Went to get my pullets(41/2-5mo old) fresh water and saw this:

[Dos Locos Polackos Acres]

Just now I went to get my pullets some fresh water and saw that she had not opened her eye. On further inspection, her eye seems to be sealed shut. I don't know if it's from injury or if she got something in there. But I really don't know what to do or if there's anything I can do for her. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. They're approx. 41/2-5mo. old, all hens and I'm not sure how long she's been like this. But I do look at them every day and try to inspect them as much as I can. But I don't necessarily see every part of them every day.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try and press around her eyelid to see if any pus comes out. Here is a video that may help:

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check her in the morning and try to get the eye opened. Then check her breathing, odor, etc. You can get saline eye drops from a pharmacy, and terramycin eye ointment from some feed stores (ask a clerk since it is locked up. ) Plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment can be used if you cannot get Terramycin. A vet would be good if you can areange that. If her eye is not affected by a tumor, then I would suspect there is pus around the eye and sinus, and it would need to be removed.

 

[Dos Locos Polackos Acres]

So, first of all I want to say a great big thank you to everyone who tried to help me out with my pullet with the eye thing. And secondly I'm so, so sorry that I haven't updated everyone here, my goats are all kidding, of course within days of each other and for some reason one of my new moms decided to kick one of her newborns to the side. So on top of fostering, being a relatively new chicken mom, I am also bottle feeding a baby goat. Something I haven't done in awhile. But such is life on a ranch, even a hobby one like ours.

Anyway, unfortunately, our chicken lost her eye. I'm not sure if we didn't get all of the infection out, didn't treat it correctly or what, but, ya. She's doing great otherwise. And the other hens seem to have really rallied and her and are kinda protective of her. And like I say, she seems too be doing great, isn't acting sick at all otherwise and has adapted well too. So, again, thank you for all of your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that she has lost her eye. Hopefully she or he will still live a good life. I had a polish chicken who lost sight in one eye, and she got around fairly well in familiar territory.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you tell us if she has any other symptoms besides the swollen eyelid? How does she smell around her beak and face? Can you put a wet cloth on her eye and soften the crust, then open it to look for any pus or freign body (feather, seed pod, dirt?) Her beak is open, so is she gasping or having any noisy breathing, wheezing, sneezing, etc? Is there nasal drainage?

It looks like she has conjunctivitis (pinkeye) which sometimes is from a peck wound or something caught in the eye, but also could be from a respiratory sinus disease such as MG or coryza. E.coli or other bacteria can also cause this. Please answer some of the questions. Do you have access to a vet or antibiotics?

If it is caused by a respiratory disease, antibiotics may treat symptoms, but they have it in their bodies for life. The other chickens may also be carriers.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Hard to tell from a photo...so is her other eye like this or is it ok?
Is she behaving normally?
In that photo she looks like she's not well & gasping...or is it just because you are trying to hold her still for a photo and she doesn't like being held?
Just trying to figure out is the swelling of one eye the only issue. If she seems normal other than that, she may have just gotten pecked in the eye.
When that happened to one of mine I separated him & got eye ointment at Walgreens & put that in, he was fine after 2 days in a large cage, his own food & water with no one pecking at his already sore eye.

If the bird's eye was fine just earlier then it may be just a pecking incident...Hopefully so

 

[Dos Locos Polackos Acres]

I would try and press around her eyelid to see if any pus comes out. Here is a video that may help:

Thank you for posting that! I'll definitely give it a try tomorrow.

 

[ackie]

Awesome! I'm glad it wasnt anything more than an eye infection. She should be fine with one eye, as you've seen so far. Good luck with your new kids!

 

[Dos Locos Polackos Acres]

I'm sorry to hear about the eye loss too but well done for trying your best with it. I'm sure she will cope fine - we have a hen, Skye, who is blind in one eye (or at least mostly blind) and she manages just fine.

Thank you for that. It really means so much to get all of this support and to hear how well others blind chickens are doing. Y'all are incredible people and I'm really happy I landed on this site!