My chicken's eye is swollen and she is lethargic...

[Gwindollyn]

How does the chicken house smell? Any ammonia fumes? Do you use pine shavings? If so, is there a chemical smell to the shavings? Just trying to rule things out...

It actually smells pretty good in there...I used hardwood mulch and treat it with enzymes often to keep the waste material broken down and the ammonia at bay. So it smells like fresh air when you go in there. She is looking somewhat better. The swelling has gone down quite a bit. Though she is holding it closed still mostly. The eye itself is still red. She is acting more normal. More energy and running with the gang more.

 

[LaFleche]

It actually smells pretty good in there...I used hardwood mulch and treat it with enzymes often to keep the waste material broken down and the ammonia at bay. So it smells like fresh air when you go in there. She is looking somewhat better. The swelling has gone down quite a bit. Though she is holding it closed still mostly. The eye itself is still red. She is acting more normal. More energy and running with the gang more.

It would be better for your chickens' health to clean out the poop daily.

If you install a poopboard underneath the roost to catch their night droppings and clean it every morning as you let the hens out, it is done in less than five minutes and will also prevent parasites from using the humid droppings as incubator for their eggs.

Glad she is getting better.

 

[Gwindollyn]

It would be better for your chickens' health to clean out the poop daily.

If you install a poopboard underneath the roost to catch their night droppings and clean it every morning as you let the hens out, it is done in less than five minutes and will also prevent parasites from using the humid droppings as incubator for their eggs.

Glad she is getting better.

We clean out the coop every day or every 2 days, so it doesn't pile up. But a poop board is a good idea. Mine sleep in a pile in one area. Don't know if this is common or not, but even on the hottest nights they are one big feather ball. Hoping they start using their nesting boxes when they start laying.

 

[LaFleche]

We clean out the coop every day or every 2 days, so it doesn't pile up. But a poop board is a good idea. Mine sleep in a pile in one area. Don't know if this is common or not, but even on the hottest nights they are one big feather ball. Hoping they start using their nesting boxes when they start laying.

How old are they and how high is the roost?

You can just grab them one by one from their 'pullet pile' in the enening and put them on the roosting bar so they kearn wgere to sleep.

Could you post some pictures of your coop inside and out for us?

 

[Gwindollyn]

Let us know how she gets along.

She is doing a little better..eye is flat now, and a normal color on the lid. But she is still holding it mostly closed. It is still red if you force it open. (I do this to put the salve in there. Not on her eye directly, but in the corner.) She is very perky now mostly, running around with the rest of her friends. Occasionally she'll get tired. Thanks for asking about her. This has really worried me.

*Edited to add this photo of Pickles I took this morning. Her eye swelling is nearly gone, but it is still closed as I said. She is eating and drinking normally.

 

[Gwindollyn]

How old are they and how high is the roost?

You can just grab them one by one from their 'pullet pile' in the enening and put them on the roosting bar so they kearn wgere to sleep.

Could you post some pictures of your coop inside and out for us?

They are 16 weeks...and I don't know how high the roost is. Let me find the photos, hopefully I have some of the inside...but they will just jump off of the perch if you put them on it. They do not like it at all. Here is the only photo I currently have of the coop on my pc. It's an old photo, when it was still being painted and taken from outside the run. I will take some additional photos showing the inside when it gets light.

 

[Gwindollyn]

I treated a quail for bilateral conjunctivitis, mopey, lethargic, eyes swollen shut and bright red. She was totally stressed out by her 4 brothers (bad male to female ratio!) which may have precipitated it. My working diagnosis was chlamydia (mycoplasma is on the list as someone else has already mentioned but much harder to treat). I used tetracycline orally twice daily (doxycycline is a cousin) and applied terramycin to the eyes 3-4 times daily (ocular tetracycline). She felt better in a couple days but it took a week to clear up the eyes. Can you increase eye meds to 3-4 times daily? Are other birds pecking at it?

I cannot give her more antibiotics, as I will quickly run out. The bottle is very small. However, I could put the salve on her. But you are correct...when I do the other birds peck at her eye trying to get the medicine off of it. They also peck at her beak, trying to get her oral medicine. I usually stand there for some minutes shooing them away from her. It could be that this was caused by being pecked in the first place. But they normally are so sweet with each other.

 

[Gwindollyn]

They are 16 weeks...and I don't know how high the roost is. Let me find the photos, hopefully I have some of the inside...but they will just jump off of the perch if you put them on it. They do not like it at all. Here is the only photo I currently have of the coop on my pc. It's an old photo, when it was still being painted and taken from outside the run. I will take some additional photos showing the inside when it gets light.

We made the perch out of closet rods (wooden). Do you think that they might be too slippery? If so...what should I do?

 

[LaFleche]

We made the perch out of closet rods (wooden). Do you think that they might be too slippery? If so...what should I do?

Use a 2x4 flat side up and sit them on it when it is already dark so they will stay on the roost as they will not be able to see in the dark.

Thank you for the coop picture. Do you have the dimensions? It looks pretty small and I don't see any openings that allow for ventilation. Are they on the backside or fo you leave the coop door open?

 

[Gwindollyn]

Use a 2x4 flat side up and sit them on it when it is already dark so they will stay on the roost as they will not be able to see in the dark.

Thank you for the coop picture. Do you have the dimensions? It looks pretty small and I don't see any openings that allow for ventilation. Are they on the backside or fo you leave the coop door open?

I do not have the dimensions of the coop, but my husband, who is 6' tall, can climb in it and walk around (hunched over). It is waaaay big for 4 chickens. The nesting box area is to the left and right under the smaller windows. It is positioned under a very big tree and close to a wooded area. It gets plenty of cross breezes. We do shut the coop door to shut out any predators that might have possibly got passed our other safeguards.

Thanks for the suggestion on the perches. Andy sez we will make the changes!