Brutalized pullet pooped out... something...

[CindyinSD]

Day before yesterday I caught a jenny pecking at an unresisting BCM pullet. I snatched her up and relocated her to the garage, washed her ouchies and (covering her eyes with a cotton rag) sprayed her little head with Blukote. I made her some electrolytes and fed her around two ounces with a squirt bottle. (The jenny is now banished from the hen house, awaiting processing—I have to process some of them... she might as well be in that group.)

I’ve added some hiding places to their “winter chalet” and will add more soon. Here it is without the additional “furniture.”

Here she is... her left eye is stuck shut. I’ve tried to soak it open but she doesn’t like it and I don’t want to risk hurting her worse.

All the shininess is ointment... (comfrey leaf steeped in coconut oil with natural honey) I’m a little bit worried about comfrey on her sore eye—I was thinking it might help to dissolve the ick so she can open her eye, but it acts a bit like a steroid, speeding healing. I think next time I’ll use plain coconut oil. I wouldn’t want to cause her eyelids to heal closed together and I don’t know whether the edges of her lids are abraded and raw or just gunked together. Advice?

Here is the weird thing I found in her poop.

It’s about 3/4” long, plump and firm. No odor. Weird. I have no idea. Have you?

As for her poop, I didn’t photograph it, but there’s a lot of chalky white (oyster shell?) and canned spinach-looking stuff, surrounded by clearish wateriness. Since they’re in the new greenhouse, on grass, that doesn’t seem strange to me. She has a truly nasty secal poo once a day so far. I think it’s all reasonably normal aside from the alien mass above. At first it was very runny but that resolved after a couple of times.

She is eating her food and I assume, drinking. She’s moving around without apparent difficulty. She keeps shaking her head as if to shake her eye open. Is there something I should be doing for her that I’m not?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That is weird looking. I'm sure someone is gonna ask you to cut that open to see what's inside.

Hopefully your hen heals up. They are pretty good at it. Chickens often try to get away from pain, or try to shake it off, so that's probably what yours is doing.

As far as the turkey hen, I would recommend not keeping turkeys with chickens, but you unfortunately have already found that out. Sorry.

 

[Eggcessive]

Okay, I will. Can you cut it open and take another picture? It may be lash egg material, from salpingitis, or just a weird coated real egg. Can you get some saline eye wash from your drug store or Walmart? It is around $3-4 generic or Bausch and Lomb brand. Or you could use homemade saline, or Vetericyn, and make a warm wet compress if needed to get the blood softened to open her eyes. Terramycin or Neosporin ointment can be put into the eyes to kept them moist and to prevent infection.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I'm going to say it, veterycin is great for an everything healing aid. Use in her eyes and all the ouchies. Best of luck with your baby, hope she feels better soon.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Poor thing, you got great advice

 

[CindyinSD]

Thanks, guys! I do have saline... Unfortunately though, I don’t have the weird thing any more. It was kind of repulsive but I still cannot believe I was so incurious as to throw it into the trash without cutting it open. When I read oldhenlikesdogs’ comment I tried to find it, but it’s gone.

I’ll try the warm saline next time I pester her. The problem is that I can’t hold on to her head without squeezing hard... which I’m worried might be traumatic. My birds are all pretty wild. I don’t have nearly as many as lots of folks here do, but too many to tame them. Anyway, salve is what I had in my hand (besides the evil warm, wet paper towel she didn’t want on her sore eye) so I used the salve. Afterward I reflected that some plain oil/grease might be safer and at least as effective.

I bought some veterycin for a little drakeling who had foamy gunky eyes. I tried it for three days and I never figured out what was wrong with him. Unfortunately it didn’t work, though I’m sure in other circumstances it would likely have helped. I was lucky enough to stumble across a recipe for eye drops (honey & rose water). I had those things so I tried it and it worked. By the evening I put him back out with his buddies. Weird—it was almost an instant transformation. But I think that was an infection or contact irritant not a trauma... I’ll still make some and try it if I can get my pullet’s eye open, but I’ll try the veterycin first.

Anyway I’ve got to go tend to my mom... I’ll let you know about the saline. Thanks again.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Thanks, guys! I do have saline... Unfortunately though, I don’t have the weird thing any more. It was kind of repulsive but I still cannot believe I was so incurious as to throw it into the trash without cutting it open. When I read oldhenlikesdogs’ comment I tried to find it, but it’s gone.

I’ll try the warm saline next time I pester her. The problem is that I can’t hold on to her head without squeezing hard... which I’m worried might be traumatic. My birds are all pretty wild. I don’t have nearly as many as lots of folks here do, but too many to tame them. Anyway, salve is what I had in my hand (besides the evil warm, wet paper towel she didn’t want on her sore eye) so I used the salve. Afterward I reflected that some plain oil/grease might be safer and at least as effective.

I bought some veterycin for a little drakeling who had foamy gunky eyes. I tried it for three days and I never figured out what was wrong with him. Unfortunately it didn’t work, though I’m sure in other circumstances it would likely have helped. I was lucky enough to stumble across a recipe for eye drops (honey & rose water). I had those things so I tried it and it worked. By the evening I put him back out with his buddies. Weird—it was almost an instant transformation. But I think that was an infection or contact irritant not a trauma... I’ll still make some and try it if I can get my pullet’s eye open, but I’ll try the veterycin first.

