Sudden blindness in one eye

[schatze17]

I'm hoping this is just an infection that we can clear up, but thought I'd see what others thought.

Our 19 week old silver wyandotte suddenly has a swollen eye. No other changes in the coop, flock, food, etc. She is getting around fine, no coughing, rattling, wheezing, etc. I don't see any scratches or foreign objects in the eye. The eye looks gray with a yellow film, but the film is not removable.

We've flushed her eye out several times a day with a basic eye wash. I'm hoping to find some antibiotic eye drops at the feed store today, just in case it is an infection.

Ideas?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It looks like she has pus in her eye, will the yellow come out? Respiratory illnesses, dirt/debris in the eye, injury are some of the most common causes of swollen eyes with pus and bubbles.

You may need to apply slight pressure to remove it. Flush the eye with saline and apply Terramycin eye ointment.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/eye-infection-yellow-mass.1189432/

 

[Eggcessive]

I would seek a local vet if possible. As Wyorp Rock stated, eye problems like those may be a result of injury or respiratory infection (such as mycoplasma,) but a gray eye with an irregular pupil can be found in Mareks disease sometimes. Since she has such swelling around her eye though, it might be more due to infection or trauma. Could she have been pecked in the eye or stung/bitten by an insect/tick? Look for other signs of a respiratory infection, such as nasal drainage, coughing, or noisy breathing. Although most vets would prescribe an antibiotic and probably a steroid for the eye, here is a good eyedrop that contains a broad sprectrum antibiotic: http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store2/antibiotics/opthalmics/ciloxan-eye-drops.html

The Terramycin eye ointment from feed stores is good for respiratory infection--related eye swelling. Sometimes other bacteria such as E.coli can be cause for swelling, and that requires other drugs than Terramycin.

 

[schatze17]

Thanks for the replies.

The yellow, I assume pus, doesn't come out. It's attached to the cornea. I just started the Terramycin eye ointment.

But, now she is doing a weird head jerk. The crop doesn't feel enlarged and she doesn't have bad breath. I suppose it could be impacted or sour crop? I'm hesitant to massage the crop as last time I did that for one of my hens, she ended up vomiting and dying.

I'll have to search for a vet, our suburban docs don't usually handle chickens.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's a sweet girl

We'll see what @Eggcessive thinks, but it her actions look neurological to me. Provide her with some poultry vitamins that contains E and B along with some egg or tuna for Selenium.


Here's a search for avian vets that may help.
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

 

[schatze17]

Day 2 update

I think the swelling has gone down. She has been opening and closing the eye lid on her own. The
cornea looks about the same. The head jerking has stopped. Her crop feels fine.

Fingers crossed. We are continuing with eye washes and Terramycin twice a day.

 

[BrittanyM1]

Hey there! So a few weeks back one of my hens was attacked by a predator. She sustained an eye injury and possible head i jury. Her eye was swollen, no pus. But I treated her anyway to prevent infection with Terramycin opthalamic gel also! I use it in my cats eye also- he has chronic inflammation/ulcers in his eyes from a viral illness. it works!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Day 2 update

I think the swelling has gone down. She has been opening and closing the eye lid on her own. The
cornea looks about the same. The head jerking has stopped. Her crop feels fine.

Fingers crossed. We are continuing with eye washes and Terramycin twice a day.

View attachment 1095519 View attachment 1095520

It does look like it's less swollen.
Hopefully the flushing and Terramycin will loosen the pus enough so it will come out.

Thanks for the update.

 

[schatze17]

Today's update

I don't think the swelling has changed, but the eyeball is creepy looking. The yellow on the bottom of the cornea looks like it wants to peel off, but it's attached to the eye and I don't want to injure the eye. I can see her pupil now, and it is reactive, so maybe that's a good sign.

Still doing the eye washes and Terramycin. Still searching for a chicken vet.

 

[schatze17]

Update...

Eye washes and Terramycin seem to be working.

There was something yellow that looked like an oat flake in the eye. It was pretty stuck and I wasn't able to get it out. But, we kept washing and doing the ointment.

Here she is today...

Still keeps the outer lids closed most of the time, but today was the first day that I saw her blinking and also saw the third eyelid working.

Still doing eye washes and ointment and I just added a Probiotic to the drinking water.