Chances Of Survival For A Blind Chick

[Pitchfork]

Last Sat. I hatched out 6 eggs, the last chick seemed a little weak and was spraddle legged. I used a bandaid and corrected it's legs but it continued to act, "out of it". It would just stand and stare off into space, refused to eat or drink. After two days I began to feed it and water it by hand as it showed no interest in the feed or water in the brooder. It would follow the other chickens but was still weak and acted confused all the time. It would stand in front of the waterer or feeder as the other chicks drank and ate but would not try to eat. I thought if I could get it strong enough that it would snap out of it's odd behavior. Last night it dawned on me that the little thing might be blind. I had been shoving food into it's mouth every few hours and it would fight me and show a lot of strength. I used an eye dropper to water it. So last night I filled my plastic spoon with pasty crumbles and just held it in front of it's beak. It finally figured out that there was food in front of it and it started striking at the the food but when I would move the spoon slightly to the side it would continue to strike in all different directions until it found the spoon or I moved it back into contact with it's beak. Today I have trained it to move to a small straight sided bowl and peck the food out of the bowl. It acts exactly as you would expect a blind person to act, it moves slowly and feels it's way around the little box I have it in until it locates it's bowl and then it starts pecking the air until it finds the correct position to get it's head in the bowl and then it eats.
The problem I have is that it is fearful of water. I can not get it to drink from any sort of container. I guess it makes sense because you can't die if you fall into your food dish, but water would be a danger if you can't see it.
So the point of this post is to see if anyone has ever raised a blind chicken. Should I just give up on it or can it be taught to roam around an enclosed area and find it's way back to food and water.
I have to be off line for a while but will check back this evening if anyone has any questions or answers. The bottom line is that the little thing seems healthy and his legs are straight now and he is fluffed up and chirps to his buddies and hunts the brooder until he finds them. He lays with them etc. but when they stampede off after something he justs gets plowed over and then he stands up and looks around and moves slowly until he finds them again.
Healthy and happy, but blind.
Mike

 

[threehorses]

Hi there. I'm sorry about your baby. I will probably have a few questions for you. I hope you don't mind.

First, sometimes weakness can cause them to seem blind. I suspect possibly the baby didn't get enough nutrition from the yolk of the egg, causing spraddle (since no others had issues) and being 'out of it'.

First, get a flashlight - shine the light in the baby's eyes - try to find its pupils. Remove the flashlight, then shine it back. The pupils should change size. If they aren't, they're non-reactive and thus not functioning. That means he's genetically blind.

To provide liquid, mix water (and some electrolytes) into his crumbles and make a damp mash. Feed him as you normally would. Or use the vitamin/electrolyte package, better yet. That way if it's something nutritional (B vitamins, A vitamins, etc) it might correct as he eats.

I'd definitely try the nutrition first. He doesn't even follow another chick if that other chick eats? Good job on the legs, by the way.

I'd give him a shot, maybe put him in with two smaller babies from that group.

 

[Pitchfork]

