One eye closed, red and watery

[Jgarza77]

Hoping to get some advice; went to check on my hens before bed and noticed one with her left eye shut. Took her inside to look with better lighting and she'll open it but it appears to be swollen, red, and slightly watery. Was fine this evening when free ranging. No bubbles or sneezing, wheezing etc. I did see her scratching the eye when I returned her to the coop. Should I be very worried about respiratory? Any advice on drops or ointments would be great; we have a TSC close by but very short on aviary vets in the area. Thank you

 

[CloneFly]

@coach723

 

[coach723]

I would flush the eye well with sterile saline or eye wash (veterycin makes one), look for any injury or debris in the eye. Remove any debris or pus, recently someone had a bird with a foxtail in the eye near the corner, so if you are in an area with foxtail type grasses, look for that. You can use terramycin eye ointment, available at many feed stores and tractor supply stores OTC, or you can use plain neosporin 2 - 3 times a day in the eye. It could be a peck injury, something got in the eye, injury from wire, etc.

 

[Jgarza77]

I would flush the eye well with sterile saline or eye wash (veterycin makes one), look for any injury or debris in the eye. Remove any debris or pus, recently someone had a bird with a foxtail in the eye near the corner, so if you are in an area with foxtail type grasses, look for that. You can use terramycin eye ointment, available at many feed stores and tractor supply stores OTC, or you can use plain neosporin 2 - 3 times a day in the eye. It could be a peck injury, something got in the eye, injury from wire, etc.

Thank you for responding! I think it was debris. We don't have foxtail, but we do have high winds and a lot of dust. This morning when I checked her the eye was open and clear except for a small bit of swelling of the eyelid. I'll flush it out today.

 

[coach723]

Sounds good! If swelling doesn't resolve then I'd add the ointment. Hopefully flushing it out will be enough.