Taking care of chickens can provide you with a good supply of healthy meat and eggs that you can either enjoy yourself or sell for a bit of profit.
However, chickens may be prone to several diseases that affect their health and well-being and must be managed appropriately to keep them healthy. For example, a chicken eye closed situation is not uncommon and may require various treatments.
The various causes for this condition will vary depending on your chicken, its overall health, and the potential infections throughout the area.
Treatment will be specific to a disease, such as an infection getting antibiotic therapy, and much more. You may need to work with a veterinarian in this process, though some care methods may be DIY and easy to handle with minor issues.
For instance, prevention is probably the best way to keep your chickens safe from this common problem. There are several different methods that we’ll outline below to make it easier for you to prevent a chicken eye closed problem.
As always, with delicate pet-health situations, make sure that you work with a trusted veterinarian to ensure that you don’t experience any complications in this process.
What Causes Chickens Eyes To Close?
A chicken eye closed problem typically has a few different potential causes that could vary depending on your location and your chicken’s health.
For example, the disease “infectious coryza” is a type of bacterial infection that affects chickens and could spread to the rest of their respiratory system. It is easy to diagnose as an inflammation of the area just below the eye paired with nasal discharge and sneezing.
A video call with a veterinarian can quickly diagnose this problem by allowing them to pay special attention to the symptoms.
For example, they can look carefully at the video feed to spot other signs of this condition, including breathing troubles and more. They can also rule out other possible conditions, such as potential eye worms, which may cause swelling and a generalized infection.
This step is often less expensive than going to a local veterinarian and can help diagnose the issue quickly.
Your vet may give you advice or suggestions about this treatment situation, including what types of steps you can take to help your chicken recover.
They may also provide a prescription for the medications that can help to minimize the severity of your chicken’s closed eye situation.
How Do You Treat An Eye Infection In Chickens?
While chickens rarely experience serious eye problems, a chicken closed eye situation is a cause for concern and requires you to take various steps.
If your chicken’s eye is infected in any way, it is vital to examine the chicken first to look for any signs of injury that could worsen this problem. Next, clean the area carefully with a soft, damp cloth to remove potential debris or contaminants.
You will also need to work with your veterinarian to find an appropriate antibiotic treatment for your chicken’s condition.
Typically, you need to fill a simple plastic syringe with the antibiotic provided for you by your veterinarian and adjust its level to make sure it is appropriate for your chicken.
Then, put the plunger in the chicken’s mouth and squeeze the syringe, holding the chicken tight if it fights against the medicine or tries to spit it out.
If needed or suggested by your veterinarian, repeat this process and carefully monitor your chicken for the next several days.
The antibiotic should go into effect eventually, and the eye should open up again. If your chicken eye closed dilemma does not resolve itself in this way, take your chicken to the veterinarian to get help with more specialized medications and treatment options.
They can provide various types of topical and oral medications that may help minimize the risk of a chicken closed eye epidemic spreading through your chickens and beyond.
What Can I Do To Stop My Chickens Eye From Swelling Up And Closing In The Future?
Vaccination is possible against this common infectious disease and should be done at least four weeks before this disease is most likely to occur.
Typically, spring and summer are when most cases of this disease break out, so getting this vaccination early could help keep chickens safe during this time.
It may also be essential to provide other prevention techniques to protect your chickens from this disease, including proper feed and water management.
Water is probably where coryza is most likely to spread to your chickens, so make sure that you provide clean and filtered water for them every day to avoid this problem.
In addition, you may want to change out their water several times during a day to prevent bacteria from gathering here and potentially spreading to their eyes.
You may also need to spend time cleaning out their feed, removing any potentially contaminated food, and properly cleaning out their food dishes a few times a day too.
Your vent may also provide you with a preventative medicine that you can use to help against this problem, which is usually an oral treatment that helps prepare a chicken’s body for infection.
These aren’t the same as vaccines because they provide a different level of antimicrobial protection and don’t necessarily affect the chicken’s immune system.
Nevertheless, this comprehensive approach may help take care of this problem and give your chickens the help they need to avoid a closed eye issue.
Keep Your Chicken Healthy
These simple steps should help with a chicken eye closed situation and minimize the risk of severe health concerns spreading through your flock.
However, this type of infection can very rapidly become a significant issue with multiple chickens, so it is vital to take the time to address this issue adequately.
By giving your chickens help with this infection, you also help yourself by minimizing the risk of chicken death and keeping your farm’s health stronger and healthier.
