cakeadoodledo Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Hello all Can anyone advise me about lmy little Blubelle, Britney. I noticed a couple of days ago she wasn't her perky active self and on close inspection I saw one of her eyes was the colour of a deep red plum. No visible injury, certainly no infection, in fact completely clear of anything 'foreign body' looking, just deep red colour. She's clearly having problems seeing out of it, was eating & drinking yesterday although a bit subdued but today not really interested in eating, only if encouraged i.e. hand fed by me and only corn not pellets (corn is normally a treat and not her main food). It seems that she's lost a bit of confidence (I guess due to the lack of sight?) and isn't in the thick of activity with the others like normal (there ARE 27 of them all together!). Could it be she's taken a knock on the head (high jinks?), or had a foregn body in it that's now out but the eye is internally bruised or something like that???? Or do hens get glaucomas?? Or a disease of some sort? I rang the breeder who said just keep an eye on her & if she stops eating/drinking & deteriorates (or any sign of infection does appear) then pop her to the vet. Any advice would be gratefully received. Haven't isolated her as no-one's bothering her, she's just acting depressed due to this eye thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I would get her to the vets as soon as you can to be honest. Eyes are tricky things and any sign of infection/swelling or obvious discomfort really needs veterinary attention. We've had several problems here with eyes over the years and all of them required treatment/antibiotics from the vet. One hen sadly lost her sight in one eye, so you can't really be too careful. Hope she recovers ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 If you cannot see any injury then it could be an internal infection and she would need to be seen by a vet. A short course of antibiotics usually clears things up pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I would get her checked by a vet fairly soon. Eyes can deteriorate very quickly and the smallest scratch or damage to the cornea will get infected and be very sore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cakeadoodledo Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Hello all Thanks so much for your replies - I'll ring the vet tomorrow and see if I can get her an appointment. Will let you all know what happens. Nice to have knowledgable people to bounce problems off! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cakeadoodledo Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 Hi all Brit just back from the vets. Not sure what's going on really, could be an internal infection. She examined the eye and shone a light into it saying it was quite inflamed. Gave her two (big!) injections (ouch!) of Metacam and Baytril and also some Baytril to be administered orally for next 5 days. Just like prescribing us humans Penicillin really. Hopefully that should get rid of anything so I'll just keep a good check on her. We've put her in a seperate area with her friend Dorcas who is a lovely gentle little pudding and they can both sleep back with their normal pals at night - it's just the daytime really and the isolation bit is to stop any of the other rowdy gang from the danger of them picking on/pecking her. Gave her some fresh sweetcorn as she's off pellets at the moment and she wolfed it down which is good news! Thanks for all your help and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Good stuff, the Baytril should sort her out. Glad she's perked up already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmab Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Baytril is definately the way forward. My little Amber had a poorly eye and although it wasn't the same thing as yours, baytril soon sorted everything out! Hope all goes well for you x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cakeadoodledo Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 Hello everyone - sad news I'm afraid. Brit was very poorly last night after appearing to have perked up on Tues/Weds after the visit to vet. Went out to check her at 10pm last night & she had very laboured breathing. I was very worried for her but didn't really know what else to do (she was still on the oral Baytril for a few more days). I held her for a while, then gave her a kiss & put her back in the house with her friends. Had a bad feeling all night & went out to them this morning at 6.10am only to discover she'd died in the night. Am very sad about it but not sure what else I could've done. Feel like such a softie (a 42 year old woman crying is not attractive!) but I'm so fond of them all. Thanks everyone for the advice given before. I guess you just can't win 'em all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Oh dear that is a shame. It is good though that you know that you didn't delay in getting her treatment and that you did everything that you could have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceychristie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 OH NO, Sorry to hear your news. Sometimes they really know how to fool us they're getting better don't they? It doesn't matter how old you are - you cry because you care. Stacey X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
