Possibly blinded rooster

[Dutchgirl]

This morning, when I let the chickens out, I discovered that one of the roosters was still on the perch, looking sleepy and slightly confused. Because his eye was shut, I figured he was trying to get more sleep, but I wondered why. Even when he opened his eye, it looked cloudy and it might have had puss coming out of it, I couldn't see him very clearly. He couldn't see me coming with that eye, although the other eye is functioning completely well and looks fine. I tried grabbing him, but, startled, he flew out of my hands and got away.

Here's a picture of his eye, closed:

And here's one with his eye open (sorry, it's not very good):

My guess is that he got into a fight with another rooster (we have a lot, right now). The sad thing is that he is our best-looking rooster. We had a silkie rooster get blinded in a fight before, and he ended up never mating a hen again. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help him or what to do?

 

[chickengrl]

Since it sounds like he is not feeling well AND his eye is swollen and closed, I think you should isolate him from the rest of your birds. I don't see an obvious injury and that makes me worry that he might have a respiratory infection that might be contagious. Have you gotten any new birds? been to another poultry farm? Even wild birds can transfer disease. I would gently try to clean his eye with warm water or saline solution. Are there any other symptoms? breathing normal? mucus or congestion? eating and drinking? I would definitely get him away from the rest to be safe. Good luck!

 

[Dutchgirl]

Quote:
They haven't been exposed to anything except perhaps wild animals, b/c we free range them. I couldn't hear any raspy breathing, he was breathing through his nostrils and not his mouth. I didn't see him eat but I wasn't watching him for very long. Thanks for your reply! He is one of the most "wild" chickens we own, and really hates getting picked up. I'll have to wait until dark to catch him, because I can't get near enough to him any other time.

 

[rockinpaints]

It doesn't look real swollen (like an upper respiratory), could be an injury.

 

[chickengrl]

It's a good sign if he is breathing OK. Hopefully, it is an injury and not illness. Having him away from the flock will help you keep a close eye on him and protect him from the rest of the flock while he is recovering.

 

[Dutchgirl]

We took him inside and put some antibiotic ointment on his eye. A clear jelly-like thing has formed over the inside - you can see it when he opens the eye.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well hopefully with some TLC he'll recover with out any lasting effects, if you have too many roos this is probably the time to do something about it because it won't get any better with breeding season under way. 10 hens to 1 roo is the best ratio.. let us know how he is doing. by the way he is very handsome

 

[Dutchgirl]

His eye has turned whitish, I'm not sure if there is something protruding from it or not. I was not able to get close enough to take a picture.

 

[thebritt]

Well, if you really like this guy, I can tell you we had a one-eyed rooster for 4 years. And he was king of the roost (but very sweet to humans, probably due to all the TLC he got while recovering). Once, he got into a fight w/the wrong opponent, and his OTHER eye got injured! We brought him inside, applied ointment and compresses, etc, and he recovered. Good thing, because I'm pretty sure a No-eyed rooster would not fare well at all!
You should be able to bring him in to get a good look when it's dark outside. Then they're very easy to catch!