We bought two Polish crested pullets locally about a month ago. About 2 weeks ago I noticed that one had her one eye closed. It may have been closed all along and just went unnoticed under the crest until I was holding her. She seems mostly healthy - active, eating well, normal poops, etc. The only strange thing I noticed is that she falls asleep easily when I'm holding her, but I read a thread about this related to Polish breed (https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...eep-alot-like-on-the-ramp-to-the-coop.231762/). Rest of the flock is healthy.
Anyway, I flushed the eye 2x/day with sterile eye wash and Vetericyn ophthalmic gel. No improvement after a few days so I took her to the vet. They didn't find any scratch or debris and said she and the eye looked healthy, no obvious infection, but they gave her an antibiotic shot in case it was a sinus infection and had me put antibiotic drops in the eye 3x/day. I took her back for the follow-up shot. They numbed the eye figuring if it was irritating her that the numbing relief would get her to open it, but no luck. They also had me switch drops to an antibiotic plus steroid in case there was inflammation. I've been doing that 2x/day for almost a week and still the eye is closed. I've seen her rub the eye on on the side of her body, but I can't know if it's the eye that's bothering her or the drops. The vet wants me to bring her back in, but I'm not sure they know what to do next. I see the possibility of an expensive rabbit hole. I don't mind spending the money if there's a diagnosis and treatment, but I'm wondering if it's just a physical abnormality like something with her eye muscle or a rod/cone issue that makes her sensitive to light. If I hold her up above my head to to look up at her eyes, she'll open the eye briefly, but then it sags closed again. Her crest is quite a bit fuller and hangs down more on the closed eye side which also makes me wonder if it's a developmental abnormality.
Any advice or experience with something like this? Thanks!
Anyway, I flushed the eye 2x/day with sterile eye wash and Vetericyn ophthalmic gel. No improvement after a few days so I took her to the vet. They didn't find any scratch or debris and said she and the eye looked healthy, no obvious infection, but they gave her an antibiotic shot in case it was a sinus infection and had me put antibiotic drops in the eye 3x/day. I took her back for the follow-up shot. They numbed the eye figuring if it was irritating her that the numbing relief would get her to open it, but no luck. They also had me switch drops to an antibiotic plus steroid in case there was inflammation. I've been doing that 2x/day for almost a week and still the eye is closed. I've seen her rub the eye on on the side of her body, but I can't know if it's the eye that's bothering her or the drops. The vet wants me to bring her back in, but I'm not sure they know what to do next. I see the possibility of an expensive rabbit hole. I don't mind spending the money if there's a diagnosis and treatment, but I'm wondering if it's just a physical abnormality like something with her eye muscle or a rod/cone issue that makes her sensitive to light. If I hold her up above my head to to look up at her eyes, she'll open the eye briefly, but then it sags closed again. Her crest is quite a bit fuller and hangs down more on the closed eye side which also makes me wonder if it's a developmental abnormality.
Any advice or experience with something like this? Thanks!
