Cloudy Eyes

[lovelyleah117]

So I noticed one of my hens has cloudy eyes. I'm thinking she is loosing her vision. Stumbles out of the chicken run when I let them out into the yard. She doesn't stick with the flock. She pecks aimlessly at the feeder and doesn't seem to "forage." Has anyone had a blind chicken and did they thrive? Also is there any kind of disease that causes this? I saw a thread on Mereks but they was never any swelling or puss.

 

[BantamLover21]

So I noticed one of my hens has cloudy eyes. I'm thinking she is loosing her vision. Stumbles out of the chicken run when I let them out into the yard. She doesn't stick with the flock. She pecks aimlessly at the feeder and doesn't seem to "forage." Has anyone had a blind chicken and did they thrive? Also is there any kind of disease that causes this? I saw a thread on Mereks but they was never any swelling or puss.

How old is she? As chickens age, they can become partially or completely blind. Other causes include Marek's Disease or Leucosis, with the former affecting birds under a year of age and the latter primarily affecting older birds. While I don't have a lot of experience with blind birds, I will try to offer advice:

First of all, I would start weighing her daily. If she begins losing weight because she can't eat properly, I would isolate her with food/water nearby. Hopefully that would allow her to see well enough to eat and drink. But if she continues to deteriorate, then culling might would be my recommendation, as I'm sure you don't want her to suffer.

If you decide not to isolate her, then also keep in mind that other members of your flock may notice her weakness. Chickens have a habit of picking on weaker members of the flock, so make sure your hen doesn't get beat up too badly.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does your chicken have any swelling or thick drainage around her eyes? If she does I would treat her for a respiratory disease with Tylan 50 or Duramycin. Vitamin E deficiencies can cause blindness in chickens as well as Mareks disease, and others. Here is some info: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps031