Colobomata in Ameraucana/easter egger

[springvalley123]

Much better pictures.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this doesn't look like Marks to me but just pigmentation unique to the hen. Which is a good thing!

Do you think having her iris deformed like this affects her vision/causes double vision, esp in her right eye? Do you think this'd be painful at all?

 

[microchick]

I'm not sure she has a deformity more than just a weird pigmentation in her iris. Part is brown and the other part is darker.

You can test to see how well her pupils are working by taking her into a dimly lit area and flashing a pin light in her eyes. Sweep it across her eye and look to see if her pupil is constricting. In dimmer light her pupil should be mostly open. When you shine a light into it it should constrict. Move the light and it should dilate again.

If she is going out in the sun with the others I'd say it isn't painful for her. Couldn't push mine out into the light with their OMD. Also with OMD the pupils do not react to light. My husband speculated that they had very low vision but enough to cope. They could find the water and the food without problem.

 

[springvalley123]

I'm not sure she has a deformity more than just a weird pigmentation in her iris. Part is brown and the other part is darker.

You can test to see how well her pupils are working by taking her into a dimly lit area and flashing a pin light in her eyes. Sweep it across her eye and look to see if her pupil is constricting. In dimmer light her pupil should be mostly open. When you shine a light into it it should constrict. Move the light and it should dilate again.

If she is going out in the sun with the others I'd say it isn't painful for her. Couldn't push mine out into the light with their OMD. Also with OMD the pupils do not react to light. My husband speculated that they had very low vision but enough to cope. They could find the water and the food without problem.

Thank you so much! I'll try testing her eyes, but I greatly appreciate your sharing your knowledge and insight!

 

[NatJ]

You can test to see how well her pupils are working by taking her into a dimly lit area and flashing a pin light in her eyes. Sweep it across her eye and look to see if her pupil is constricting. In dimmer light her pupil should be mostly open. When you shine a light into it it should constrict. Move the light and it should dilate again.

You could try it on one or more of your other chickens, too. That would give you a good idea of what is "normal" for a chicken, and then you could better judge whether the one with the weird eyes is close to normal, or very different than normal.

 

[springvalley123]

You could try it on one or more of your other chickens, too. That would give you a good idea of what is "normal" for a chicken, and then you could better judge whether the one with the weird eyes is close to normal, or very different than normal.

I like that idea. I think I'll go out with the head lamp. I usually have it turned almost all the way down (the white light). I could possibly bring a flashlight, or just aim the headlight. I like that idea better than trying to catch multiple birds and bringing them into the bathroom with the light off. Thanks for the idea!

 

[springvalley123]

I was just outside and the pullets are too nervous and roosting way out of reach. Will try tomorrow either in the shed or bathroom or re-arrange the roosts so I can try tomorrow night. We'll see if the pupil constricts/dilates, or just stays looking big like it usually does.

 

[springvalley123]

UPDATE: I took the bird with the eye problem and was able to see each eye in the following lighting:
bright sunlight
shaded pen
dark shed
dark shed with flashlight shining on pupils
The eyes and their pigment or deformities, do not change depending on the lighting. I did verify that the flashlight does in fact cause pupils to pinpoint very quickly in my eye, but couldn't catch any of the other birds. Although, the other birds' pupils are fairly constricted in the pen, much like when they're out in the sun.

 

[springvalley123]

@microchick ?

 

[microchick]

Sorry, didn't get notified until this morning that you had tagged me.

At this point in time I would look at it this way. I have a small rooster who has one normal eye and one eye that is like the ones you are describing. It stays 50% dilated at all times. Doesn't respond to light at all.

He sees fine, or appears to see fine. Sometimes this is just the way they are. As long as the bird can find food, water, doesn't seem to be bothered by sunlight, etc, observe and breathe a sigh of relief.

I do not think you are dealing with Marek's disease but anomalies that are specific to a bird or birds in your flock.

Could they have gotten pecked while chicks? Could they have gotten a foreign body in their eye? Is this just the way they hatched from the egg? You will probably never know.

Time will know. I would try to test multiple birds thought so you can really tell what normal range is in birds. That way you can tell for sure what is going on with your birds with the anomalies.

 

[springvalley123]

Sorry, didn't get notified until this morning that you had tagged me.

At this point in time I would look at it this way. I have a small rooster who has one normal eye and one eye that is like the ones you are describing. It stays 50% dilated at all times. Doesn't respond to light at all.

He sees fine, or appears to see fine. Sometimes this is just the way they are. As long as the bird can find food, water, doesn't seem to be bothered by sunlight, etc, observe and breathe a sigh of relief.

I do not think you are dealing with Marek's disease but anomalies that are specific to a bird or birds in your flock.

Could they have gotten pecked while chicks? Could they have gotten a foreign body in their eye? Is this just the way they hatched from the egg? You will probably never know.

Time will know. I would try to test multiple birds thought so you can really tell what normal range is in birds. That way you can tell for sure what is going on with your birds with the anomalies.

Thank you so much. This has been quite an experience for me. All the other birds are normal. Then, I was looking at the established hens, and one's eyes are dilated wider than the other two, in sunlight. So, I understand what you mean about what's normal vs. variance and differences between birds. Thanks again!