Mystery Eye Condition

[TheLaboratoryBF]

Hello! Hoping I can get some help with one of my new chickens (“feed store special” started pullet picked up yesterday) who has an eye injury/disease. Didn’t notice until I got her home, unfortunately. She seems to be missing a properly formed eyeball as she doesn’t have a pupil/iris/etc. She does have an eyeball itself but it’s just a fleshy pink color with a roadmap of blood vessels all over it (no cloudiness/film). There is no discharge, no odor whatsoever, no other symptoms (no sneezing, wheezing, coughing, she’s eating and drinking voraciously, and poops are normal). This is just affecting the right eye, left eye is perfectly formed, functional, and healthy.

There is a scab on her lower lid (the dark line in the photo) along with some dried blood below that so I’m wondering if this was a physical injury or if she was born this way (really hoping it’s not an infectious disease). Also of note: the tissue surrounding the eyeball appears slightly swollen but when I press on it, all I feel is the bone of her socket (no softness/squishiness whatsoever).

Thanks and happy to answer any other questions to help diagnose.

 

[coach723]

I think what you are seeing is the tissue of the eye socket rather than the eyeball itself. I'm wondering if there actually is an eyeball behind that swollen looking tissue. Injury, illness, or deformity, I can't really say. In this case, a good avian vet might be your best option. If not, I would suggest flushing it out really well with sterile saline, and getting some terramycin eye ointment (image below), available without prescription, and putting that in the eye a couple of times a day, to see if it improves anything. Some feed stores carry it, and there are online sources.
I will tag a couple of others who may have some advice.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[TheLaboratoryBF]

I think what you are seeing is the tissue of the eye socket rather than the eyeball itself. I'm wondering if there actually is an eyeball behind that swollen looking tissue. Injury, illness, or deformity, I can't really say. In this case, a good avian vet might be your best option. If not, I would suggest flushing it out really well with sterile saline, and getting some terramycin eye ointment (image below), available without prescription, and putting that in the eye a couple of times a day, to see if it improves anything. Some feed stores carry it, and there are online sources.
I will tag a couple of others who may have some advice.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock
View attachment 4228466

That’s an interesting thought I hadn’t considered and now that I think about it, she doesn’t have a third eyelid either (at least that’s visible on the external side of the tissue. Terramycin is prescription-only here, but I have an older tube in my chicken first-aid kit so I’ll start that tonight.