Chick missing eye

[Jasonb61]

Alright,

I wrote a long introductory thread the other day but my brower freaked out and I lost it so I never bothered typing it up again. Anyhow, I had planned on getting some chickens NEXT spring, however, I took in a hen and rooster this spring due to a friend being unable to care for them. I'm not sure what breed they are (something else I need help with) but he keeps saying they are "game" chickens.. Wouldn't there be a more specific breed type? The hen is a light brown, small with golden-ish colored feathers near her neck and head. The rooster is black with a possible hint of red but I'd need to take a closer look. Anyway, the main problem here is that they had four chicks hatch around July 4th and two of them are missing an eye! Any idea what is causing this? The chickens aren't very tame so I can never really inspect them.. They aren't terrified of me or anything but getting within touching range is a no-go. This is my first time raising chickens and I'm worried I've done something wrong. Why would two of the four chicks be missing an eye? Is it a pecking issue? Should I separate them? They all stay together and I've witnessed no fighting. If there are any ideas or suggestions out there, please share. Worries about the welfare of my chicks.

Thanks!

 

[chicmom]

That's really unusual. Do you think they were born that way, or did it look like there was an injury? If it's an injury, then I would definitely say they were pecked. Probably by one of the others.

 

[Jasonb61]

They definitely didn't seem to be born that way. One of them did appear to have an injury but by the time I saw it, the eye was basically gone. I just noticed the other chick yesterday and it looks as if the eye has been gone for a while. He is a black colored chick so I didn't notice right away like I did with the light colored one. As I said, they don't let me get close so I can't check them out most of the time. I'm trying to gain their trust so I don't upset them by capturing them haha. I have no experience with chickens but should I be separating them in the future or now? I assumed it was a pecking injury but I got concerned when I noticed this second one.

 

[Jasonb61]

Didn't want to make a new thread but it seems that a third chicken is having eye problems. I just noticed it today but one of its eyes has a very film over it making the eye seem really hazy. Actually, I would describe it more as appearing appearing to have a grey membrane covering it. I caught her and confirmed that she is blind in that eye now. I cannot see any damage such as from being pecked or anything and the eye seems completely intact.

I am really worried because this will be 3 of 4 chicks that have lost vision in an eye. The previous two actually lost the eye so it may not be the same problem. They were buldged out and gross looking so I'm assuming it was from pecking.

I'm hoping someone with experience can chime in. Are these incidents related? My chickens are allowed free range but only when I'm at home so some days they stay on the coop all day. The coop is an old smokehouse with a cement floor, one window and one door. Both the window and door are open but covered with a screen. I just added 5 white silkies to the flock but they are all in good health as far as I can see. The floor of the coop is covered with straw but I am going to clean it out today as it does have a alight ammonia smell.