3 day old blind baby chick please help

[lana]

Hi guys new to the baby chicken thing and i received silver laced wyandottes this morning and it appears that one may be blind. its eyes are clear and not clouded but i am worried how is the best way to care for this little girl. I don't want anything to happen to her and I want her to be happy and healthy as possible. Being only three days old and with all the stress of shipping could i be mis=reading this when the other push her around she just moves over but doesn't turn her head or appear to be looking at anything. has never scratched for food like the other new babies. could her eyes just not be as developed yet.
please help!!!!

 

[Granolamom]

Hey there!
I'm by no means an expert in chickens, but it seems to me that you should probably wait a little while before jumping to conclusions.
Like you said, the stress of shipping has probably gotten to it, that's got to be a horrible and upsetting experience for a 3 day old baby chick. When I first got mine, one of them was also a little slow and let the other ones push her around without reacting to them, but she is now just fine, (she's 5 months old and lays an egg a day, every day of the week!). If the other ones get too ugly, perhaps you could seperate her to a little area in the same container, so she can still see them, but gets a break from being pushed around. Good luck!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

My sympathies go out to you...I'm dealing with a similar chick. I know this chick can see, but I have had a chick that was blind which I euthanized after a couple of days.

In horses there is such a thing as a "dummy" foal and I think this sometimes happens in chicks. The chick I'm dealing with can see, but just doesn't have the brain power to peck at the food or go to the water. If you dip her beak, she'll drink...but nothing comes naturally to her. Not a good scene. If this baby doesn't turn around by tomorrow, I'm going to euthanize it.

 

[lana]

I'm sorry I may have given the wrong impression they aren't being mean to her they just kind of nudge her around in the cage and she just stands there like she doesn't know where to go. she doesn't scratch like the other babies but when she gets scared the silver laced rooster and female EEgr we have that are a week older go to her and either cuddle with her or kind of coax her up with the others so i don't think they will be mean to her but i'm worried that if she really can't see that she may not be able to find food and water with all the jostling and moving the others do around her. Thank for your encouragement if you have any other ideas please, please let me know.

 

[lana]

Hi oldtimegator thanks for the info. I hope it doesn't come to that but I will not let her suffer. She deserved better than that.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Lana...you may need to put her in a small box with just 1 or 2 other chicks. This way she should be able to find the water and food. If she is blind, you'll be able to tell pretty quickly.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I agree with 'oldtimegator"...

 

[tackyrama]

Give a few days to see what happens. It might just be the kindest thing you can do is put it out of misery. This may sound harsh but this is one of the responsibilities we must accept when we have pets.

 

[gritsar]

Lana, do you have a laser pointer or one of those little keychain lights? Try setting her down by herself and shining the light on the ground in front of her (but not in her eyes!). See if she follows it.
I've seen the dummy behavior in young chicks. They're just a little slower on the uptake than as the others, so it may take a little longer of showing them the food and water, making sure they are eating.
I also have a partially blind hen. She didn't show the dummy behavior. She didn't exhibit slowness as a chick; except at feeding time when it was hard for her to focus on her feed and grab it in her beak.
She's a beautiful hen now and has just started laying. She doesn't require special care now except if I see her getting too far from the others when they are free-ranging I pick her up and take her closer to the others for her own safety.

 

[TexasJoe]

Quote:
well typed.