Should I Remove Scab Over Hen's Eye???

[citychickinthecountry]

One of my hens recently had mites...which I am now treating her for. Due to scratching around her eye (because of the mites), she has a scab that has formed over her eye area. You cannot see her eye at all.

Should I remove this scab or simply let it fall off? Should I place some thing on it to keep it moist and encourage it to fall off? I am just concerned that my hen only has use of one eye right now and I don't want to cause any harm to the eye that has the scab over it.

 

[onthespot]

I would just leave it. It should fall off in a few days. If you force it open, it will become more irritated and she will scratch it more, and prolong the healing process.

 

[MamaMarcy]

Never remove a scab. You'll open it up nd subject it to infection & prolonged healing, and scarring.

Scabs are natures bandage...

Of course if you notice puss coming out from underneath it could be an abcess, & you'd want to think about warm compresses and antibiotics. If it's dry, just leave it be.

 

[citychickinthecountry]

Thanks. I will definitely leave it then. Should I be worried about her eye itself?

 

[onthespot]

If there is a buildup of pus behind the scab, yes. If you suspect something is causing undue pressure on the eye, insde the lid, under the scab, then I would soak it off, maybe a warm, moist compress, hold it on her eye for about ten or fifteen minutes, and then see if you can just ease off one corner of the scab to see if you see whitish or yellowish opaque matter building up inside. If you do, gently remove the scab with as little disturbance as possible, to let you gently press out the built up matter underneath the eyelid. I would then put opthalmic ointment on the eye to help decrease irritation and prevent external sources of bacteria from complicatng the healing process. I would also isolate the bird and put her in a clean, dust free bedded place, bedded with straw or something similar to prevent dirt from caking the site while it heals up on its own.

 

[Tracy the chick]

Hi i would soak some cotton wool in warm salty water and add some eye wash to it and bath the scab off incase theres an infection under it, i would then get some eye drops from your local pharmacy, ask for eye drops for conjunctavitis it works brilliant.. i work in a pharmacy and theres nothing in it that will hurt the chicken...put 1 drop in 4 times a day for 5 days...do not put potrolium jelly on it... i know its natures way to form a scab to help the healing process but if we had a scab that kept our eye shut we would have to remove it...Hope this helps hun...Take care. Tracy.xxx

 

[citychickinthecountry]

Thanks all. I had to take my poor baby to the vet today because she had 2 absesses on her butt. One was a previous absess from falling on her butt that reopened. The vet removed the scab and gave me some stuff to put around her eyes for a week. So now I have to treat her eyes once a day, treat her for mites once a week, clean and ointment her butt twice a day, and give her antibiotics. My adorable baby is expense. More than $300 in vet bills over the past month. Ugh!