[Brood of Bournemouth]

I have a 8-10 week old Marsh Daisy, which has an eye problem. She is acting normal, upright and perky, however she appears to have a slightly swollen left eye. There is no redness or gunk but she does appear to be unable to open and close it with ease.

My question is can I do anything to help her, or do I need to simply monitor her to see if it gets worse?

Any views or comments, please?
 

[jhub]

Is this the only symptom?
If so she might have scratched the eye or have a small foreign body in it.
I would bathe the eye with a weak saline solution (0.9%) or boiled water. You could try golden eye ointment or Brolene  which  are available over the counter at chemists. I dont think thses are  licensed for use in poultry so use at your discretion.
If no better or getting worse then a visit to the vet might be necessary.

[Brood of Bournemouth]

Thank you for the reply.

Yes this is the only symptom, as of yet. After a bit of web research I came across golden eye ointment (£4.80 over the counter) as being suitable, so I am glad to hear that you also think it could work.
I tested it on myself first to make sure it doesn't sting when applying it, of which it does not. I shall now apply a drop to daisy's eye and will see how things go.

[Brood of Bournemouth]

This is a photo taken this afternoon whilst she was dust bathing, you can see the dodgy eye and this is as open as it gets. Thanks for looking.

Has anyone used these eye drops before?

[jhub]

I've used Golden Eye ointment for the children when they had conjunctivitis. I should imagine the ointment will be in contact with the eye for longer than the drops.

[yacks]

 I use cold strong black tea for eye problems with any of us human or animal before resorting to chemicals ... 9 time's out of 10 this clears any infection up x

[jhub]

 I use cold strong black tea for eye problems with any of us human or animal before resorting to chemicals
There are chemicals in tea too.

[yacks]

Chemicals was the wrong word used I apologise ... Iwas just trying to say that I find the tea bathing 9time's out of 10 works in which there would be no need to go buy drops ... Sorry again x

[jhub]

No problem x

[Brood of Bournemouth]

Interesting about the cold black tea, I have never heard of that before.

After a 2nd day of using the drops twice a day(morning and afternoon), I am pleased that the problem seems to be improving and not getting worse. Helped by the fact that she is still small and easy to handle, I can apply a drop with ease by holding her on my lap and once applied her eye movement improves instantly.

Thanks for the comments 

[kegs]

Well I hadn't heard of the tea or the golden eye ornament so thanks everyone for your input as I might add both of these to my poultry first aid kit. 

After a bit of web research I came across golden eye ointment (£4.80 over the counter) as being suitable, so I am glad to hear that you also think it could work.
I tested it on myself first to make sure it doesn't sting when applying it, of which it does not. I shall now apply a drop to daisy's eye and will see how things go.

Very brave.  Not sure I would have done that!  Could you let me know if the purple gentian violet antiseptic stings when sprayed on cuts please.       (Only joking - don't really try it.  Not only that but it stains like heck!)

[Helenaj]

When I was having random eye problems with my birds, it took me ages to find the cause - nettles! My older birds knew to stay away from them, but new birds who had never seen a nettle went for the young shoots and kept stinging their eyes. I went on a nettle hunt once I figured it out and have had no problems since.

[Brood of Bournemouth]

I can't think of much worse then getting stung in the eye! I'm lucky enough not to have nettles growing in my garden, although not much does now get a chance to grow these days.

To keep you all updated, this afternoon I applied the last drop after assessing the eye as back to normal. I am very pleased and would recommend 'Golden eye drops' as a safe and effective treatment for chickens with eye infections.

I would like to express thanks to all who helped by posting.