Anyway I’ve got to go tend to my mom... I’ll let you know about the saline. Thanks again.

Ii have two cross beak silkies that I have to hold their heads and drum roll their beaks. Best suggestion is to wrap her like a burrito in a large enough towel. Once she feels secure enough she will be easier to handle.

 

[CindyinSD]

You're right, @Mybackyardpeepers I've done that before, but only once and I forgot. I'm old... what can I say? I did this morning what you suggest and was able to soak her eye open. There's a lot of stiff, crusty tissue around the eye that's going to have to soften up before she can open it spontaneously. I'm just glad to see there are no apparent adhesions between the upper and lower eyelids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: I thought I posted the above this morning, but I guess I must have been interrupted and wandered off after some shiny thing. Ha! Told you, I’m old. That’s my excuse. I just finished soaking my girl’s little head again and now she’s able to open the stuck eye most of the way. She seems pleased but that’s probably me anthropomorphizing. I’d be happy if it was my eye, anyway.

Besides the weird (probably lash egg) thing, she’s laid three eggs since I put her in the garage. One yesterday with a very thin shell which she apparently crushed in the process of laying it or shortly thereafter, and two (or two yolks anyway) this morning (I know... is this even possible?) with no shells at all. Her new puppy pad which I had just given her had a yolky mess on it when I came in from feeding the turkeys. I changed it, and then went to feed the chickens. When I came back there was yolk all soaked into the pad again. So I cleaned it up again. No more eggs from her the rest of the day. I guess her whole system is just all shook up, poor thing.

I’m not ready to put her back in with the rest of the flock, but I’m pleased with her progress. She’s eating and drinking, moving around and pooping, and I’ve added a bunch of nifty hideouts to their greenhouse/winter chalet. They’ve been there a couple of weeks now, and dry patches are appearing through the last snow storm. Maybe I’ll let them out tomorrow. They’re not crowded in there, but they’re used to having the run of the place and I’m sure being confined contributed to the savaging of my poor little gal.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Update: I thought I posted the above this morning, but I guess I must have been interrupted and wandered off after some shiny thing. Ha! Told you, I’m old. That’s my excuse. I just finished soaking my girl’s little head again and now she’s able to open the stuck eye most of the way. She seems pleased but that’s probably me anthropomorphizing. I’d be happy if it was my eye, anyway.

Besides the weird (probably lash egg) thing, she’s laid three eggs since I put her in the garage. One yesterday with a very thin shell which she apparently crushed in the process of laying it or shortly thereafter, and two (or two yolks anyway) this morning (I know... is this even possible?) with no shells at all. Her new puppy pad which I had just given her had a yolky mess on it when I came in from feeding the turkeys. I changed it, and then went to feed the chickens. When I came back there was yolk all soaked into the pad again. So I cleaned it up again. No more eggs from her the rest of the day. I guess her whole system is just all shook up, poor thing.

I’m not ready to put her back in with the rest of the flock, but I’m pleased with her progress. She’s eating and drinking, moving around and pooping, and I’ve added a bunch of nifty hideouts to their greenhouse/winter chalet. They’ve been there a couple of weeks now, and dry patches are appearing through the last snow storm. Maybe I’ll let them out tomorrow. They’re not crowded in there, but they’re used to having the run of the place and I’m sure being confined contributed to the savaging of my poor little gal.[/QUOTE]
I am SO happy she is feeling better!!! I try to give suggestions of things I have actually tried, used or know others have had good luck with. Please keep on updating us!!!

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

You're right, @Mybackyardpeepers I've done that before, but only once and I forgot. I'm old... what can I say? I did this morning what you suggest and was able to soak her eye open. There's a lot of stiff, crusty tissue around the eye that's going to have to soften up before she can open it spontaneously. I'm just glad to see there are no apparent adhesions between the upper and lower eyelids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: I thought I posted the above this morning, but I guess I must have been interrupted and wandered off after some shiny thing. Ha! Told you, I’m old. That’s my excuse. I just finished soaking my girl’s little head again and now she’s able to open the stuck eye most of the way. She seems pleased but that’s probably me anthropomorphizing. I’d be happy if it was my eye, anyway.

Besides the weird (probably lash egg) thing, she’s laid three eggs since I put her in the garage. One yesterday with a very thin shell which she apparently crushed in the process of laying it or shortly thereafter, and two (or two yolks anyway) this morning (I know... is this even possible?) with no shells at all. Her new puppy pad which I had just given her had a yolky mess on it when I came in from feeding the turkeys. I changed it, and then went to feed the chickens. When I came back there was yolk all soaked into the pad again. So I cleaned it up again. No more eggs from her the rest of the day. I guess her whole system is just all shook up, poor thing.

I’m not ready to put her back in with the rest of the flock, but I’m pleased with her progress. She’s eating and drinking, moving around and pooping, and I’ve added a bunch of nifty hideouts to their greenhouse/winter chalet. They’ve been there a couple of weeks now, and dry patches are appearing through the last snow storm. Maybe I’ll let them out tomorrow. They’re not crowded in there, but they’re used to having the run of the place and I’m sure being confined contributed to the savaging of my poor little gal.

My phone does not like this site some times!
I am SO happy your girl is doing better. I try to give suggestions with things I have tried, used or know others have had good luck with. Please keep on updating us on how she is healing!!