We have 9 birds who free range most of the time. We are leaving on a 2 week vacation tomorrow and have hired a neighbor (mostly her teenage daughters but the neighbor will supervise) to care for our chickens while we are away. Today I noticed that one of my hens has one eye that is slightly swollen and that she is keeping closed. She has no nasal discharge, cough, wheezing, labored breathing, etc., and there was only a very small amount of crusty stuff on the eye. She doesn’t have significant eye discharge. The other eye is fine. She is eating and drinking and keeping up with the flock but I’ve noticed that she is resting more and seems less energetic.
What should I do? I can’t postpone the trip. I need to go buy any medications that my neighbor may need while we are gone; what do I buy? And should I start with a topical eye ointment or an oral antibiotic or both? No other birds are showing any symptoms. We have not added any new birds or transported our birds anywhere.
What should I do? I can’t postpone the trip. I need to go buy any medications that my neighbor may need while we are gone; what do I buy? And should I start with a topical eye ointment or an oral antibiotic or both? No other birds are showing any symptoms. We have not added any new birds or transported our birds anywhere.
