Chicken with two different colored eyes... normal?

[SassyCatHill]

I recently purchased 4 hens from a local farm auction... bad idea!
Three of them have what I strongly believe to be infectious coryza. The forth one shows no symptoms at all after a little more than a week but I did notice that one of her eyes looks completly normal while the other is very dark... almost black. Is that a symptom of anything?

I will post this in the disease section as well. Thanks for any advice you have to offer.

 

[M.J]

thats weird could it be that her pupil is over dialated like maybe she is blind in the one eyes???????

 

[SassyCatHill]

nope, you can still see the pupil if you look closely, it's just that what is normaly the yellow/gold area is almost as dark as the pupil. She seems to see out of that eye as well. Very strange.

 

[eggchicken master]

what breed is it? it might be a defect or somethin

 

[brattie clark]

I also have a hen that has two different colored eyes. Not sure if you can see her eye real good here. Her other eye is normal color. And I am worried about her cuz it seems like she cant see out of it at time but other times she can. Also her comb seems to look a lot different than her sisters.
Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[jcatblum]

I have a dog (Australian Shepard) with different colored eyes, so I think a chicken with different colored eyes would be a nice addition. Never seen one personally though. If you are not showing it then shouldn't be a problem IMO.

 

[cabot]

My hatchery delaware has one yellow eye and one green/blue eye. She sees fine and I assume this is not uncommon. However, if one eye is black and you cant see the iris color, I would assume something is going on... The eye sounds abnormally dilated.

 

[DocBirdBrain]

The big concern with a strange eye color is Marek's disease. If it's just funny pigment coloring, like a gold eye and a green eye that's just an interesting chicken. If it's an abnormally dilated pupil that's an indication of a neurologic problem, which could mean an injury or could be a disease that infects the nerves, such as Marek's.

Marek's disease is a very serious infection which can change the color of one or both eyes. The iris changes from a normal color to gray. The pupil may also be irregular, and the cornea can become cloudy/opaque. Not all of these changes may be present. Birds can have Marek's without a change in eye color, but those who suddenly develop a gray iris invariably have the disease. Chickens with Marek's can look generally unwell, with poor feathers and thin body condition, or they may present with incoordination-- they look drunk, or like one leg doesn't work right.

Marek's invades the nerves and causes cancerous growths within the body or on the skin. It is always fatal. Newly hatched chicks can be vaccinated against the disease.

I hope in your case you simply have an interesting chicken. But since you already fear the other birds have an infectious disease, I would be very concerned.
Best of luck!

 

[Imp]

I have an ee pullet, about 5+ months old. She has dark, like black eyes. I just always thought it was just a different color eye. She has never acted sick or odd in any way. I'll try to get a pix today, and closely look at both eyes.

Imp

 

[Bird Collector]

It could be a mixed breed. I have a silkie americana with a silkie black eye and a typical brownish eye. I took a light and flashed it acrossed the black pupil to see if it constricts...it did. Whisper is just sporting two different breeds eyes. sees fine.