I really welcome the help thanks for the reply. I used the flashlight, something I had not thought to do, and his pupils are reactive.
Just to be clear, it is no longer weak, and has not been since I started hand feeding it on Tue. Actually I am not sure it was ever very weak, I just took it as weakness because it didn't move much and of course it had trouble standing. By Monday I had already removed the bandaid and it's legs were working, but he just seemed to hover near the edge of the 2x4 brooder box. At any rate by Tuesday I was worried that I had not seen it eat or drink, even though it would stand right beside the other chicks as they ate and drank. Of course I had stuck it's head in the feeder and the water over and over again. So I started hand feeding it and it would fight me and cheep and flap with plenty of energy. But in the brooder it acted for all the world like Ray Charles at the piano, waving it's head back and forth and pecking the air etc.
Then yesterday it had what I would call a Helen Keller moment. I watered down some crumbles and put that into a plastic spoon but instead of opening it's mouth and stuffing it in, as I had been doing, I held the food against it's beak and finally it pecked a little and then went nuts pecking and wolfing down the food. It started pecking the ground and the walls, but mostly the air, striking and franticly looking for that food. Every time I held the spoon against it's beak it cleaned the spoon out. About two out of three pecks would hit air and I had trouble keeping the spoon in front of it but it kept pecking with a hit and miss approach until it seemed full.
So I fed it that way a couple of times and then decided I would try and get it to eat from a bowl so I started with the spoon and worked at it until it was pecking from the bowl and then every time it wondered away from the bowl, instead of feeding it I just pushed it up against the bowl. It only took a few times until it learned it had to hunt for that bowl to get any food. Again it is comical and sad to watch it hunt until it finds the bowl, then it pecks the ground and the sides of the bowl and stumbles away pecking at the air, but eventually it finds the inside of the bowl and pigs out. On the last feeding I watered the crumbles a little more and it was drinking more than eating, but if you push it up to a bowl full of water it goes nuts flapping and howling and backing away like the bowl was full of rattlesnakes. I don't know what the heck I am going to do with it. I hatched the eggs for a friend and she is to be here tomorrow to get the siblings, but she does not want a blind chicken.
I guess my question would be, does any one think there is a chance that his vision may come back. Don't want to make this too long, but if you put it in a box away from the other chicks you can wave a towel over it's head and get no reaction, you can take the plastic spoon and flick it toward it's eye's nearly hitting it in the eye and get no reaction. But in all other ways it is healthy and active. He even ran a few steps today until he hit the wall of the brooder box. Ouch!
Mike

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Well the eye test was to see if there was any hope. There apparently is, even though we don't know what's going on between the good eye and the brain.

Poor little chick. You know, I had to kinda laugh the sad-laugh while I was reading it. I have a blind cat - she became blind after she came down with a fever once. And it's kind of sweet how they can do the "ray charles" bit sometimes. He's trying. If you have him, I'd just try to give him some vitamin A - a drop in his wet feed of either a beta-carotene capsule (not actual vitamin a). Or a drop of polyvisol baby vitamins (non-iron fortified). I'll do some researching tonight on that kind of blindness.

Also when you feed him, start tapping the bowl. Tap the bowl with the spoon before you feed him. Teach him that the tap means food and eventually water. I'd continue with the water in the food til you make it watery. Always tap for food and water and eventually the watery food will be almost all water. Tap and get him to learn to drink it. (That's how I teach my blind cat to come if I move her feeder). The bird might get nutritionally back up to where it needs to be if it's nutritional. It's worth a shot.

I know some people would say to cull, I know you've heard that advice and you know it's out there. But if you're willing to try, so I am with the little guy. I think it's dear that you're trying!

What kind is he again?

 

[Pitchfork]

Threehorses:
Thanks again for the info. I am sorry I was so long getting back to you, but the DSL went down last night and just came back up a little while ago.
I agree with you about giving the little thing a chance, it is adorable watching it hunt for it's food. We have not heard from the friend who was to be here today to get the other five, so for now it has it's buddies. They are Buff Orps. For a few days the others were picking on the little one quite a bit and I had to keep him in a little box within the brooder, but it would just raise hell until I put him back with the others. Now however the others have adopted it and when I take it out to feed it, they storm around cheeping and generally raising a ruckus until I put him back in the brooder. I have been keeping the feed pretty watery and it seems to drink more than eat, which I think is normal. It sticks it's nose into the feed like a soda straw and lets the water run into it's mouth. LOL!
Both pupils will dialate and contract, but he seems to be stone blind, it is so difficult to tell because, obviously they have very good hearing and so at times I think he is seeing because he reacts to movement, and he rarely runs into the sides of the brooder or the feeder or the waterer that are in the brooder, but he sure can't see his food and inch in front of his face.
I will keep trying, I am going to run to the feed store or Wal-Mart and try and find some vitamin A.
Again thanks for the advice and the help.
Mike
Oh and were are you in Houston? We lived in the Huffman Crosby area from 1979 until 1990.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

I had a chick born with no eyes. I worked with it , but it did die. I hope you have better luck.