Hen standing with her eyes closed

[LWChick]

Hi Everyone

I'm a newbie chicken owner that has 3 Orpington urban backyard flock. My chickens are about 6 or 7 months old. I have one chicken that was closing her eyes and was hunched up and had a droopy tail on Thursday. I gave them vitamins and electrolytes in their water and kept her in the house for part of the day (dropper feeding her some of the water/vitamin mixture) and she perked up and seemed to be getting better (eating grass, walking around the yard etc and hanging out with the other girls). Today she is closing both her eyes and can open them but didn't seem to want to open them. She sits be herself in the corner and other than a few cut up grapes doesn't seem really interested in drinking. I put her in a dog crate in the basement with some food and vitamin/electrolyte water. She seems a little better since I moved her to the darker area as far as keeping her eyes open. Tail is still a little droopy and I'm waiting to see if she poops down there so I can check that out. She hasn't had any discharge in her eyes and her nares seem to have some sign of moisture which I'm not sure if its normal to have a little. I don't hear her coughing or wheezing. In the basement where its quiet I do notice I can hear her breathing if I really listen but as I'm a newby not sure if thats normal? Any help you can give would be great.

Thanks,
Laura

P.S. One of the other hens was closing one eye earlier in the week but after I wiped her eye with warm water and kept her quiet for the day and gave vitamin/electrolyte water in dropper she bounced back in a day. I also switched there food earlier in the week to a feed company that does organic layer feed.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. You are certainly doing the right things to try and find out what is wrong with her. With a sick looking chicken, it is good to do a thorough exam to look for lice and mites, tiny insects crawling around the vent, under wings, or around the neck. Feel inside her vent an inch or two with one finger for a stuck egg. Examine her crop which should gradually fill up with food during the day, and then empty by morning. If it is full and hard or puffy by early morning, their may be a problem. Look for runny droppings that are off color or contain blood. Offer her some chopped egg, canned tuna, or wet feed, which most chickens love to eat. Symptoms of a respiratory infection can include sneeze, cough, wheezing, gasping, rattles, gaping, nasal drainage, eye bubbles or foam, and sometimes swelling of the eye or face. Here is a good link that shows symptoms of mycoplasma (MG,) infectious bronchitis, ILT, infectious coryza, and aspergillosis, some common ones:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044