Blind Pullet Accomodations

[Harmony Fowl]

I have a 10-week-old mixed breed pullet who I believe has gone blind. I had an older pullet, already laying, who seemed to have been stung on the face by something. The skin around her eye swelled until she could not see, but there was nothing else wrong and given a couple weeks, she recovered. Just as that one turned the corner and began to improve, this chick seems to have been stung as well. I suspect she was stung on the head or face, maybe ten days ago now. At first she seemed completely out of it, unable to fly or even stand, laying in the same spot I placed her in a dog crate for safety. She has improved every day since, eats and drinks well, but I suspect her vision has been badly compromised. Both her eyes are cloudy. I think she sees some light and shadow, she could, for example, tell I was present yesterday in bright sunlight when I cast a shadow on her, but she did not know where to run when I grabbed her. She hangs out with her peers when she can track and find them, but they wander away and she doesn't always follow. She calls out a lot when alone and draws worrying attention to herself. I don't think she can free range as she cannot find her way back to the coop. I don't think she ate or drank anything she could not forage yesterday because her peers led her away from the coop and she lost them on the way back. I placed her back in her dog crate today with food and water. She's a perfectly nice and especially pretty pullet. Her vision loss actually makes her more docile as she cannot see me to freak out about being touched until she is already secure in my arms and relaxed. As I said, I don't think she can free range with the others safely, but what can she do? What have your arrangements been if you chose not to cull a blind bird? Right now I have oodles of extra cockerels and my little prefabbed coops are chock full, but in a few weeks, they'll be processed. She can live in one of them, happily, I suspect. If I put the prefabbed coop in the run with the other chickens and just don't let her out, does she need more company than that? I wonder about wintertime, does she need a friend in the coop with her? Do you think she can learn to navigate a ramp? I'd love to hear what other arrangements people have made. I hate to cull a perfectly good pullet who has her whole laying career ahead of her.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sorry you face this.

Two in a row back to back is too coincidental to me to buy it was a sting.

With oodles of cockerels in small prefab coops... is ammonia toxicity a possibility? MG, conjunctivitis, infectious Coryza, even Marek's?

See if this symptom checker tool helps you.. Click on chickens and select chicken symptom checker from the drop down list...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php

Where did you get your younger birds and how long have you had them?

I know we all have different perspective... to ME she is NOT a perfectly good pullet. She has shown some sort of stupidity if she did get stung and a lack of recovery that the other girl had showing weakness in her immune system. Of course she is also a ton younger and so not all things are equal. Hundreds of birds later, I haven't had one stung YET.

Please note... laying being a hormone that is light triggered... I'm not sure she has her whole laying career ahead.

You might be able to use a stuffed animal with a tick tock clock to simulate another heart beat. Or bring her inside and make a house chicken that wears diapers as many have.

After reading your description... some of my Silkies are blinded like that from their crest being to big. And they freak out the same way until secured in my arms as well. So I guess I deal with it a little more than I realize.

Something like this might help...

 

[Harmony Fowl]

Sorry you face this.

Two in a row back to back is too coincidental to me to buy it was a sting.

With oodles of cockerels in small prefab coops... is ammonia toxicity a possibility? MG, conjunctivitis, infectious Coryza, even Marek's?

See if this symptom checker tool helps you.. Click on chickens and select chicken symptom checker from the drop down list...
http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php

Where did you get your younger birds and how long have you had them?

I know we all have different perspective... to ME she is NOT a perfectly good pullet. She has shown some sort of stupidity if she did get stung and a lack of recovery that the other girl had showing weakness in her immune system. Of course she is also a ton younger and so not all things are equal. Hundreds of birds later, I haven't had one stung YET.

Please note... laying being a hormone that is light triggered... I'm not sure she has her whole laying career ahead.

You might be able to use a stuffed animal with a tick tock clock to simulate another heart beat. Or bring her inside and make a house chicken that wears diapers as many have.

After reading your description... some of my Silkies are blinded like that from their crest being to big. And they freak out the same way until secured in my arms as well. So I guess I deal with it a little more than I realize.

Something like this might help... View attachment 1449295

I’ll have to use the symptom checker when I get on my computer. To answer a couple of the questions.

The boys aren’t in the coops yet. They all free range save two bantams, two boys that are in a prefab and a broody hen.

I hatched all my 58 birds save the two turkeys, two guineas and two of the pullets that are part of the group this blind one belongs to. Those two pullets were added at least two months ago. The turkeys and guineas 6-8 weeks ago.

I suspect the size and age of the afflicted birds may be one of the reasons for the difference in their recovery, but the difference is also what makes me think a sting or a bite of some kind is the culprit. The placement of such could impact whether it was a superficial swelling or something deeper affecting many tissues. It was all very sudden, too. In the morning, nothing was wrong. In the afternoon, she was missing until a young cockerel flushed her out of hiding. Then, with nothing more than food, water and freedom from unwanted male attention, immediate improvement. But her vision has changed a lot quickly. For several days she seemed still to have the use of her left eye, opposite from where she seemed to have been stung or bitten. Now both eyes seem affected.

I will check the symptom checker out in a little bit. I had not thought of what lack of light reaching her eyes might mean for laying, that’s a real consideration. I just don’t know. I’m willing to give her the next few months to see if she does lay, at least.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

I checked out the whole corresponding list of illnesses and nothing fits. Aside from the swelling and visual impairment, there are no other remaining symptoms.

She had me guessing. Tonight she put up quite a fight when I removed her to examine her, just like I would expect her to ... if she could see me. And her eyes look pretty normal. Secondary affected eye first, then the initially affected one.

 

[aart]

The 'affected' eye does look a bit odd.
When you are holding her have you tested her reactions when you move your hand close to her eyes?
Had a hen go blind with heat stroke a couple years ago.
Some electrolytes got her back on track,
if they hadn't I probably would have euthanized.


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[Harmony Fowl]

The 'affected' eye does look a bit odd.
When you are holding her have you tested her reactions when you move your hand close to her eyes?
Had a hen go blind with heat stroke a couple years ago.
Some electrolytes got her back on track,
if they hadn't I probably would have euthanized.


Add your location to your profile?

I tested her again this morning. She shies away when I approach her left eye, but I can almost touch her right eye. I might actually be able to touch it, but of course I'm not going to. But that's just this morning. I haven't decided yet whether we'll be going out or staying home all day. Once we're home for sure, I'll let her out to free range and watch her more.

 

[aart]

Well, it's good she can see out of one eye anyway.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

I think she could do just fine with one. I hope her vision stops changing and she can stick with the flock like she needs to.