Chicken went blind at 7 weeks

[Emybec]

I have a D'Uccle hen who has gradually gone blind at about 7 weeks of age. First, one eye became cloudy over the pupil and she seemed to not be able to see out of it. Then, the same thing happened to her other eye. Both eyes are now cloudy and she doesn't seem to be able to see things around her. She still reacts to sounds and follows the other chickens around by hearing them. Otherwise, she is happy and healthy. We have 3 other chickens her age and 2 adults. None of the others have the same issue. What is going on and is there anything I can do?

 

[Kiki]

Are any of your birds vaccinated for Marek's disease?

 

[Emybec]

Are any of your birds vaccinated for Marek's disease?

Yes and from what little I have read, the chicken would have other noticable problems if it was Marek's.

 

[microchick]

Are any of your birds vaccinated for Marek's disease?

I was thinking the same thing, Kiki. Unfortunately. That eye looks suspiciously like OMD and the age is right.

I'd like to see a focused picture of each eye if you could do that @Emybec it would give us a better clue as to what might be going on with your young bird.

Sorry she is blind. But it sounds as though she is coping with the help of her flock mates.

 

[microchick]

Yes and from what little I have read, the chicken would have other noticable problems if it was Marek's.

Not necessarily. I had 4 birds with the ocular form of Marek's disease. They had the blue/green/grey iris color along with the 'funky' pupil which were their only symptoms. Two lived to be two and the others lived to be almost 3.

My husband is a retired eye doctor and diagnosed them with a herpes infection in their eyes which is what OMD is.

Wanted to add. The vaccine helps but isn't a magic bullet. Some birds can and do continue to develop some form of MD.

It just keeps birds from developing the secondary symptoms of the disease, for example the hallmark tumors and neurological problems. If they are exposed to MD, they can still be carriers. They just improve their chances of not dying from it.

 

[Emybec]

Not necessarily. I had 4 birds with the ocular form of Marek's disease. They had the blue/green/grey iris color along with the 'funky' pupil which were their only symptoms. Two lived to be two and the others lived to be almost 3.

My husband is a retired eye doctor and diagnosed them with a herpes infection in their eyes which is what OMD is.

Thank you that is so helpful. So, is there anything I can do for either the infected hen or her flock mates? Is it likeley that she develops regular Mereks as well? Also, I will send an additional photo.

 

[Emybec]

 

[Emybec]

I was thinking the same thing, Kiki. Unfortunately. That eye looks suspiciously like OMD and the age is right.

I'd like to see a focused picture of each eye if you could do that @Emybec it would give us a better clue as to what might be going on with your young bird.

Sorry she is blind. But it sounds as though she is coping with the help of her flock mates.

Thank you I just posted a better photo. Yes she is a super sweet little gal and is getting around ok. We also make sure she gets food and water.

 

[microchick]

Thank you that is so helpful. So, is there anything I can do for either the infected hen or her flock mates? Is it likeley that she develops regular Mereks as well? Also, I will send an additional photo.

No, I'm sorry to say. If she does have OMD the genie is out of the bottle and there is no stuffing her back in.

IF this is what you are dealing with, she will do fine for a while. All of my birds with OMD died of stroke or some form of neurological collapse due to the progression of the OMD.

What I noticed is that my birds with it preferred to be in shaded areas or in the coop. My husband explained to me that Uveitis is very painful and bright light can cause humans with it a lot of pain. It can be very painful under any situation but my girls (and one roo) who had it seemed to be happiest when they were in shade.

Once again IF you are dealing with OMD your whole flock has been exposed and are carriers. Even vaccinated they can carry the disease without showing symptoms of it. If you lose a bird my best suggestion is to have it necropsied to get a solid diagnosis. If you bring any birds into your flock make sure they are vaccinated but until you know for sure, my best advice is to consider closing your flock so no birds that are potential carriers leave your property.

I hate Hate HATE telling people this. Marek's is the destroyer of flocks and flock owners dreams. It's tough to deal with and merciless. But if it turns out that this is what you are dealing with it isn't the end of the road. Just a big bump in it.

I invite you to read my article on the subject.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-i-learned-to-deal-with-mareks-disease.76944/

 

[microchick]

PS. As to your question about whether or not she could develop regular MD. That I don't know. She, if she has it, has a form of the disease. There are four types. Ocular, Neurological, Visceral (tumor causing) and dermal (skin tumors). I've had birds with ocular, Neuro and visceral but none with two kinds that I know of.