New hen with watery, bubbly eye

[DDR]

Hi there,

I am a first time chicken owner. I received four hens two days ago (they all lived together in their previous home). The hens are already laying eggs and are about a year old. I noticed that one of them has a watery, bubbly eye, with feathers coming away. Since it's literally my first week of owning chickens, I have no idea what to do...

FYI: we wiped her eye clean with warm water to get the crusty feathers off.

I'm worried what to do with the other birds too. I've attached a picture. Any advice, suggestions, answers would be greatly appreciated!

For reference, attached is the other eye which looks fine.

 

[chicknmania]

You can try washing the eye with saline eye wash (for people). Warm the bottle for a few minutes by placing the bottle in warm water, and then she wont even feel it if you drip it in her eye. You can also treat the eye with triple antibiotic ointment (with no pain reliever in it!) squeeze a little around the eye, and it will seep in, or carefully use a clean finger tip or qtip to dab it around the eye. Do this twice a day. Maybe it's just a little irritation from something but certainly watch her, and all of them, for a few days, to make sure there is no sneezing, coughing, discharge, diarrhea, lethargy, etc. Make sure they are eating and drinking well. Get some vitamins/electrolytes from the feed store and use for a week at least, let them all have some in their drinking water. Eye irritation, discharge, and swelling, can often be a sign of a bigger problem, such as a virus or respiratory issues, which might require antibiotics, so be sure to watch carefully and let us know if further symptoms develop. Just a tip..when watching them carefully..don't stare at them. Just kind of keep an eye on them casually as you are caring for them. Chickens will conceal symptoms of illness until they are quite ill, and if you stare at them, this will make them more nervous and they will conceal any symptoms even more. Start the vitamins and the eye wash right away, don't wait. If she gets worse, and the others seem to still be ok, put her by herself in a dog crate or rabbit cage or anything where she will be separate from the others and a little away from them, but still close enough where she can see or hear them. Keep us posted.

Note: antibiotic ointment with pain reliever in it is toxic to chickens to make sure whatever you use has no pain reliever in it!

She probably has lost some feathers around it from scratching it.

Good luck and welcome to BYC!

 

[DDR]

You can try washing the eye with saline eye wash (for people). Warm the bottle for a few minutes by placing the bottle in warm water, and then she wont even feel it if you drip it in her eye. You can also treat the eye with triple antibiotic ointment (with no pain reliever in it!) squeeze a little around the eye, and it will seep in, or carefully use a clean finger tip or qtip to dab it around the eye. Do this twice a day. Maybe it's just a little irritation from something but certainly watch her, and all of them, for a few days, to make sure there is no sneezing, coughing, discharge, diarrhea, lethargy, etc. Make sure they are eating and drinking well. Get some vitamins/electrolytes from the feed store and use for a week at least, let them all have some in their drinking water. Eye irritation, discharge, and swelling, can often be a sign of a bigger problem, such as a virus or respiratory issues, which might require antibiotics, so be sure to watch carefully and let us know if further symptoms develop. Just a tip..when watching them carefully..don't stare at them. Just kind of keep an eye on them casually as you are caring for them. Chickens will conceal symptoms of illness until they are quite ill, and if you stare at them, this will make them more nervous and they will conceal any symptoms even more. Start the vitamins and the eye wash right away, don't wait. If she gets worse, and the others seem to still be ok, put her by herself in a dog crate or rabbit cage or anything where she will be separate from the others and a little away from them, but still close enough where she can see or hear them. Keep us posted.

Note: antibiotic ointment with pain reliever in it is toxic to chickens to make sure whatever you use has no pain reliever in it!

She probably has lost some feathers around it from scratching it.

Good luck and welcome to BYC![/QUO

You can try washing the eye with saline eye wash (for people). Warm the bottle for a few minutes by placing the bottle in warm water, and then she wont even feel it if you drip it in her eye. You can also treat the eye with triple antibiotic ointment (with no pain reliever in it!) squeeze a little around the eye, and it will seep in, or carefully use a clean finger tip or qtip to dab it around the eye. Do this twice a day. Maybe it's just a little irritation from something but certainly watch her, and all of them, for a few days, to make sure there is no sneezing, coughing, discharge, diarrhea, lethargy, etc. Make sure they are eating and drinking well. Get some vitamins/electrolytes from the feed store and use for a week at least, let them all have some in their drinking water. Eye irritation, discharge, and swelling, can often be a sign of a bigger problem, such as a virus or respiratory issues, which might require antibiotics, so be sure to watch carefully and let us know if further symptoms develop. Just a tip..when watching them carefully..don't stare at them. Just kind of keep an eye on them casually as you are caring for them. Chickens will conceal symptoms of illness until they are quite ill, and if you stare at them, this will make them more nervous and they will conceal any symptoms even more. Start the vitamins and the eye wash right away, don't wait. If she gets worse, and the others seem to still be ok, put her by herself in a dog crate or rabbit cage or anything where she will be separate from the others and a little away from them, but still close enough where she can see or hear them. Keep us posted.

Note: antibiotic ointment with pain reliever in it is toxic to chickens to make sure whatever you use has no pain reliever in it!

She probably has lost some feathers around it from scratching it.

Good luck and welcome to BYC!

Thank you!!! We did apply some Polysporin on it. I'll look for some triple antibiotic cream w/no pain relief. Let's hope it's just the stress from moving into a new home. It's a brand new coop and run, I'd hate to see them all sick.

 

[chicknmania]

Don't forget the vitamins, they are important!

 

[getaclue]

Polysporin is triple antibiotic ointment.

 

[chicknmania]

Ok, good, but get the vitamins and electrolytes at the feed store to mix in the water for your new chickens to drink. Vitamin and electrolyte powder is not expensive but it will help your chickens get over the stress of moving to their new home.