Coudy eyes can be chicken cataracts

[theGrizzFan]

"Bullitt" 5 month old Dominique cockerel


"Whitie" 5 month old Dominique pullet

First I would like to thank Backyardchickens (of course) and bambamsdad for allowing me to almost hijack his thread "Rooster with cloudy pupils", and everyone that posted replies.
Secondly and most importantly, if you have a chicken with cloudy pupils, do not assume that it has cataracts because it is very uncommon in chickens. Cloudy iris's could very well be Mareks disease. Cloudy pupils could be eye worms, the result of a scratch or foreign object, vitamin A or E deficiency, avian encephalomyelitis, or something else that I haven't heard of yet.

My wife and I have 14 Dominique chickens, 12 pullets and 2 cockerels all 5 months old. All have not been in contact with any other chickens or animals since we picked them up at the hatchery. There are no neighbors close by, and no other chickens within at least one mile. All were vaccinated for Mareks at the hatchery (which I found out is not 100% effective, thanks to a poster on bambamsdad thread). They were fed chick starter as per instructed by the feed manufacturer and then switched to layer feed, and over the last month get a hand full (or two) of cracked corn every couple of days. They are housed in a clean 10' X 12' shed with very good ventilation, have plenty of fenced in area to roam around in that is mostly shaded. All are healthy, active and act normal. There have not been chickens on the property before these.
Long story short, we took the two chickens pictured above to the veterinarian (of the four total with cloudy pupils) and after a thorough examination were told that they have cataracts (for more details see bambamsdad thread "Rooster with cloudy pupils"https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/784893/rooster-with-cloudy-pupils ).
I must also say that we were very disappointed with the reaction of the local hatchery as we went there before and after going to the vet. I was very polite and made it clear that I was there as a courtesy towards them because I felt that they might want this information about chicks that they sold, and was not looking for anything for myself (my thinking is that they might want to know how their chicks turned out if there is a potential problem with one of their egg suppliers). They have not contacted me back.
Now that I know what was wrong with four of our chickens I am hung up on the "why did it happen to my chickens" part.
I found this on the web (so it has to be true!) : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8141748
It's about someone that had 200 Brahma chickens that had 15% of their pullets and 69% of their cockerels got cataracts by the age of six months, due to what they believed was hereditary defect. Our much smaller sample of 14 chickens had 25% pullets and 50% cockerels effected so this has me wondering if it may also be a hereditary defect. Hopefully the hatchery will look into this possibility so others don't have to deal with this, if it is in fact the cause, because I'm sure that there could be another explanation.
The veterinarian did tell us that their eyes produce a fluid that is released when the eyes are not dilated. Cataracts often keep the effected eye dilated so this fluid builds up and can cause bulging. This can become an obvious problem.

Anyway, there it is. Chickens can get cataracts. Please just remember that if you think this is what your chicken has to make sure it isn't everything else that it could possibly be because it could make matters worse.

Best of luck to everyone and their chickens!

 

[Araucana16]

Oh wow! It's awful that you have to go through this with your birds!

Are you going to keep them around anyway? Do you know how it affects quality of life? Do the birds seem normal? Or kinda normal? Sorry if I'm bothering you!

Thanks for showing, it was fascinating to read

 

[theGrizzFan]

When I was a boy I had chickens but this is my wifes first experience with them. She is super attached to them and, well, I'm turning into an old softie now so we're going to do whatever we can for them within reason. So far the effected ones are still healthy. The roster has it in just one eye. The 3 hens have it in both, but in varying degrees so to speak. The worst one still has little problem finding the feed and water. We keep an eye on her and so far so good. The other ones are basically normal acting chickens. It's kind of weird in a way, as I would expect their behavior to be different.

Thank you for asking.

 

[theGrizzFan]

Our other rooster "Grizz" is getting it too. I suspected that he would as I saw slight slivers of it starting to show in his eyes a couple of days ago, today it's worse and my wife noticed it. That's 5 of 14 now that have cataracts at 5 months of age. I'll try and post a pic of Grizz later. My wife is upset right now (heartbroken upset, not throw a brick through the hatchery's window upset) and I'll need her help to do it.

 

[theGrizzFan]

We noticed another has it today in both eyes. That makes 6 of 14 chickens, 2 have it in one eye, 4 have it in both. Our hen Whitie has become timid because of it, not wanting to venture from under the "poop tray" that is below the roost. She gets extra TLC from us.

