Hen has closed, cloudy eye, please help!

[tulliaserene]

Hello! My rhode island red hen, 8 months old, has had her 1 eye shut for the past few days and it just recently got pretty cloudy. She is laying, pooping, and eating normally. I’m very concerned. I have been flushing it with saline. Help please!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Any goop or crusty stuff around her eye? I don't see any but it could be early for that. What about swelling/excess heat? This was likely eye trauma. It will heal on its own and she will be perfectly fine. As long as she is still eating and drinking I would not be concerned at all. Plain Neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment can be used in the eye per Eggcessive. Terramycin could work but if there isn't any goop or crusty stuff in her eye then I would not. Plus it does require a prescription.

 

[tulliaserene]

Any goop or crusty stuff around her eye? I don't see any but it could be early for that. What about swelling/excess heat? This was likely eye trauma. It will heal on its own and she will be perfectly fine. As long as she is still eating and drinking I would not be concerned at all. Plain Neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment can be used in the eye per Eggcessive. Terramycin could work but if there isn't any goop or crusty stuff in her eye then I would not. Plus it does require a prescription.

She had a little bit of crusty stuff today. I ordered Vetericyn today

 

[FarmerGirl101]

That is on me. I should've seen that in the photo. What vetericyn product did you order specifically?

 

[tulliaserene]

Thats okay! That is a more recent photo. Its vetericyn eye gel.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

This is the first time I've heard of their eye gel so I can't say anything about it but it seems like a good option. I would apply it 1-2 times a day after being rinsed and monitor the eye. Keep applying it until the swelling goes down and there isn't any goop or crusty bits accumulating. You may need to not put some in for a day to confirm there isn't any goop still. Keep me updated but she should be all good. Worse case is she is blind in one eye but they do perfectly fine (one of my hens is blind in one eye). I don't think this would get to that though.

 

[tulliaserene]

This is the first time I've heard of their eye gel so I can't say anything about it but it seems like a good option. I would apply it 1-2 times a day after being rinsed and monitor the eye. Keep applying it until the swelling goes down and there isn't any goop or crusty bits accumulating. You may need to not put some in for a day to confirm there isn't any goop still. Keep me updated but she should be all good. Worse case is she is blind in one eye but they do perfectly fine (one of my hens is blind in one eye). I don't think this would get to that though.

Thank you so much for responding! I’m a first year chicken owner. One last thing, is she fine to be with the other hens? Read somewhere that I should isolate her, but that would be difficult with my setup

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Of course! You'll learn a lot as you get further along in your journey. Yup! She'll be perfectly fine with the other hens and she will be a lot happier. The vast majority of the time it's better to keep them together.