BO Large Pupils, Lethargic

[RCL]

Hi there, I am writing to ask for insight about my 22 week old buff orpington, Jane. It seems like her physical development stopped around the 16 week point, especially compared to our lavender orpington Gracie from the same breeder and same age. Jane’s personality has become more reserved in recent weeks and her eyes look “off” to me. Her energy has noticeably declined in the past week, becoming more lethargic daily. Is there anything I should be worried about, or is she just going through normal growth/development and I’m being overly cautious?

Details:
- weight: 2lbs 10oz
- place in pecking order: bottom of our 5 hens. No bullying issues- just a little light pecking sometimes at bedtime from the #3 hen (barred rock), which is usually avoided by roosting by the #2 hen (australorp) who has been a sweetheart to the lower-pecking order girls.
- Large pupils, slow to react to changes in light or distance. Still has good depth perception for biting food though.
- Lethargic; she stands or lies around sleeping a lot. In the past week she has gone from alert and upright to very hunched up with her tail down
- Stopped foraging in the past week
- comb and waddle development hasn’t grown for about 6 weeks (since she was 16wks)
- she sang the egg song once at 17wks old but aside from that her noises are pretty “babyish” and her “voice” hasn’t seemed to develop much
- not laying eggs yet (not concerning to me, just worth noting)
-stopped roosting; she has been roosting with our other chickens since she was 8wks old, but in the past week has not gone on the roosting bar. She just sits on the roost floor at night until we put her up on the bar.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think there could be a possibility of Mareks disease with the irregular shaped pupil. Could you get a closeup of the lavender orp’s right eye? Ocular Mareks is one of 4 types of symptoms, and not all chickens with Mareks have that symptom. Does your buff orp seem blind and does her other eye look like that? You may need to make sure that she can find the food and water, and adding more feed and water stations may help. Have you seen any other symptoms or lameness? Here are a couple of good articles to read:
http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Documents/vdl-mareks-disease-fact-sheet.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[RCL]

I think there could be a possibility of Mareks disease with the irregular shaped pupil. Could you get a closeup of the lavender orp’s right eye? Ocular Mareks is one of 4 types of symptoms, and not all chickens with Mareks have that symptom. Does your buff orp seem blind and does her other eye look like that? You may need to make sure that she can find the food and water, and adding more feed and water stations may help. Have you seen any other symptoms or lameness? Here are a couple of good articles to read:
http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Documents/vdl-mareks-disease-fact-sheet.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Buff’s eyes- photos taken within seconds of each other so it’s an even comparison. She can see her food and water and seems to be able to see well enough. We have added extra food and water stations and seen her use them all. Today in particular though she isn’t very interested in eating.

The lavender has had a limp since we got her at 6wks old, but besides that no symptoms of lameness between either of the orpingtons. The pic comparison of the lavenders eyes is from two separate times in different lighting so it’s not the greatest comparison- I’ll try to get better pics later

 

[RCL]

Update: buff’s left eye has stopped responding to light and motion. Her wings are loose and droopy and she can’t swallow pellet feed. She will eat crumbles if fed by hand. Her droppings are green.
I think I need to accept that we likely have mareks in our flock and this little one isn’t going to be okay