Eye in fection?

[ruthhope]

When I let my ducks out of the coop this morning, I found that one of my pekin drake's eyes was closed tight with wet yellow matter sealing the lids together. He was fine yesterday -- I might have missed this when I put the ducks to bed at 8pm but I had spent a lot of time hanging out with them in the morning and again in the afternoon. His eye was fine mid-afternoon. He, Big Boy, is otherwise OK. no discharge from his nares. His right eye is OK. He is eating, drinking, and pooping; there is no sign he was fighting [he is dominant with the other drakes, including the muscovies that are the alpha males and could make mincemeat out of him] and he wants to be outside with the rest of the flock.

I am assuming he got something in his eye -- dust from the pine shaving bedding is a possibility or a bit of feather.

I brought him inside and bathed the eye with salt water, held the eyelids apart and flushed his eye with luke warm salt water using a small syringe. He is staying inside -- on puppypads not pine shavings, and I am just going out to buy terramycin eye ointment.

Any thoughts on the origins of this eye complaint and advice on further treating it? Should I let him back out with the others once his eye has been bathed and flushed out a few times, or should he stay inside until the yellow pus has cleared up?

I am surprised at how unconcerned he was running round with one eye closed with no aparent difficulty. The photo is prior to bathing the eye. The lids were a little apart immediately after bathing but quickly closed up again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What a sweety. Sounds to me like you have it under control. If mine I think I'd keep him inside until the yellow pus is cleared up hopefully it won't take more than a day.

 

[ruthhope]

What a sweety. Sounds to me like you have it under control. If mine I think I'd keep him inside until the yellow pus is cleared up hopefully it won't take more than a day.

I was worried last evening as the left eye was still closed. The poor wee boy was very distressed at being kept in the house and shouted for 2 hours after the other ducks went to bed in the coop. He started shouting again at 5am. Fortunately, when I got the ducks up at 7am and then checked him out, his left eye was opening. I irrigated the eye with salt water and put in more ointment, and let him out with the flock in the back garden. He is definitely a party boy!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

A party boy how funny! Glad to hear he’s doing better and happy to be with his buds.