Puffy Eye With No Discharge From Eye Or Beak

[breed]

Hello,

We are new to raising chickens. We only have two Golden Comets so far. The one hen had a puffy eye and was almost swollen shut. There was no pussy discharge from the eye or beak. Her breathing seemed fine with no rattle. I treated the eye with an over the counter anti-biotic cream that was suggested by an eye doc on this forum. The eye seemed to get better but now is seems to be swelling just a bit. The hen is very active and is eating. They do free range in our small backyard. Any ideas?

This forum is terrific and we are learning each day from you people. Thanks for any feedback.

Barry

 

[Judy]

Sometimes eye problems are the first sign of some of the viruses chickens get. Since it is not resolving, it may not have been an injury. Read here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=9241

 

[dlhunicorn]

vitamin A deficiency is very common and often associated (in combination with) other things going on.
In addition to rinsing/flushing the eye out first with sterile saline (make this yourself by boiling 1/2 tsp of salt in a quart of water for five minutes) before applying the antibiotic cream (be sure to use the opthmalic cream btw) you can give four drops of POLYVISOL enfamil formulation (not the extra iron one) in beak once a day for a week then taper off the next... this is a childrens A-B-D liquid vitamin that can easily be found at walmart/kmart and most drugstores.