Please help, chick with watery eye

[kona silkies]

Aloha, I am new to backyard chickens as well as raising baby chicks. we got 4 silkies from a neighbor who incubates and two out of four babies look sick. One has had a watery eye since day 2 and is constantly getting hair stuck in it. I've been putting a saline rinse in it but couldnt find any explaination as to WHY it could be watering so bad.

Another chick has a protruding egg shoot (I forget what its called where the egg comes out)

PLEASE let me know ideas on what these could be symtoms of.

Thanks!

Ps I can add photos if I can figure out how.

 

[LittleChocobo]

from Hillsboro! My boyfriend is from Kailua. Aloha~

The egg shoot is called the vent. According to a quick search, the protruding vent should clear itself up. I don't know about the eye.

What other symptoms exist along with the eye? Is the chick shaking its head, sneezing, and/or coughing? (These, along with the watery eye, are symptoms of laryngotracheitis.)

The more details you give, the more accurate a diagnosis we can give.

 

[kona silkies]

Awesome! Its a great place to be from! We just moved to a little coffee farm and got chickens to help us with our garden.

Thanks for the information, or should I say, Mahalo!

I havent noticed any other symptoms.. but I will keep an extra close eye on the sneezing etc.

I am also trying to find out how I can post pics- any suggestions?

 

[LittleChocobo]

That's cool! You can use the chaff left over from grinding the coffee beans as bedding - the strong coffee scent covers the bird-waste smells, and the chaff is biodegradable and makes a great fertilizer/compost.

This thread will teach you how to post pictures. I've never done it myself (I'm getting my first chicks on Thursday; once that happens, you can expect a deluge of silkie photos!)

 

[kona silkies]

Oh- just wait until my keiki go to bed... I'll be uploading my fav pics of my four babies. I just read your description of silkies and it made me laugh, although personally I think they look like fraggles (why two of mine are named Gobo and Wembley) or electricuted bunnies.

Thank again! Check back for photos! They are sooo cute! You will fall in love with your silkies- they are so sweet!

 

[kona silkies]

There names are:

Gobo
Wembley
Poi Ball
Mundle

 

[LittleChocobo]

I didn't realize there were two places called Kailua -- my boyfriend is from the other one. Sorry! >:

I've never seen Fraggle Rock, but a Google image search makes me agree with you. They kind of do!

Your chicks are so cute! Do you ever get them confused for each other?

 

[kona silkies]

You know, its funny- as similar as they look- their are distinct characteristics that grow stronger every day. Of course, the one has a watery eye-but its also darker than all the rest... I am trying to not have a favorite, but so far "Mundle" is the sweetest of all...

I am trying to give them their space, but I am also trying to get them used to me and my two year old. They are a lot of work- but very worth it!

 

[LittleChocobo]

I see a lot of people saying that they handle their birds as much as they can but also install child-proof locks on their brooder boxes "just in case."

 

[kona silkies]

Absolutely!

Well, thanks for all the info and good luck! See you around BYC!