One Eye Closed - Seems Tired

[nugget24]

Hi all,
We brought our chickens (a couple months old, got mid-February) inside a couple days ago and put them back in our tank due to a cold spell.
I noticed this morning that the one seems to be having trouble with their eye - one eye is open, the other is shut. It doesn't appear to be swollen/have any sort of discharge, and they occasionally open it for about 30 seconds to a minute. They also seem to be more tired then the others - curled up often underneath the heater, while the others are walking around/pecking for food. They do get up and drink water and they go after food when it's dropped in.
Since the tank is only for a couple days, we've been cleaning it out 3-4 times a day, so I don't think they got anything (poop, food, etc) in their eye. Them/the other chickens don't seem to peck at each other, so I don't think it's an injury.
When googling (that's how I found this forum) I saw it recommended that you flush the eye out with saline, and treat with terramycin. All of those threads mentioned discharge or something in the eye, though, so I wanted to make sure it would be okay to try those things with nothing visibly wrong/look for other solutions.
I tend to over-worry, especially with "new things," so I don't want to cause more harm trying to fix it.
Thanks in advance!

 

[nugget24]

I manged to get a picture of the eye both open and closed. I forget to mention, when they do stand up, about half the time they walk around with their mouth opened.

 

[Eggcessive]

The dust from your bedding might be irritating the eye. Did you hatch the chicks, get them from a feed store, or from another person? How many weeks old are they? Watch for any eye bubbles in the eye. That could be a sign of MG, a respiratory disease. Is there any sneezing? Offer food and water, and some watery mushy chick feed. Terramycin or Neosporin is fine to use in the eye. Saline is easy to make or buy. It is 1/2 tsp per cup of water, or 2 tsp per quart/liter, boiled and placed in a clean jar to cool.

 

[nugget24]

We currently have straw as bedding, if that makes a difference.
We got them from tractor supply about mid-February, so they'd be a little over 2 months old.
They seem to be eating just fine (maybe a little less than normal) and they're constantly drinking water.

 

[nugget24]

For the terramycin, is the stuff labeled for "dogs" (here) okay to use? I see that there are a couple versions of it, but the dog version is the only kind I can get at the tractor supply near us (rural area, not many options).

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, the dog version is fine. It is oxytetracycline ointment, useful for any animal or bird. Straw can get wet and moldy, which can irritate eyes, so just make sure everything stays dry, and there are no ammonia odors from poop.