blind chicken

[cactus-hen]

I noticed a pullet with pecked spots near both her eyes the morning I had to leave for 4 days. The person I had feeding and watering would do that but not any special care. When I got back I found the pullet had an infection in both her eyes. I brought her into the house, got antibiotics for her. She won't drink the antibiotic water so I mix her pellets into a soup. The infection seems to have cleared, no more sealed eyelids or foamy stuff coming from her eyes. Now I think she has gone blind. She doesn't react when I wave my hands near her face. When the infection was bad I needed to tap the food bowl so she could find it. If I move the bowl she can't find it until she walks into it. (She's in the bathtub.) I can't have a house chicken. How will she do out with the flock? Will she need extensive care? Should I have just culled her? When can I put her back with the flock?

 

[gritsar]

I don't have much advice for you. My Lil'Bit was hatched partially blind and seemed to lose more eyesight as time went on. She did absolutely fine as part of my free range flock. I can't prove it, but my roo seemed to understand that she was different and took extra good care of her. Lilith, another one of my brahma hens, often acted as Lil'Bit's seeing eye chicken.
Ultimately it was LB's blindness that led to her death, as she obviously couldn't see the hawk in time to evade him. She was 2 1/2 years old. She had a happy life.

If it were me, I'd give your hen a try at being part of the flock; so long as they don't injure her further. Don't move things in her enviroment around - keep food and water where she knows them to be - and she can do fine. Just MHO.