Pecked In The Eyeball

[hitgsd]

So I am not the only one to get pecked in the eye. My hen got me when I was moving them from garden to coop. I had to go to the emergency room, and then a regular eye Doctor for follow up care. My scratched cornea healed just fine though. Made that first egg pretty expensive the emergency room, where I was their first chicken casualty, billed my insurance 1500.00. I have had a healthy respect for any chicken I am carrying since.

 

[Stacykins]

Very glad I wear glasses! My chickens have pecked at the lenses before, no doubt wanting to peck at the eye behind them!


Quote:
For birds moles are an exceptional pecking target. My sun conure (parrot) Peaches decided that my mother had a mole on her neck that NEEDED removed, whether she liked it or not. My mother had it removed by a doctor, because a doctor doing it is SO much less painful than a parrot beak!

 

[Uzuri]

The closest I've had was a hen who pecked at a mole I have near my eye. I tend to disproportionally react when something comes out of nowhere and hits me in the face, so she got walloped hard enough to knock her off the roost before I even realized what exactly had happened.

I strongly recommend safety goggles for "cuddle time" if you lean that way. Of course, I also recommend chain-mail socks for people who own roosters, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me...

 

[mrdruids]

well it was very sore for a few days but my eye feels fine now, and now i wear sunglasses when cuddling. thanks for the advice my peeps

 

[TwoCrows]

I also wear glasses, but that doesn't mean I didn't get it in the eye! I was leaning down cleaning chicken poop from under a shaded area near the coop where the chickens were hanging out that day. My glasses were slipped down my nose a bit and one of them pecked over top of my glasses, right on my eye, left of the pupil. Boy, did that hurt. It felt like my lens was dislocated from the surface as every time I blinked, it felt like it was floating. It hurt pretty badly for a few days, but eventually healed. I think maybe we all need to wear full coverage safety glasses!!!

 

[RedDrgn]

No, never had my eye pecked. If one gets onto my shoulder, I won't look directly at it (for the sole reason of NOT getting eye-pecked). Having dealt with a lot of different animals over the years, I learned long ago to keep eyeballs out of direct reach at all times.

My DH had his tongue grabbed once, though! Our BR was roosting on his shoulder out in the yard and while he was talking to me, she reached around and pecked one of his teeth. It was pretty funny, and he feigned inidgnance and verbally (jokingly) chastised her. At the end of his "speech" to her regarding her manners, he stuck his tongue out at her. In less than a blink she had his tongue in her beak, yanked, and twisted (probably thought it was a giant worm!)!

Oh he jumped and I almost choked laughing. He tries to keep his mouth completely shut whenever she sits on his shoulder now.

 

[tiny529]

After my son got pecked twice by my Dominique, I bought child sized safety glasses (a 10 pack, all different colors!) so that any kid who comes near my girls are protected. I wear a pair myself, just to set an example to the kids. Heck, I like the extra security when one of my girls hops into my lap, just in case!

 

[al6517]

There is no way in H3ll I would let any chicken of any size anywhere near my face let alone my eye's, There really is no good reason to even have a chicken that close, but I can imagine what you were doing. My guess is you didn't scald her and will probably have her in your face as soon as your 1st injury heals. Just for the record chickens pecking your face

 

[sandysylvester]

1st lesson my husband taught me once our girls were grown. He had chickens in the past these are my 1st......

When they are close to you.........WATCH YOUR EYES....

 

[Uzuri]

Quote:
Scalding would probably help, seeing as you could then easily pluck the feathers and put her in the pot. But I don't think that's what you were aiming for.

Scolding is also unlikely to help. It doesn't work on kids, husbands, or dogs, so it's unlikely to work on chickens.