Emergency - eye and head injury!

[Serotonin]

I have a 2 year old Easter Egger hen who has been acting off for a few weeks. Nothing wrong in particular, just sluggish and a bit droopy-winged so I've been keeping an eye on her. I went out to check on her just now and found her collapsed on the ground. I'm not sure if she took a turn for the worst and collapsed on her own or if her flock started bullying her, which caused her collapse, but they pecked at her head and her eye and now it's all raw and swollen. I have Vetericyn on hand (amongst other products) and can treat the irritated skin, but I'm not sure what to do about her eye and worry about handling it given how swollen and raw it is. I've been frantically calling around to vets in my area, but the doctors aren't in at any of the ones that will take chickens. If anyone has any idea on how I can help her or tips for inspecting her eye, I'd be really grateful.

I've attached pictures of what her head and eye look like, though I haven't tried to open it to inspect the actual eye yet. The other sign looks fine, fortunately.

 

[GodLovesU]

I would definitely keep her isolated and rinse her eye with a saline solution. What kind of medications do you have on hand other than Vetrycin?

 

[Eggcessive]

A flock can turn on a sick looking chicken if they are acting “off.” I would separate her in a dog crate. Get some saline or Bausch and Lomb Eye Relief Eye Wash to rinse the eye twice a day. Then apply with Terramycin eye ointment from a feed store or plain Neosporin triple antibiotic ointment from a drug store. It may take a few days to tell if her eye is damaged or still there. I would hold food up to her beak 2-3 times a day. Wet chicken feed, cooked egg, canned cat food, tuna, and plain water can all be given.

 

[Serotonin]

I would definitely keep her isolated and rinse her eye with a saline solution. What kind of medications do you have on hand other than Vetrycin?

I have Vetericyn Plus, Hen Healer ointment, Betadine, Iodine, and Blu-Kote. I also have some Aqua-Mox and leftover cat Amoxiclav for internal antibiotics. What do you recommend using for the raw skin?

A flock can turn on a sick looking chicken if they are acting “off.” I would separate her in a dog crate. Get some saline or Bausch and Lomb Eye Relief Eye Wash to rinse the eye twice a day. Then apply with Terramycin eye ointment from a feed store or plain Neosporin triple antibiotic ointment from a drug store. It may take a few days to tell if her eye is damaged or still there. I would hold food up to her beak 2-3 times a day. Wet chicken feed, cooked egg, canned cat food, tuna, and plain water can all be given.

I knew that was a possibility, but they had been treating her okay all this time and she didn't seem sick enough to keep inside all day without any specific treatment, so I held out. Sadly enough, I had thought about bringing her in full time just this morning but decided against it... I feel awful, I should've done it or checked on her more often or something...

I don't have any saline or eye wash at the moment... Going to hope my local Dollar General has something.

 

[Eggcessive]

The Vetericyn would be safe to use around the eyes. You probably can find triple antibiotic ointment at the dollar store.

 

[GodLovesU]

What do you recommend using for the raw skin?

What Egcessive said.

 

[Serotonin]

The Vetericyn would be safe to use around the eyes. You probably can find triple antibiotic ointment at the dollar store.

Fortunately they had the Bausch and Lomb eye wash, so I tried my best to rinse out the hurt eye. I don't know how affective it was, but it did prompt her to open up the eye on her own a few times. She didn't open it wide, but what I did see seemed fairly normal. There wasn't any obvious damage to the iris or protrusion or bleeding. I'm hoping that she just got pecked around it and the whole area is just a bit swollen.