Hen with one eye swollen shut, please help

[Jaymez]

So today I let my chickens out of the coop as usual when I noticed my one hen was acting a bit off and then I noticed her eye. I've never had this happen before so I'm not quite sure what to do. I saw on another post to open the eye, flush it with saline solution, and put antibiotic cream on it so I'm going to try that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm not sure what's going on with her.
Update: I just opened and cleaned her eye and applied some left over neomycin and polymyxin B ointment I have left from my cat. When I looked at her eye inside her eyeball was all white. she also doesn't have any other symptoms that I noticed, her butt is a bit dirty with a little dried runny poo but her vent looks and feels fine and I think it's old.

 

[coach723]

Can you get a picture of the eye while it's held open? The white could be a layer of pus, or could be from damage to the eye itself causing it to turn white. If it's pus it has to come out before the medications will do any good. There are video's that show removing pus from a chickens eye, you can search for. Sometimes it comes out fairly easily, sometimes it sticks and takes some manipulation to remove. If it's not something you are comfortable with, then vet care would be a good idea. If it is pus, and it stays in there, then it could cause permanent damage to the vision if the infection persists. It could have been caused by an injury, maybe got pecked in the eye, debris that got in there, or a respiratory virus.

 

[Banana01]

Clean it again with generous amount of water and a towel, and don't put any creams or chemicals around the eye, just water. So the water penetrates the eyelid and she will blink reflexively. Pull the eye open to make sure its clear. Do you see mucous or excessive dirt? Signs of her scratching her face? The white is an inner eyelid, which i've never seen it stuck closed before. Creams and junk near the eye are for emergencies, but observe her if it opens. Do some tests to see if she opens her eye, like sneak up on her and wave your hand towards her.

Unless you have other sick chickens or mucous/watery discharges on any of your chickens, it is something to just clean with water and make sure she is eating.

 

[Jaymez]

Can you get a picture of the eye while it's held open? The white could be a layer of pus, or could be from damage to the eye itself causing it to turn white. If it's pus it has to come out before the medications will do any good. There are video's that show removing pus from a chickens eye, you can search for. Sometimes it comes out fairly easily, sometimes it sticks and takes some manipulation to remove. If it's not something you are comfortable with, then vet care would be a good idea. If it is pus, and it stays in there, then it could cause permanent damage to the vision if the infection persists. It could have been caused by an injury, maybe got pecked in the eye, debris that got in there, or a respiratory virus.

Here are some more pictures. I'm pretty sure it's her eye that's white. I sprayed and cleaned out her eye a but more and it looked like she had some eye boogers but it didn't really look like there was any puss.

 

[Banana01]

Actually i think i see the problem. The lower eyelid looks injured or to contain some debris. The bottom eyelid looks like it was pecked maybe, causing her lower eyelid injury and the nictitating membrane to not open. Hopefully it will heal in a few days. In the meantime make sure she is eating and give her a larger deeper food tray and water bowl if necesary. The eye she may scratch at and you can keep it clean with water twice a day. Maybe a creme on the lower eyelid, careful to keep it out of the eye. But i wouldnt. Dont be afraid to scrape any forign dirt or material off from around the eyes gently. My chickens love when i clean their face for them, but they suffer from coryza and mucous is present.

That white is called the nictitating membrane, it is like a third eyelid that opens from the front near the beak.

 

[Banana01]

Ignoring the third eyelid, and the eye which is visible, what is that debris just above her lower eyelid? That shouldn't be there. Running along the length of the top of her eyelid. Looks like either damage or debris that can be removed. If she isn't in pain, a generously wet towel and pull along the top of the eyelid is what i would do, looking closely at what is going on. But if she is in pain it confirms an injury.

I do this with my coryza infected silkie when she gets outbreaks, she looks identical to yours.

 

[Jaymez]

Actually i think i see the problem. The lower eyelid looks injured or to contain some debris. The bottom eyelid looks like it was pecked maybe, causing her lower eyelid injury and the nictitating membrane to not open. Hopefully it will heal in a few days. In the meantime make sure she is eating and give her a larger deeper food tray and water bowl if necesary. The eye she may scratch at and you can keep it clean with water twice a day. Maybe a creme on the lower eyelid, careful to keep it out of the eye. But i wouldnt. Dont be afraid to scrape any forign dirt or material off from around the eyes gently. My chickens love when i clean their face for them, but they suffer from coryza and mucous is present.

That white is called the nictitating membrane, it is like a third eyelid that opens from the front near the beak.
View attachment 2855534

Here are some comparison pictures and thank you. She is eating and drinking fine right now and actually acting completely normal other than not really being able to see with the one eye and being a little off because of it. I'll make sure to keep cleaning it and see how it goes.

 

[Jaymez]

Ignoring the third eyelid, and the eye which is visible, what is that debris just above her lower eyelid? That shouldn't be there. Running along the length of the top of her eyelid. Looks like either damage or debris that can be removed. If she isn't in pain, a generously wet towel and pull along the top of the eyelid is what i would do, looking closely at what is going on. But if she is in pain it confirms an injury.

I do this with my coryza infected silkie when she gets outbreaks, she looks identical to yours.
View attachment 2855543

Here's 2 pics right after I recently cleaned her eye again. I think that was just a spec of dirt that got in there before I cleaned it, I can't quite remember if it was in here eye when it was stuck shut or not. Either way it's out now and her eye and eye lids are cleaned out well now. I made sure to squirt and wipe out anything. The only thing I'm seeing in her eye is a bit of eye boogers. I don't think she's in too much pain because she doesn't freak out or squawk when I clean it, she squirms a bit from discomfort but I don't think she has a lot of pain. I also don't think she's sick with anything because she's acting normal with no other symptoms so far.