Chicken Suddenly Blind!!!

[BrowningOG]

Hello, my chicken ( I think it's a New Hampshire Red ) has suddenly gone blind! Last Thursday my chicken went missing we thought it got killed by the local fox but she returned today! But she is blind and does this funny thing with its neck. The neck kind starts drifting up then she struggles to get it back down to the regular position. If anyone has any diagnosis I would love them and maybe some possible ways to treat it.

 

[redsoxs]

It's hard to say what the fox damaged when he grabbed her. Perhaps some kind of neurological damage? I did a BYC search for 'blind chicken' and several old threads popped up. You might read through them and see if something helpful appears. Best wishes!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Chicken+blind

 

[BrowningOG]

Thank you so much <3

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

There are a number of potential causes of sudden blindness - without other symptoms, it's difficult to even guess. An avian vet would be the best resource, if that's an option.

Since you mentioned a fox in your area, I think it might be possible that she suffered a head injury that caused the blindness, and possibly the neck twisting. Are there any missing feathers or anything that could indicate she was attacked? Even if she wasn't attacked, she could have injured herself trying to escape.

In an older BYC thread, @threehorses said "twisting of the neck is technically called torticollis. It's a central nervous system issue. Because it involves the nerves, that means that vitamin E in large amounts is needed. (400 IU, slit the end, give 2 drops daily in the side of the beak.) It's required over a period of time, hopefully having an effect soon if the problem is nutritional." Thread here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/210524/chicken-suddenly-went-blind.

Since we're "shooting in the dark", my suggestion would be to keep her away from your other birds, provide her with a vitamin and probiotic supplement (to her food and water), and monitor her. If you notice any additional symptoms or any other pertinent details, please post them.

Best wishes for your hen's recovery.

 

[Isaac 0]

She is star gazing a symptom of wry neck as @food4freedom said give her vitamin e and also selenium and if you can buy a vitamin pack for her.Also selenium dosage is 25mcg

 

[Mrs Kap]

Hi! I'm so relieved to find a more current post of this ! Day before yesterday I was doin chores, My Wynadotte chicken (about 9 months old) was having trouble keeping her head and neck still. Star Gazing symptoms. The other 5 hens are perfectly healthy. Tweedle, the sick one, I put her in the heated garage in a large playpen type cage. I had to feed her with a dropper. I mixed pureed kale ( i froze my kale from the garden a few months back. Read that kale is high in vitamin E & thats the closest I had to vitamin E in the house) mixed with honey, coconut oil and silver-biotics. She drank from the dropper (not easily). When done she tried cleaning herself. She doesn't realize she's not even touching her feathers half of the time!
This morning she was still alive. She looks totally fine- Except I realized what her problem is, she can't see! She tries to peck the ground to eat her food, but she's always about an inch away from touching the food! I fed her puree kale, milk, powderd oatmeal (i ground it up) mixed with honey and silver-biotics with a spoon. She ate the whole thing, about a cup. It took about an hr! She wants to eat so bad, shes hungry- but she can't figure out where or how to. Same with the water. I read all the other threads of overnight chicken blindness. So frustrated there still seems to be no absolute answer. It's the dead of winter now. No poisonous plants, they don't free range. She's warm in the heated garage- and her eyes are clear, not dilated and look absolutely normal. I am so disheartened and feel helpless in getting her better, especially since I don't know what to protect them from. AnyOne Have any ideas ? Please Help

 

[BrowningOG]

Hello, Idk what to say mine seemed to get sicker and sicker then I put her down.


Sorry

-Browning