What's Wrong with her Eye?

[Redschickens]

this is my speckled sussex, maybe 8 weeks old. We got her and she was totally oKay, but over the last couple weeks her eye has become pink and swollen. This was last week (healthy left eye, bad right), today its much worse (swollen). I notice the pupil, when I open to clean it, seems fixed toward the back of her eye. She can open and close it, but doesn't for long. Tonight when I tried to open the eyelid, I couldn't see the eyeball at al- just what looked like a thin, vascular covering. She is eating and drinking, runs with the other chicks but clearly doesn't notice when people creep up on her and grts more anxious that the others when she can't find them. Does anyone have ANY clue what I might be dealing with? My husband says she's just going to be a one eyed chicken. How do I know when/if I should do anything? Ive been cleaning with sterile water and neosporin. Any help would be appreciated, I'm pretty new to chickens and pretty sad

 

[dunnmom]

If you can get some oral antibiotics in her soon, it might be a good idea. The extra swelling may be due to irritation from the cleaning, and I would suggest not forcing her eye open when you do this. Instead, maybe try using a refrigerated wet tea bag (black tea, not green) as a cold compress as opposed to the water eyewash, followed up by a nice thick layer of neosporin over the lid 2 or 3 times a day. Tannins from the tea and the cold might help reduce the swelling. I'm no expert on chicken eyes, but I know tons about human eyes, and have learned that many eye problems can be treated similarly in both. You may or may not be able to save her eye, but with oral antibiotics, you can prevent a spread of infection.

 

[dunnmom]

How is she doing today?