 

[simpy63]

This thread has been amazing for my husband & myself as it mimicks or situation almost exactly. We have new chickens in a newly built area that are now 4 months old. One of our two roosters has the "cloudy eyes" that seems as if one is blind and the other maybe partially blind. He is doing ok now but for a while he would stay in the coop more. We now have 1 hen with both eyes cloudy and seems to be blind. We are giving her tlc, also. Now that is a lower % than you have as we have 23 hens & 2 roosters, but as I said ours are just 4 months. We are from central Illinois and got them in the mail through a local farm store, so I wonder if they could be from the same place. I saw on TV not long ago how there is a place in MO that supplies alot of chicks to a large area?? Will continue to follow & post any further problems.

 

[ernie85017]

I doubt the hatchery will acknowledge you. They are in the business of making money, and chicks are just a commodity.
They could turn out to be good people who are concerned, and if they are, please give them positive reinforcement! '

At the very least, they should offer you "replacements".

 

[theGrizzFan]

The whole thing with me is that I never wanted anything from the hatchery other than their concern for the product that they sell so others would not have to go through the trouble and hardships that my wife and I did. I more than understand that what happened to my chickens is a rare occurance, but if they do nothing than others might pay the price for their lack of responsibility. As a former Marine and disabled vet I'm used to taking my lumps in life, and although all of this was a major pain in the backside, things could always be worse. Had it been just me and my chickens I probably would have never mentioned anything and went on with my life. I saw how much this had hurt my wife, and in that saw how much their lack of concern can also cause others to suffer. This was my motivation for talking about this. For a month I was careful not to mention the hatchery's name because I very much wanted them to do the right thing, which in my eyes would have been something as simple as a phone call telling me that they are looking into it. I wanted them to be that one hatchery that we would all want to deal with and be proud of.
The hatchery is Cackle, and I have still not heard from them, so as of now I will never do business with them and encourage others to do the same. We all make mistakes in life but it is those that seek to right their wrongs that are worth their salt. Until they do something, anything, that's how they stand with me.
I have talked to a lot of "chicken people" around here about it and one was familiar with who they get their Dominique eggs from, and he was not surprised that there was problems.
I'm sorry to see that simpy63 has a similiar problem. I wish you, and everyone else, the best.

 

[Fiji Farmer]

I had two young chickens develop cataracts and I feel sure it is secondary to avian encephalomyelitis. Both birds were bred here at the farm and so it could be passed down in the egg or afterwards after hatching. Mortality and other symptoms can be very low- but I did see the trembling in a few of the birds when they were chicks- a key symptom of the disease.

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...itis/overview_of_avian_encephalomyelitis.html

http://www.poultrymed.com/Poultry/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=103&FID=502&PID=1160

 

[mardilove]

Hidy all. I just drove 100 miles today with the hopes of bringing home new chickens. There was a fella I found on Craigslist who, over the phone, seems very much to care about his chickens. He had a handful of lavender orpingtons I was hoping to pick a couple from. His conditions for raising healthy fowl were, in my eyes, very substandard. His chickens didn't seem sick, though a good few had injuries, or were missing feathers. It was crowded. When we went in the shed where he kept the available chickens, there were a couple that did not run off. They were both lavender orpingtons, 9-10 months old. I scooped one up and walked around with her, talking with the fella. There were a few funny things I noticed about the hen, though I was becoming attached to her..... a couple times she would fuss and I would lower her down to ground level, but she would clutch my arm tightly and not jump off. When I actually set her on the ground, she walked through the water dish, spilling it everywhere. Further, I had noticed her eyes were buldgy.....the entire red socket area. No secretion or anything. There was one other hen of the same group exhibiting the same. It was then that I stopped cuddling the hen and actually looked in her eyes....the one I had been carrying around looked starry. The other hen had small white discs, like the rooster photographed above. I did not take the hen; this was today, and Im still thinking on her.... I am not opposed to having an alter-abled hen in the family, but I wanted to do plenty of research as to what she might be afflicted with, prognosis, whether there is pain, etc.

If, this many months later, any of yall still have these birds mentioned above, I sure would be interested to hear how they're gettin on.
As for mentioning the 'cataracts' to the fella.....he is an old man (80). He does not see them. That's it. Sigh.