baby turkey possibly blind in one eye?? advice needed

[ldutch123]

I have a week old baby black Spanish turkey who was given to me because he was wobbling around and they didn't know if he would make it. So I took it home. Well he seems to be doing well, still wobbly but eating and Drinkin and runnin with the chicks. I noticed today a little film on one eye. I removed the film and now I wonder if he is blind in that eye? Anyone have any experience with this or advice. I'm lost

 

[mkcolls]

We received a Royal Palm turkey poult last year that had one eye partly open, by the time she was 2 weeks old she kept it closed most of the time. She had a film over it, still does. We rarely see it open.
She was and still is uncoordinated. We have trained her with two long bamboo poles that we use on either side of her when she is out in the run and it is time to go into the coop. We try to bring her in while it is still light out as she shrinks away from dark doorways.
The other turkey poults were curious about her closed eye but did not pick at her eye to the point of injury.
She slept on the floor when we moved her to the coop, but learned to fly up to the lowest roost after a few weeks. Several times she has flown up to the peak of the barn. At first she was afraid to fly down, so DH had to get his 100ft ladder out to get her down. (They are best buddies.)
Now she flies down on her own.
She was the last of the batch to start laying and since we don't know if her blindness is genetic or a birth injury we do not incubate her eggs, we do enjoy eating them.
She flies over the turkey run fence, gets lost and starts roaming our lot looking for DH. She uses sound as a way to tell where she is and always has her head turned to see from her good eye.
DH has discovered that he loves turkeys the best and she has become his pet.
Good luck with your turkey.

 

[ldutch123]

Thanks so much for responding. The eye is always open when she is walking about but this film just started so I was thinkin like in most humans and animals it's most likely due to blindness. Some kind of cataract or something. I'm so new to turkeys and of course my first one is a charity case because I refused to leave her there alone and scared so she sleeps piled up with the tophat chicks and RIR chicks.she seems happy and finds food and water. She spins a bit and now I think it's because she is looking out of that one god eye. I sure hope she makes it and pulls through this. I really root for the underdogs. I know most people say they are livestock and such but I just feel like if she isn't suffering because she knows nothing other than blindness in that eye then why kill her. I have only had her 3 days.

Do you suggest any vitamins or anything that might make her healthier or help her along at all. I try to hold her but she is scared so I let her be with her chickies where she is comfortable and she even gets a little rambunctious when they all wake up and act crazy she will flap her little wings lol

 

[ldutch123]

Also it is so hard to find advice on topics like this. Google search blind turkey and none of them have anything to do with a turkey on your farm lol

 

[ldutch123]

She or he is still doing well. Spins in circle a bit but sweet. See photo I can't upload one any other way
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151159168030558&l=d509f8d64b