Just-bought chick with swollen/crusty eyes! Please help!

YourLostSock

In the Brooder
Joined
Apr 11, 2020
Messages
16
Reaction score
7
Points
13
Hello!
This afternoon while getting feed for my other chickens I saw a tiny little chick all alone in it’s sale bin- all the others of that breed had been bought. It was crying and crying and just hunkering down, not eating or drinking. My heart broke, and even though I had not planned on getting any other chickens, I saw this one had it’s eyes closed tight and worried it might die.
So I bought it and a chick from another bin to keep it company and took it home.
It is a Salmon Favorelle, perhaps three days old at most. The other chick I bought with it to keep it company seems healthy and is a Buff Orpington.
Here are it’s symptoms: Very crusty, swollen(?) eyes. Could not see out of them when I brought it home. It can see now, barely (I will explain what I have done so far to help it in the next section). White, liquidy poop (now looks normal).
Behavior: Doesn’t move all too much, sleeps a lot, but will eat and drink with vigor (though it misses the food and water a lot). Will nestle into anything it can, including me.
Treatment thus far: I got out a space heater and wrapped it up, including its head except for its beak, in a warm, moist cloth and kept the heater on it to keep the cloth warm. I tried to make it a little sauna to moisten the eyes and help them open. Then I gently wiped the crust off. It seemed to work rather well. I then used a Q-tip to apply a saline mixture with 0.01% hypochlorous acid to keep the eye moist and try to flush it out a bit. I looked online for a good antibiotic, and I bought two that were suggested: terramycin ointment and polysporin ointment. I ended up using the polysporin ointment on a Q-tip. it was only after that I read that it is not supposed to be used on the eyes, and I’m scared that I might have done more harm than good, so I won’t use that one again.
Please let me know if there is anything more I should be doing, or a different antibiotic I should be using! I plan to take them to the vet on Monday but I am worried that their condition will worsen before then.
F6FDD196-0EF1-4985-9109-32659735D311.jpeg

264413AC-11AF-47D8-8E0E-EFA303C0756E.jpeg
 
Keep a close eye on the chick and the second chick for sneezing or spread of symptoms to the second chick. Mycoplasma (MG) can cause eye drainage, crust, and swollen eye. It can cause congestion, sneezing, and lethargy. But the chick mayhave been pecked in the eye by another chick. Be very careful to wash hands and not spread any possible disease to your other chickens. The Terramycin eye ointment is best for eyes, but I have used the plain Neosporin (similar to Polysorin) in an emergency injury for a chicken with no problem. Let us know how the chick does, and make sure that it is offered water and chick feed mixed with a lot of water in a tiny bowl, so that it doesn’t become dehydrated.
 
Last edited:
The eye is doing much better today! We have taken your suggestion and started applying the terramycin this morning. No sneezing thus far. The other chick still seems healthy. Here’s hoping for the best!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    307.2 KB · Views: 3
Keep a close eye on the chick and the second chick for sneezing or spread of symptoms to the second chick. Mycoplasma (MG) can cause eye drainage, crust, and swollen eye. It can cause congestion, sneezing, and lethargy. But the chick mayhave been pecked in the eye by another chick. Be very careful to wash hands and not spread any possible disease to your other chickens. The Terramycin eye ointment is best for eyes, but I have used the plain Neosporin (similar to Polysorin) in an emergency injury for a chicken with no problem. Let us know how the chick does, and make sure that it is offered water and chick feed mixed with a lot of water in a tiny bowl, so that it doesn’t become dehydrated.
Hi! How many times a day should I be using the Terramycin ointment? I’ve read the instructions with it and it does not specify. I just cleaned the chick’s eyes again and flushed them with saline but didn’t know if I should apply the ointment already again. The chick is looking even better now! Both of its eyes are opened almost fully and it can eat and drink on its own, though it still does not move all too much or run around much unlike its companion.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom