One eye closed - very worried

[The_Chicken_Tender]

My hen is hardly opening her left eye, and when she does it's very watery. She has also not been very active today. I'm very worried it's Marek's. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[coach723]

You need to look in the eye. It could be an injury from pecking, or getting debris in there. You can flush the eye with sterile saline (human stuff is fine, or make your own) or eye wash. Look for anything obvious, flush out any debris. Clear, in focus, close up pictures might help.
Is the other eye normal? Any sneezing, coughing, wheezing, any discharge from nares or beak? If it appears to be injury you can use plain neosporin or terramycin eye ointment (many tractor supply stores or feed stores carry it) in the eye a couple of times a day.

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

You need to look in the eye. It could be an injury from pecking, or getting debris in there. You can flush the eye with sterile saline (human stuff is fine, or make your own) or eye wash. Look for anything obvious, flush out any debris. Clear, in focus, close up pictures might help.
Is the other eye normal? Any sneezing, coughing, wheezing, any discharge from nares or beak? If it appears to be injury you can use plain neosporin or terramycin eye ointment (many tractor supply stores or feed stores carry it) in the eye a couple of times a day.

We flushed it with saline and she still keeps it closed, but opens it if someone walks up to her. I'll try to get a pic later, but the eye looks normal as far as I can tell (never had any eye problems before). No other symptoms except shes a little slow moving.

 

[coach723]

Other eye opening and using it normally? I would give her a good going over, check health generally. Look for Lice/mites, check weight/body condition, look for any injuries hidden in feathers. Check feet, especially the bottoms. What do her droppings look like? Is she eating and drinking normally? Is her crop empty, full, soft & squishy, hard, etc. Check it first thing in the morning before she has access to food or water, it should be empty then. How old is she, and do you know when she last laid?

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

Other eye opening and using it normally? I would give her a good going over, check health generally. Look for Lice/mites, check weight/body condition, look for any injuries hidden in feathers. Check feet, especially the bottoms. What do her droppings look like? Is she eating and drinking normally? Is her crop empty, full, soft & squishy, hard, etc. Check it first thing in the morning before she has access to food or water, it should be empty then. How old is she, and do you know when she last laid?

Her other eye is fine. I'll check for mites and lice tomorrow. Her droppings seem normal, but I don't know how much she is eating. She is almost exactly one year old, and she laid today. She's been opening her eye a bit more today, but once she knows no one is going to mess with her she closes it again