My hen has a bad eye please help

[blondefairy]

Hi and happy New year to you all I'm needing some help I have a 2 year old cross breed hen and she was quiet yesterday and after watching her I discovered she was walking with her head tilted and then after watching more I realised she had one eye closed she does open it though and it looks dull in colour compared to the other one which is bright orange. There is no discharge. I hadn't seen her feed so I decided to make up some porridge for her and she tucked into it. She didn't perch on the outside perches at all yesterday and today she's the same very quiet and keeping herself away from my other hen. Has anyone else ever experienced this. my biggest problem is that I'm unable to handle her she has never liked being held unlike my other hen who loves to be picked up so I don't want to stress her by taking her to the vet. if anyone can give me some advice I would be very grateful. kindest regards Amy

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I'm glad she is eating. It is hard to say if it is an injury to the eye or an infection. If they sell a product called Veterycin in your area, you may want to try it. It is a very good antiseptic that comes in a spray bottle or has a gel for use on the eyes. They have the same active ingredient. The product is a bit expensive, but a lot of people swear by it. It does not sting, and I used the spray on one of my roosters who had a swollen eye but does not like to be held.

 

[blondefairy]

Ah that does sound like a good idea ill have a look for it thank you

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

Eyes are tricky to treat because there is not many things you can put in them without irritating them further. My chicken had conjunctivitis once from something she picked up in the yard getting into her eye and the vet I took her to told me to buy pure aloe vera, preferably fresh from the plant, drop the juice directly in her eye and it'll cure it. I did that and her conjunctivitis went away in a week.

 

[blondefairy]

I do have an aloe Vera plant so I could try that it's just getting hold of her she really doesn't like being held ;-(

 

[blondefairy]

Thank you for your advice myfinefeatheredfriends

 

[tgooberbutt]

My favorite chicken has been blind in one eye since she was about 3 months old. She now has no depth perception, so she doesn't jump onto roosts, or jump in general since she can't really gauge how far away things are. You might want to give her a way to walk up to the roosting area/pole.

If she does't like to be held, just wait until night time to grab her and put the aloe in her eye....

 

[blondefairy]

That's a good idea I'll give that a go that's what I'm worried about her not being able to roost I'll sort out a way she can get up with her friend