PLEASE HELP!!! eye crusted shut...

[lcarter]

I am a fairly new chicken raiser. A have a flock of 5 birds, all about a year old.

Yesterday I noticed one of the chicken's eyes was half shut and bubbly/foaming. This morning when I went down to the coop the eye was completly crusted shut.The chicken seems to ortherwise be acting normally.

I don't know if this is an injury, infection or disease. Should I seperate the chicken form the rest of the flock? Should I treat the eye in any way? I have NO IDEA what to do. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

 

[LynneP]

Whenever you run into a situation which might indicate a disease, it is prudent to separate- do you have a dog cage or a similar container where your hen can rest in clean bedding, be kept slightly warmer than usual and receive treated water and/or meds? If so, get her in there asap.

It never hurts to put electrolytes or vitamins ( no added iron) in the water as you assess what is going on. Neutral treatments for a crusted eye include gentle dropping of water or plain Murine or saline solution on the eye to give relief.

Now for the hard part- you will need to figure out if more is happening. You can search here at the sight for 'bubbly eye' or any other symptoms, to see if you are seeing the beginning of a respiratory or other infection, or perhaps dealing with a particulate or foreign object in the eye...and listen carefully to her breathing...

 

[lcarter]

Thanks SO MUCH for the advice

I just recently noticed another one of my chickens has a slightly droopy eye. I seperated both from the rest of the flock, putting them together in a dog cage.
You mentioned electrolytes...how can I get these? How much do I put in the water? Also breathing-what should I be listening for? Sorry but I'm REALY new at all this...
I was also wondering if I should try to disenfect the coop and how I would go about doing that.
Also, any other advice for me would really be great. I don't know much about treating chickens and could use all the suggestions I can get...

 

[chicky gal1]

After the infected birds are removed and seperated, i will take everything out of the coop, pine shavings, food, water etc. clean it all with a spray bottle of 1 part clorox and 9 parts water. spray liberally everywhere, let it air out, then put all new in after it's all dry. clean the food and waterers, anything shared with hot hot water and soap, put it through your dishwasher if you can. I'm not sure about the electrolytes sorry. So sorry you are having this trouble!!

p.s. for the breathing, listen for a ratteling sound.

 

[LynneP]

sorry-double posted. Please read below!

 

[LynneP]

Electrolytes can be purchased at TSC, feed shops, ag supply stores, co-ops and occasionally at rural hardware stores. You can make your own too.

Some electrolytes are sold with meds like Amprolium in them.

You can use baby vitamins too (no extra iron).

Kepp in mind that the electrolytes and vitamins are only for maintenance and to prevent dehydration while you figure out if they have something respiratory. It now sounds like you can assume they are infectious.

Here are some discussion threads-

https://www.backyardchickens.com/se...ID:10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=foamy+eye&sa=Search#572



I hope some experienced owners will join this thread because I have no personal experience with respiratory infections and you may have one starting...

 

[kycklingar!]

Avimin and Avitron are super bird vitamin supplements available in most pet stores. One is a powder, the other is a liquid. I add the liquid to their water. There's no such thing as too much, and it boosts their already pretty awesome immune system.
If you have human contact solution or any other eyewash solution, you can flush the eye with it.
Also, the previous posters are right about changing the bedding and cleaning any other objects in with the rest of the flock.
If you hold the chicken's breast to your ear, you might (hopefully not) hear an obvious clicking when they breathe in our out. This would be a respiratory infection. If you don't hear this, it's probably just an eye infection, and they CAN get over it. It could even be a reaction to being pecked in the eye!

Anyway, maintaining sanitary conditions and quarantining them from the rest is the best you can do!
Good luck!

 

[chicky gal1]

i would also recommend for you to do the healthy chicken chores first, then the sick ones. this should help prevent cross contamination. use different shoes in the healthy chickens pen so you don't track any illnesses back to them. wash hands well too. best of luck with them!