Blind chick...

[shelleyd2008]

This egg was set on by the hen, and it took 24 days to hatch. I think that's why the chick is so messed up. It does look like it has eyes, but the eyelids are not formed right. One eye won't open much at all, and the other eye won't close.

 

[Jenski]

Is it completely blind then? Hmmm, with the other info you've given it doesn't really sound like Marek's.

If you have a safe place to keep your "special chicken" you may find that a blind chicken can live a long, healthy life if there are no other health complications present. This one could possibly have other issues, and only time will tell. You may have to keep special chicken in a separate area with one other gentle friend.

Only you can really know whether this arrangement will work for you. There are many out there who would shout about culling a sickly chick, but there are also many folks who are more in favor of culling the weak ones. Both groups have reasonable arguments, but it really boils down to you and what you can comfortably handle in your own life. Raising chickens should be happy and fun, not a stressful chore.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[shelleyd2008]

It doesn't act like it can see at all, but I'm not sure. It doesn't seem interested in eating when I peck at the food/water with my fingernail. And the other chick that it is in with will bite the food off my finger, when it sticks to me. This chick is almost 2 days old, but it sleeps a lot. I'm not really sure what to do. I really don't want to cull it, but I don't want it to suffer either.

 

[skand]

Granted when ours went blind, he was already starting to crow.But for him, he was used to seeing first, so it really messed him up bad.
If you decide to keep him, see if he can figure out if he wants to live, then by all means help teach him. As you probably know, chickens can be trained.
With Handheld, he learned to find his food by us shaking the dish, touching it to his chest, setting it down, and telling him..bite.
To drink, we splashed the water and told him...drink.
He also knows directions.. forward, up down, left, right, port, starboard, aft.. and backup... man he HATES the words back up.
If you glanced at him, even watched him, you wouldn't know he was blind. Get to talking around him, he's just like an old man, cranky! Then he gets confused, and runs into the fence trying to attack.
Find a baby chick that is way calm around him, let him be the seeing eye chick. That's what one of ours did, she sat underneath handheld and walked with him. To this day, we always have one or two chicks that insist upon staying on the babypen just to take care of him. Handheld takes care of the babies like no other, lol in fact, I dare you to come get one of his babies out of the yard and get away with it. He will find you, and he does sneak better then a snake.
Good luck