink it when I put her beak in it. She wants to walk around but she can't see where she's going. There might be some mucous in her nostrils but she doesn't sound like she's rattling when she breaths so I am hesitant to assume its a respiratory problem.... She is in the basement in a crate right now away from the other chickens.

What could this be? Is there a cure? I don't know what to do...

 

[Mrs MIA]

I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in...
If she were mine, I would take a warm wet cloth and gently clean the eyes of goop so she can see. The smell indicates infection to me, but whether it's from a disease or perhaps something that got in her eyes, I don't know. Antibiotics might take care of it, but I don't know what to recommend. There are ointments that go in the eyes, or powders to dissolve in her water. Some would recommend culling, because it may be something infectious that could spread to the rest of the flock. That's your choice to make, though. I hope it's something simple... good luck.

 

[Picklestix7866]

Thanks. I have been trying to clean her eyes but it doesnt seem to do much. Its a long story, but short version is the chickens are mine but I'm at college right now and they are home so I have to figure something out before I drive back to school today because my parents wont do much to help her. Crap.

 

[SandyK]

I had a hen a little while back with an eye that was closed. The vet said dust or a particle could have gotten in there. He said to rinse it with saline solution (contact wearers type), he said the water would burn. I also read on a post somewhere about steeping some tea and using that.