Injured eye and possible infection in Mclaine

[thedistractr]

Hello, I am super sad because last night I found my rooster, Mcclaine has a damaged eye. It is pretty bad. Theres no blood. But his eye looked deflated. I didn't know what to do. Its definitely infected. I went out and tried to feed him. It looks like the eye is shut and puffy and there is discharge coming out his little nose. I don't know what to do. He definitely has an infection. I don't think my husband will go to a vet. I have been calling around. I found a vet an hour away. I just hope they dont charge an arm and a leg for care. Im not sure if they will tell me on the phone if there's anything I can do. I really think my husband will just cull him if they want to charge a lot of money. Im really upset. I feel like such a bad chicken owner. Is there anything I can do???

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have you added any new birds recently?

For an infected eye, flush with saline. You can use purchased saline or make your own. Boil 2 cups of water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Let cool. I would make fresh saline daily, but it can be stored in a sterilized jar for up to 24hrs.
Once you flush the eye, press out any pus, then put an eye ointment in the eye like Terramycin eye ointment or you can use Original Neosporin.

The mucous from the nostrils (clear that away) along with the eye infection, I would hazard a guess that he's got respiratory illness. Which one is hard to know. Mycoplasma is fairly common. You can try an antibiotic like Tylan/Tylosin to see if that makes a difference. Some respiratory illnesses like Infectious Bronchitis are viral, so antibiotics won't treat the symptoms.

Be sure to look inside his beak for lesions or pasty material.

Let us know how he's doing. He's a nice rooster. I hope you don't have to cull him.