Help - one eye won't open!

[chicknmania]

It is really common for chickens to get eye problems. If you can't find the Terramycin ointment, you can wash the eye with the water soluble solution. Just make it stronger (4 tsp to a gallon). You should also give them this solution to drink; it'll help. You can also use plain eyewash, the kind you get for people at the drugstore, to wash the eye with before you apply the ointment or terramycin solution. It can take a week or so for the problem to go away. Try to apply the ointment or solution to the eye twice daily. If there's a TSC near you, they carry the Terramycin ointment. Or you can order it online. The Chicken Doctor carries it at: www.firststatevetsupply.com.

 

[chicknmania]

Also, (I forgot)...if the eye's partly open but still red or icky and you don't know where to apply the ointment, just put it around the outside of the eye with a sterile qtip. It'll seep in to the eye. Our chickens think this stuff feels good on sore eyes, so it isn't difficult to administer.

 

[65browneyes]

I had a hen last year who was stung by something (scorpion, we think) in the face. Her whole head swelled, and scabbed over, almost as if she'd been burned. Her eye lids crusted from the scabs, and she couldn't open them. For lack of a better idea, I kept applying neosporin ointment to her face until she healed. It kept the tissue soft, pliable, and made it possible for her to open and close her eyes. It took a couple weeks, but healed beautifully.