Chicken has Cloudy Eyes and is Blind

[WhitneyM]

Backstory: 2 chickens went mostly blind 4 months ago around the same time. Cloudy eyes but pupils stayed perfectly round and no other symptoms since. Just mostly blind and living their best life. Last week, in a pen across my yard, I found another chicken with cloudy eyes and mostly blind. There is a white dot in the middle. Today, She isn’t doing well. I found her laying down with her head under her wing. There are no other symptoms. No discharge, no bubbles, no pus, and no worms. One eye is stays shut a lot of the time and she is a little lethargic. I know of all the things that it could be, but nothing fully adds up to one thing. What could be going on?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there a strong ammonia odor in your coop from droppings? Ammonia can burn the corneas of the eyes. Pecking injuries can sometimes cause blindness, but it seems strange that 3 hens have become blind recently. I would apply some antibiotic ointment to the eyes 2-3 times a day. Terramycin from the feed store, or plain Neosporin are okay.

 

[WhitneyM]

No ammonia either! I clean their coops often and put down first Saturday lime. And this one is in a separate very open coop. I was wondering about antibiotic ointment. I’m mostly freaked out about ocular mereks, but it doesn’t have the symptoms for that that I know of. I will start that tonight and get the other. Thanks!

 

[amarsano]

I have 1 dgoing through the same symptoms right now. I had several have symptoms over the past 1-2 years ad mst have died. I do have one r that pulled through, but he has limited vision in both eyes and lives n a separate coop so no one attacks him. I wish I knew what it is.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have 1 dgoing through the same symptoms right now. I had several have symptoms over the past 1-2 years ad mst have died. I do have one r that pulled through, but he has limited vision in both eyes and lives n a separate coop so no one attacks him. I wish I knew what it is.

Can you tell us more about the symptoms and background of your chickens, ages, where the came from, and how they are being kept. Any pictures of an eye may help.

 

[WhitneyM]

I have 1 dgoing through the same symptoms right now. I had several have symptoms over the past 1-2 years ad mst have died. I do have one r that pulled through, but he has limited vision in both eyes and lives n a separate coop so no one attacks him. I wish I knew what it is.

 

[WhitneyM]

That is so strange! If most died, I would wonder if it is ocular mareks. Were their pupils misshaped? One of the reasons I am so confused is, their pupils are round and not one has died in 6 months of this starting.

 

[BigBlueHen53]