One of my chickens appears to have something wrong with its eyes, how do I treat this?

[ChuckyEgg]

Hi There!

I'm new to this website. I have joined hoping to see if anybody has any advice on how I can treat my chicken.

About 2 months ago we bought 2 new chickens. One is a Scotch Dumpy and the other is a West Suffolk.

I noticed a while ago one day that the Scotch Dumpy had a gooey white liquid seeping out of its eyes. I tried to catch her to have a closer look but she was very scared as she hasn't been handled much before and kept running away from me. I decided to leave her as I didn't want to frighten her anymore and to check on her in the morning. In the morning her eyes were back to normal.

I presumed that she was ok and that it was nothing serious. It would come and go, one day it would be a thick googey liquid, the next it would be like a bubbly liquid but this past week I have noticed it has gotten worse, to the point where it is affecting her co-ordination slightly so I tried to get hold of her again yesterday to have a good look but she is still very scared and wouldn't let me anywhere near her.

Then this morning I went to let the chickens out and she was perched on the top shelf. One of her eyes was completely shut and the other eye had googey liquid in. She could barely see and was getting aditated because of it. She couldn't get down off of the the shelf so I had to pick her up and get her down. I have just recently checked on her and her eye is now open but they are both filled with a bubbly liquid.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be? I have only owned chickens for a few years and have never come across one with any problems so I have no idea how to treat her. She doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

Thank you x

 

[Red Barn Farms]

I am no expert on chicken diseases but I'll try my best to help you. The only thing that comes to mind at the moment that causes white discharge in the eyes would be coryza. Coryza also comes with a very foul smell. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You first need to separate her from the rest of the birds. This can be treated with antibiotics. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You will get more results by posting your question here:[/FONT]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

I hope everything works out and she improves. Wishing you the best of luck!

Editing to add:

Infectious Coryza
Infectious Coryza is often called "Cold" or "Roup". Many refer to this diseases respiratory as "Coryza". This is extremely common among backyard flocks of chickens. Chicken diseases symptoms include many of the following:

• Distinguishable smell that is relatively "foul" based
• Discharge from the nasal cavity and the eyes
• Challenges in breathing
• Mild to severe diarrhea
• Unusual sounds emitted when taking breaths

The treatment for this diseases respiratory include antibacterial medications. In addition to this, antibiotics that are considered to be soluble in water may also be used for treating this respiratory condition.




Greetings from Kentucky. So glad you joined us!

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[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

You will get better responses to your question if you post in the Injuries and Diseases section

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm afraid I can't advice you, as I'm in SA and we get different medicines here, but do look in the Emergencies section. Someone there will be able to help you. Good luck!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, ChuckyEgg, and

! Happy you joined and that your hen is okay!

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us. Definitely try the Emergencies section and good luck with her

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. Good luck with your hen.

 

[ChuckyEgg]

Thank you all for your advice. Much appreciated! I have spoken to a man who breeds chickens and he has advised me to get some cotton wool and hot water with disinfectant and wipe its eyes. It seems to have gone down now, so going to continue this through out the week and see if she continues to improve. He didn't seem to think it was anything serious.