Help with Eye Ailment

[Bigfishbobby]

1) What type of bird , age and weight
Isa Brown - unsure of weight, 9 months old?
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
One eye closed, tucking head between wings, sitting quite a bit
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
About a week now
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No, opened the closed eye and it looks fine, no sign of trauma, swelling, etc
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
No idea. She came out of the coop one morning this way.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Nutrena 22% feed, plain water, saw her eat a little watermelon today.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Pretty normal. No odd color, etc.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Nothing. We assumed it was maybe an injury, but she seems to be a bit lazy and not getting better.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Ourselves. I’ve considered giving Baytril but have not yet.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
See below
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Closed coop all night. Pine shavings in there. Run is dirt on one half, mulch on the other end.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Is the eye sunken in? The picture makes it look as it it might be based on the shadows on the eyelid. Does she have vision in the eye that is closed? Also, is it possible to get a better picture of her closed eye as well as how it looks when you open it.

 

[Bigfishbobby]

Is the eye sunken in? The picture makes it look as it it might be based on the shadows on the eyelid. Does she have vision in the eye that is closed? Also, is it possible to get a better picture of her closed eye as well as how it looks when you open it.

I don’t think it’s sunken in. We opened it yesterday or the day before and it looked normal, just closed. When my wife gets home I’ll go get the requested pics. I just can’t hold her, the eye, and the camera.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Does she seem to be in pain? Have you noticed any swelling or discharge around the eye? Could she potentially have something in her eye? If there is something in her eye you could do a saline rinse (look up the ratio online) via a syringe or other method to administer. Just be careful on the eye.

 

[Bigfishbobby]

The only indication I have that she is uncomfortable in any way is that she seems to be sitting some and tucking her head between her wings. I wouldn’t think anything of it if others were doing the same thing (they do sit sometimes since it’s hot) but the head tucking thing and the eye not changing for better or worse in a week are bothering me. I’m not sure if she is still laying either but I suspect she isn’t. No swelling, the pics were just taken before the post. There was a little eye boogie the first day but not that we have seen since.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

How lethargic is she? Is she spending most of her time with her head tucked between her wing or is she interacting with the others? I do agree though that they have a lower energy level when it's hot. Eye injuries can take a while to heal. I have a hen who is blind in one eye and it took a while for her to feel comfortable and confident again. If she isn't laying (unsurprising), it is going to be a sign of stress, pain, and/or injury. Again, not surprising here. Check to see if it is hot. Meaning if the eye and the surrounding area is hotter than on her good eye.

 

[Bigfishbobby]

Most of her time is just sitting. Her head being tucked only a little bit. I’ll check the eye, my wife will be home any minute, and I’ll report back. Thank you for your help!

 

[Bigfishbobby]

@FarmerGirl101 update…we tried to open her eye and it was matted closed. We did get it open but it was all milky/cloudy looking today. I couldn’t get a pic of it because she did not like it at all.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Ok, so there was some trauma that happened to the eye. This could be something abrasive getting into it or being pecked or something else. There is likely an infection brewing if not it already starting. You may see the area around her eye swell as well as leak discharge.

It will take a while for this to settle all down. You can give her some pain killers to keep her comfortable for a few days. The thread I'll attach below does talk about pain killers. There might also be an updated dosage on another thread on byc. She will not feel good for a little bit but it will pass. I have a hen who lost her vision from an infection. She didn't do great for a few weeks but recovered just fine. She navigates everything perfectly. Your hen will adapt to having vision out of one eye. There is no need to any special accommodations for her unless she shows that she needs them.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-kind-of-pain-meds-can-you-give-chickens.374821/

 

[Bigfishbobby]

Thank you so much. She is out eating some scratch and mealworms now but doesn’t do anything fast. Hopefully since we are a week into it, we are at least nearing the peak of it.