ISO help with a hen that has a pecked eye!!!!!ASAP

[ChickenMama2010]

one of my hens got attacked by a rooster and he scratched or pecked her eye extremely bad. She has a huge scratch from the top to the bottom of her eye and the pupils and colored part are now white!!!!!! Is she now blind or is there some sort of home remedy I can do if it's an infection????I would prefer naturally taking care of it! Thank you!

 

[The Phantom]

Could you post a picture please

 

[ChickenMama2010]

I will be able to in the morning! It's too dark right now! Yes I will get one first thing tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Phantom]

Ok. You could put antibiotic ointment on and around her eye. It will not hurt her eye. Just make sure it has no pain killer in it.

 

[ChickenMama2010]

What kind of ointment would you recommend? I've had chickens for two years now but I'm still fairly new to some of the stuff! Thank you!!

 

[The Phantom]

Neospron. No pain killer though

 

[ChickenMama2010]

Ok awesome thank you! Very much

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings ChickenMama2010,

It seems this is a day for chicken eye injuries, on BYC.

If you can take your hen to a vet, this would be the best thing for the hen. If not,
here is what I just suggest.

Isolate the hen in a hospital crate, box, or tub, with paper, a towel or mat. Set up some food and water. Make sure she can't knock over water and get her enclosure wet. It will be easier for you to treat her, and monitor her progress for at least, a couple of days.

Bacteria are introduced into the soft tissue of the eye when it is pierced by a beak, or any foreign body. A simple home remedy may not be effective for this kind of injury.

Ideally it is best to attend to the eye injury immediately. A proper antibiotic eye ointment, like an ophthalmic triple antibiotic or Terramycin (purchased at a feed/farm store), is needed. It may take two weeks or more, of eye ointment twice a day, sometimes three.

Eye infections are one of the more difficult parts of the body to heal, because of the environment that chickens live in. So, you must be consistent with the antibiotic treatment. And if one antibiotic ointment shows no improvement after three days, you may have to switch to another formulation.

You'll have to open the eye, and apply a line of antibiotic eye ointment along the lower lid. When the chicken closes it's eye, the ointment will slide over the eye ball evenly. Do this two or three times daily. If the eye has already gone white, then severe tissue damage has occurred. The hen can still live a good life with one eye. But, you will first have to make sure infection doesn't set in.

Secondary infection is another health issue which you will have to be vigilant for. Because the hen's immune system is stressed, sometimes a respiratory infection will present with symptoms, sometimes not. If the hen becomes lethargic, fluffed up, hides, or stops eating, then infection is spreading in the body. You will have to treat her with an oral or IM injectable antibiotic, a broad spectrum is best. Depending on what state you live in, oral and injectable antibiotics may not be available without a prescription from a licensed vet. Check your local feed/farm store.

Hopefully, all your hen will need is some TLC and antibiotic eye ointment.

It is never acceptable for a rooster to inflict such terrible injury to a hen. If this was not an accident, the rooster must be removed from the flock. The protection of the hens, is the most important duty of the keeper.

When the rooster is no longer in the flock, you can return the hen to the flock and continue the eye treatments. This way she won't get depressed.

These are my thoughts on your hen's eye injury, I hope they are helpful.

God Bless and peace to you.

 

[ChickenMama2010]

Thank you very very much! Yes this is complete intolerable behavior of a rooster! He's a spring hatch that for some reason is just extremely to himself and very pushy. I have a partially blind rooster also and even before he lost his sight he never did anything like that... I've had him two years already and he is the most gentle rooster I've seen, he had never spurred or down and negative behavior towards any of my hens........... The spring rooster however he does not take well to, I'm assuming because he's harmful to his hens! Thank you so much!

 

[ecorso]

When my rooster got pecked in the eye, I had to take him to the eye vet. He needed anti-inflammatory eye drops and antibiotic eye drops, both a prescription that a regular wouldn’t carry. I also gave him Meloxicam for the pain. The damage was too great to keep him from blindness in that eye, but it healed and he survived with vision in one eye. If the eye ruptures and is not treated, they can die. Fortunately he did not have to have it removed.