Injured eye

[Squeak61]

Hi everyone. My Cochin’s eye on one side is completely stuck shut, and her nostril on the same side is bloody with crusty blood. The other side is completely fine. Her breathing sounds a little congested. Any clues as to what could be going on? What should I do?

 

[hispoptart]

Is the dried blood holding her eye closed also? First thing I would do is take some warm saline and try to remove the dried blood. Or even just clean warm water if that's all you have, dip a cloth in it and try to soften the blood to clean it off. I'm not sure what caused it but my guess is she is getting picked on. Have you seen others pecking at her? If not they sure will now unless you get the blood cleaned away.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

@Hen Pen Jem

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Squeak61,

Yep, looks like she got the worst of the fight. Dried blood indicates some kind of trauma happened.

hispoptart has given you good advice. You should restrain her with a bath towel, and try to open the eye. It would be good to know if it is damaged or gone. I would start applying an antibacterial ointment (Terramycin, or even Neosporin), some colloidal silver drops, or Vetericyn for eyes. Infection is sure to rear its ugly head.

You'll need to observe the flock, to see if she is being attacked by one or more members. If she is, you'll need to determine why this is happening. Is this a space issue, pecking order squabbles, is the hen going broody, etc. Members can suggest corrections, once you determine what happened.

Next time, it may be a lot worse.

I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless

 

[Squeak61]

Is the dried blood holding her eye closed also? First thing I would do is take some warm saline and try to remove the dried blood. Or even just clean warm water if that's all you have, dip a cloth in it and try to soften the blood to clean it off. I'm not sure what caused it but my guess is she is getting picked on. Have you seen others pecking at her? If not they sure will now unless you get the blood cleaned away.

I cleaned the blood off, and she has injuries to her beak. It looks to me like it probably was from pecking. Her eye, however, has no crusty stuff or blood or anything holding it closed. She just won’t open it.

 

[Squeak61]

Greetings Squeak61,

Yep, looks like she got the worst of the fight. Dried blood indicates some kind of trauma happened.

hispoptart has given you good advice. You should restrain her with a bath towel, and try to open the eye. It would be good to know if it is damaged or gone. I would start applying an antibacterial ointment (Terramycin, or even Neosporin), some colloidal silver drops, or Vetericyn for eyes. Infection is sure to rear its ugly head.

You'll need to observe the flock, to see if she is being attacked by one or more members. If she is, you'll need to determine why this is happening. Is this a space issue, pecking order squabbles, is the hen going broody, etc. Members can suggest corrections, once you determine what happened.

Next time, it may be a lot worse.

I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless

I managed to move her eyelid enough to look underneath, and her eyeball is ok! So now I’m just treating her until I figure out what’s going on in the flock. I believe it’s my roost setup, because I’ve had a few of my more submissive girls ending up with bald heads.

 

[hispoptart]

I'm glad she is ok, and I hope you get it figured out soon. Can you post some pics of your roost setup?