Chick has no eyeballs

[viggo63]

I took in a 3 or 4 day old ISA Brown pullet that has no eyeballs. Does anyone have experience with a blind chick and is there any hope for her? Or should she be euthanized. I have the ability to give her lots of TLC and she has a same age companion, but if there's no chance for her having any sort of normal life I'd rather not prolong it.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Pics?

 

[Chickies11]

Sorry, I can't offer much advice as I've never had any experience with a blind chicken. But just thinking about what her life would be like blind, she probably couldn't free range (if your chickens free range) because of predators. I do think pictures could help other people. I hope your chick will be able to live a happy life!

 

[Farm life101]

I think she can absolutely thrive with some extra care. I have one chicken who is blind in one eye and although it’s not the same as a fully blind chicken, she does thrive and she’s a free ranger. I know that you will definitely have to probably only keep her with one or two other hens that won’t pick on her since I think if you had her with a whole flock she’d be more likely to be picked on pretty bad. She’d have to stay in a coop/run and try not to move stuff around much if at all, keep the feeders and waterers in the same place and watch how the other chickens interact with her as she will need a hen that’s going to help her figure things out or even if you help her find food and water for a while at first then as long as you don’t move them she should be able to find them just fine. If you put roost in you should probably only make them a few inches off the ground since she may have balance issues as well. Depending on what her eye sockets are like she may need extra care keeping bugs out of her face and possibly extra care keeping her clean but again this all depends on how she is, some animals thrive more than others not being able to see but if she was born without vision it may be easier for her to learn to care for herself and get around.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I visited a farm that just hatched out chicks and one didn't have eyes. I asked to have that chick so I could care for it. I hand fed it yolk water. I did give her to a momma hen that only had her. I would feed the blind chick and the mom would keep it warm. The chick recognized my voice and would run to be fed. One day the mom accidently squished the chick though. If I had kept the chick under a light it would have made it. Put feed in a tin box, or card board box you can tap so the chick knows where the feed is. Put a water dish in the same place every time and dip the beak everytime too,

 

[viggo63]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I made the decision to euthanize her. I thought of what her life would be life and realized this was best. It sucks that they can't all be saved.

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1450412808539254//

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chick-born-with-no-eyes.210482/

 

[AprilsZoo]

That’s too bad... So sorry for your loss of the little one.

The decision to keep a blind bird is a very personal one. There are so many variables involved. Much depends on your husbandry methods whether or not a blind chick would thrive in your flock. It takes a lot of commitment and extra care to integrate a blind chick. It takes just as much courage to euthanize one.

In a relatively small flock, that is maintained in a run & rarely free-ranged, a blind chicken can do very well. By placing a few extra feeders and waterers in the run, and always putting them back in the same places, a blind chicken will be able to eat and drink easily. They learn really fast.
Free-ranging tends to work best when the available area is small & well-defined, and you‘re out there often, at least until you are certain the blind one can navigate alone. As with the feeders & waterers, everything must stay in just the same place— pots, furniture, plants, etc.
A rooster in the flock can also be helpful— the blind bird may be particularly responsive to the rooster’s calls & warnings. And they’ll come running with the rest when he calls.

There are many stories on this site about birds that are blind or have very limited vision but who are thriving & happy. They’re quality of life may be slightly different, but they don’t know any better, so they are happy just as they are.

Good luck & God bless.

 

[viggo63]

The decision to keep a blind bird is a very personal one. There are so many variables involved. Much depends on your husbandry methods whether or not a blind chick would thrive in your flock. It takes a lot of commitment and extra care to integrate a blind chick. It takes just as much courage to euthanize one.

Thank you.