New chick has eye issue; not formed right?

[SCWFarms]

I just picked up some chicks from a local hatchery. After getting them home, I noticed that one of the black sex link chicks (about 2 weeks old) has an eye issue. It looks as though the eyelid didn't form completely. It blinks using its third eyelid. The eyeball looks to be the right size, but the eye (the hole the eye looks out of) is smaller than it should be. It also looks like there are scabs (they almost look like bits of grit or gravel) around the eye. One piece looks like it is partially under the skin. The eye is watery and the chick acts as if it bothers her, rubbing on her wing and scratching at it.

I've included pictures for reference. Any advise or insight would be greatly appreciated.

The odd eye.


The good eye.

 

[SCWFarms]

So, quick update... When I took the pictures, I noticed that it looked like some of the crusty stuff had come off and the chick wasn't scratching as much. I put a warm compress on the eye and it can open more and closes completely now. I'm hoping it will look better in the morning.

 

[maconchicks]

How is your chick doing now? Did you ever find out what it was and did it get better?

I have a chick with the same exact problem! I have been searching and searching for someone with the same issue. I have been rinsing out my chicks eye with saline off and on. We isolated her for a few days when we first noticed it. She was also really wobbly - she could have been trampled on. She finally learned how to walk right and her eye got better, but the eyelid around her bad eye doesn't look right. Her eye almost looks flat because of the shape of the eyelid or area around the eye. After a few days we gave her a buddy and realized her eyes were watery because of something wrong with her and not a sickness. A few days after that we put her with the big group of chicks and she has been fine. Every other day I still put saline in her eyes because they get watery - the bad one more so than the good one. Poor thing just has wet sticky fur on her head and I think part of it is because she scratches the bad eye a lot because the area around the eye kind of gets in her way - if that makes sense.

Long story, short - I'm just wondering if you have any tips for me that worked for you or if she will grow out of this phase when she feathers out.

 

[SCWFarms]

The chick is doing great! I put warm compresses on her eye (warm water on a paper towel) for a couple of days. I think she must have gotten scratched at some point before we got her. There was crusty stuff (some of which I originally thought was skin/eyelid) that was keeping her from being able to open and close her eye properly. The warm water helped to get it loosened up. I was worried that she was going to injure it more with all the scratching she was doing, but once the crusty stuff was gone, she quit messing with it.

I hope this helps! Good luck with yours!

Edited to add:
p.s.: at one point there was something that looked like a grain of sand that came out of the corner of her eyelid. I'm not sure if it was sand or food or what, but it looked like it may have become embedded in the skin there and was the cause of the wattery eyes. I can't be sure, but the warm compress may have helped to draw it out. Also, I only had the compress on as long as she would sit still, which wasn't very long.