Weird eye issue, is this serious??

[3rdtimesacharm]

Howdy!

I have 13 four week old chicks of various breeds. Their hatch day was June 8 and I drove and picked them up from the hatchery. Included is a Partidge Rock.

Her name is Nutmeg, and she's a mad forager. She knows what to do, that's for sure. However, today I was doing my sporadic head counts to make sure everyone is around and well and Nutmeg didn't show up for role call.

I found her sleeping under a pear tree-I'm TOTALLY serious-there was a partidge in a pear tree; but when I picked her up and brought her out, we all noticed her left eye was shut. She can't keep it open??? (Or doesn't want to).

I've hunted the web and I've seen a few things like maybe it's dirt or dust, or a sinus infection. The tree has a ton of weeds around it, so when I mow the clippings and seeds blow that way and get stuck under the tree and under the Rubbermaid storage bench. I could see something irritating the eye.

I've used lukewarm water with a paper towel and wiped her head and eye a few times. I did see her open it once or twice z but she's not otherwise.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what's going on or a better suggestion of how to treat?

Thanks!

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Can you get her eye open enough to see if there's anything in it, and/or discoloration, and/or an oddly shaped pupil? Are there any tears around the eye?

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Can you get a picture? It'll help us figure it out.

 

[3rdtimesacharm]

She's not a fan of me poking around, but when it opens/I open it, it looks fine. I myself have an eye issue so it's pretty hard for me to get a good look! I developed shingles in my left eye a yr ago last May and seen an eye specialist 25 times!! Complicating it is my Sjogrens which causes severe chronic dry eye. Soooo, yeah, I've looked but I'm blind in the left and now Nutmeg is like me

She seems fine otherwise, and honestly I'm surprised how unaffected she's acting. I'm glad, but it's just so strange how she's been fine and foraging like a mad hen for weeks and then the first time she ventures under the pear tree/storage bench and the filth under both, she ends up with her eye always shut.

Do chickens produce tears? Can I flush it was my natural tear drops, or would this not be a wise idea?

 

[3rdtimesacharm]

Can you get a picture? It'll help us figure it out.

 

[3rdtimesacharm]

She is starting to open it occasionally throughout the day??

 

[3rdtimesacharm]

Her eye is still closed about 95% of the time. Otherwise, she's meandering around the lawn and garden foraging just fine with Stephen and the Gang. However, I've noticed that she's stopping and sunning herself/cooling herself more frequently than the flock this morning. You know-when they're just foraging along, and then they suddenly and dramatically fall to one side and hold their wing out like they're soaking up the sun?? I've never seen chickens do this before, but we just had white Leghorns, and then a golden Campine with a few ducks, so I'm assuming this is normal because all of mine rather enjoy it.

It's just I'm noticing she's doing it more frequently than the others this morning, though it is VERY hot. I'm in Ohio and we have a heat advisory all week.

I spray down the areas they'll be to ensure that the 5' black rat snake that's been living here longer than us isn't hiding and to cool down the area, and I have A TON of shade and water bowls. I'm sure it's not because she's too hot. I'll attach a few yard pics

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

I would not use eye drops. Continue wiping it with lukewarm water. Not only may this potentially solve the issue, but it may allow you to notice anything changing with her eye. She may be laying down more because she's sick, or she may be laying down because running around with one eye is tiring. Have you noticed any other symptoms of illness such as weight loss, running nose, wheezing, odd droppings, etc?

 

[3rdtimesacharm]

Thanks. No, haven't noticed anything. She's opening the eye at times, but then she closes it like she's protecting it. Like, we'll see it open so we'll go in for a closer look and she immediately closes it. To me, it looks a bit swollen when it's closed. I'm wondering if she scratched it or, yeah, maybe got some dust or dirt in it while she was rummaging around under that old storage bench. There were cobwebs and grass clippings and dirt. I don't think it's been moved all year.

Our area has been studied by a local college Bio dept because we have the most species of spiders per sq mi in the world!! Or so they boast!! So, it's just really so hard to say.

She's looking much better than yesterday-and as for the sunning herself issue-when you keep looking, you can convince yourself of all sorts of crazy thoughts!! She loves sunning, as do a few other breeds, and it's extremely hot right now, so I'm not thinking anything unusual was going on today. She's foraging, hanging out with everyone, and eating and drinking like a champ.

As for the eye drops/warm compresses, I have been using a warm towel compress, and I'm not seeing anything. I wipe her face, her beak and her head just in case she has something like pollen stuck on her fluff/feathers. The eye drops aren't medicated, but you think no huh? They're natural tears. I have chronic dry eye. I definitely don't want to use anything that could potentially be unsafe which is why I asked.

Thanks again for your input. I'd say yesterday was 95% eye closed, 5% open. Today was about 75% closed, 25% open so I'm hoping tomorrow she's even better!