Blind Chickens

[Lovem all]

Anyone else have blind Chickens? Just curious.
I had a blind black australorp named Hellen who lived happily for years until a rat killed her. I also have a black australorp named Galaxy who's half blind.
Also are black australorps just prone to blindness cause my other breeds never had an issue. And if anyone needs tips on caring for chickens with these special needs I can help.

 

[RebelEgger]

I have a blind rooster, he is a 12 week old EE. I would guess he is 80% blind. We don’t know exactly why he went blind but it started when he was about 9 weeks old.
He seems very happy otherwise. He know where all their food and water stations are as he can operate the ramps - hesitantly but he does it. I have to move the ramp inside the coop that leads to the roost, currently it is in front of the nest boxes which are blocked off. I will spend a couple days working with him once I move it so he knows where it is.
He seems to be able to see red a bit better (his special treat dish is red - he can’t scratch around to find treats like the rest) so I am considering paint the ramp and roost red.
He’s very attached to me, I hope this doesn’t change as he matures. We planned on getting rid of him originally but when he went blind we made sure we were allowed to have a rooster in our community (and we are!) so we are going to try and keep him. This is our first year having chickens so we will see how it goes.
This is my handsome Gwynne

 

[Lovem all]

@CluckingCrazyCoop that is so great that you've decided to keep him and help. I've never seen a stripped ee either. He is very handsome and I know with you as his chicken mama/papa (don't know your pronouns sorry) he will have a really happy life. Also painting the ramp red sounds like a good idea

 

[vantain]

I have a blind Barred Rock who’s doing pretty well, living with another 6 pullets, two older hens, and one young cockerel. She is 14 weeks old.

 

[vantain]

aww (I love barreds) does she get around well? And no one picks on her?

I have a thread about her.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/precious-the-blind-barred-rock-hen.1372916/

 

[Lovem all]

@CluckingCrazyCoop My zeppelin is a lavender orpington, about 11 weeks old. He's not blind thank goodness, just a little attention hog. I'm sure because of how much time you spend with Gwynne he'll stay pretty docile but wouldn't be surprised if he did get frustrated with himself for not getting the girls. I've heard of lots of blind chickens getting upset when they can't manage tasks.

 

[Lovem all]

@GooseOnLoose This is the thread I mentioned to you, sorry it took so long

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Id ash try not to move think around in the coop so she or he can memorize it

 

[Lovem all]

That's what I did for my Hellen, except most of the time she didn't have to share.

 

[Lovem all]

aww (I love barreds) does she get around well? And no one picks on her?