Swollen shut eye (7 week old chick)

[Isabird]

Our 7 week old chick has had her eye closed for 3-4 days. It has become increasingly swollen with today being the worst. If I attempt to open it it appears slightly foggy and not clear like the other eye. She was previously fine in both eyes. No other chick has symptoms or eye problems. I’m guessing infection, eye injury or worms? Would love to help her. I have a call into our vet to see if I can bring her in but would love any help or suggestion from all the experts here
Thanks in advance

 

[Eggcessive]

Where are you located (state or country?) Does the chick act sick or lethargic? Is there any sneeze, cough, or gasping? The swollen eye could be from pecking, a respiratory infection, or something stuck in the eye that has caused infection. Is that blood on her feathers behind the eye? How does she smell around the face?

I would put a warm wet washcloth as a compress on her eye as you hold her wrapped in a towel, but make sure that she can breathe. That will soften the crust on her eye. Clean her eye and then get some Terramycin Eye Ointment from your feed store (ask a clerk for it since it is locked away.) Clean the eye with saline and apply the ointment twice a day. If the swelling does not go down in a day or two, you may want to try squeezing out any pus that might be there around the eye. MG, coryza, both bacterial sinus infections, and E.coli are common causes of swelling and pus in the eye orbit.

If you can see a vet, that would be best. They could set you up with oral antibiotics. If not then Tylan 50 injectable, a cattle antiviotics found in feed stores, can be used. Syringes and needles would be needed for that, although it can be given orally.

 

[Isabird]

Where are you located (state or country?) Does the chick act sick or lethargic? Is there any sneeze, cough, or gasping? The swollen eye could be from pecking, a respiratory infection, or something stuck in the eye that has caused infection. Is that blood on her feathers behind the eye? How does she smell around the face?

We live in Southern Ca (Orange County). We hatched our 5 chicks from eggs and they have had no exposure to other chickens. She actually doesn’t seem sick, no heavy breathing discharge around mouth or nose, no sneezing.
Her eye obviously is bothering her and she has been rubbing it against herself. The eye is getting worse fast. It is more swollen since I posted. I took her out and did heat compress and saline. I will buy and try ointment tomorrow as the feebarn was closed.
Thank you so much for you reply. We haven’t had chicken in 5 years and are excited about having them again but it is so discouraging when things like this happen

 

[Eggcessive]

Well the things that can cause this are MG, which can possibly be passed through a hatching egg, getting some dirt or droppings into her eye, or a peck, which is common. If it was MG or mycoplasma, I would have thought that she would have had symptoms back when she was 3-4 weeks old. So, hopefully, she will recover soon with her eye ointment. If you cannot get Terramycin eye ointment, I would try to get Erythromycin ointment or ciprofloxacin drops from your regular vet, and I have used plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment in a pinch.