Eyelids sealed shut

[dsyd]

Hi,
Three days ago I hatched a special needs chick... It seems to have been a bit premature. It had that problem with its neck where it always falls backwards if it tries to stand up. It has quite weak legs and is only just beginning to stand up, and has a slightly odd shaped head compared to the other two normal chicks that hatched (its beak seems slightly longer and it has a bit of a dimple where its upper beak joins its head). It seems as though this chick never developed eyelids... The eyes are completely concealed by skin and there seems not to be a division in the skin where the upper and lower eyelids would normally meet. Has anyone heard of this problem before? I tried looking on the forum but couldn't find anything. I tried applying saline solution with a cotton wool bud but it does not seem as though they are 'clogged' shut.

It obviously can't feed itself, so it has been drinking diluted egg yolk from a syringe... about 0.25ml every 3 hours. I can't fit the syringe directly in its mouth so is it okay if I just touch droplets of the diluted egg against its beak? I am just worried that it could aspirate the food.

Thanks for your help - I'll try to post a pic soon.

 

[cjeanean]

The way you're feeding her is fine, but the problem is gonna be longevity. Would this chick live on its own?? If it can't even stand up it may be more humane to cull....When I got my order of chicks from McMurray one of them couldn't straighten its neck, and so couldn't eat or drink. I had to cull her the first day

It was sad, but at the same time I felt better knowing that she wasn't gonna starve to death slowly and painfully because she couldn't eat or drink. I'm not telling you what to do, and I'm not gonna crack on you if you decide to try to keep her alive. I completely understand

But just make sure you look at it in the long run and decide based on long term quality of life and whether or not she'll end up dead from starvation or something.

Anyways, can you tell if she has eyes under the lids??? It's possible her eyelids need to be separated, although that seems like a very fragile procedure...and u may end up losing her anyway.... I'm so sorry!!! Hope someone else can help!!!

 

[dsyd]

Hi,
Thanks for your help - it can stand now, although it is not keen on walking. I am not sure whether that is because it can't or because it can't see where it is going, I think probably the latter.

Here's some pictures:

 

[cjeanean]

It almost looks like it doesn't have any eyes, period....Like the eyelids started developing but the eyes didn't....I can't really tell, though, cause I don't have x-ray vision and can't see through the 'eyelid' skin....There are quite a few blind chickens owned by BYCers, so blindness isn't gonna be the problem. Search for 'Radar', he's an eyeless chicken hatched by one of the BYC members. If she can walk, eat, and drink she should be fine, but don't try breeding her!!!!! She needs a brooder mate that is laid back and gentle, so if you have a chick that is quiet and calm you might separate her with that chick. She will also need her food and water in a set place, it can't be moved around cause she'll have to remember where they are. She's such an ugly little cutie!!!! LOL!!!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I personally would put it to sleep. It doesnt look like it has 2 seperate eyelids, just one piece of skin covering the eyes. Whatever you decide to do, good luck.

 

[dsyd]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I think it is just one piece of skin covering the whole eye. Weird. The eye is definitely there, you just can't see it because of the angle of the photo. I think I will see what improvement there is in the next couple of days... I don't mind caring for a blind chicken, but if it doesn't start walking about and trying to feed and drink for itself it'll probably be kindest to put it down.

 

[swtangel321]

Ohhh my, how sad

Have you tried dipping her beak in the water dish and showing her where the food is ??

I would also think about culling if the lid problem doesnt get better, Would just think her quailty of life without being able to see would be pretty bad but that is JMO.

Did she hatch out on her own or did you hatch her out ??

 

[DulcyDoll]

Quote:
I understand that is your opinion, I respect that, but it is not necessarily true that her/his quality of like would be bad. I had a chick hatch about a month ago now that has no eyes. She is alive, and acts (almost)completely normal. She scratches her feed, she finds the food and water on her own, and has been roosting with her sisters for the past 4-5 days. I am sure that because they are blind from the start, learning things is much easier than going blind later in life, they don't know what it is to see, therefore do not know that life could be better/easier.

Are you positive that there is an eye there? It doesn't look like it to me, she looks like my Radar looks, just skin, no bulge or darkened spot where the eye would be.

It is Completely possible to keep her alive and teach her what/where food and water are. If she is in with a large brood of chicks, i would separate her into a smaller brooder with only 1-2 other chicks, you will need to keep everything (food, water and heat) in the same place all the time or she will get confused and not be able to find them.

It will be hard for the first week or so, but it gets soo much easier after that.
I would recommend giving her Poly-Vi-Sol (pediatric vitamins, available at walmart, no iron!) for a couple days, it seems to give them an extra boost.

If you decide to keep her, and have any questions, PM me, I'll help as much as possible!

 

[swtangel321]

Quote:
I understand that is your opinion, I respect that, but it is not necessarily true that her/his quality of like would be bad. I had a chick hatch about a month ago now that has no eyes. She is alive, and acts (almost)completely normal. She scratches her feed, she finds the food and water on her own, and has been roosting with her sisters for the past 4-5 days. I am sure that because they are blind from the start, learning things is much easier than going blind later in life, they don't know what it is to see, therefore do not know that life could be better/easier.

Are you positive that there is an eye there? It doesn't look like it to me, she looks like my Radar looks, just skin, no bulge or darkened spot where the eye would be.

It is Completely possible to keep her alive and teach her what/where food and water are. If she is in with a large brood of chicks, i would separate her into a smaller brooder with only 1-2 other chicks, you will need to keep everything (food, water and heat) in the same place all the time or she will get confused and not be able to find them.

It will be hard for the first week or so, but it gets soo much easier after that.
I would recommend giving her Poly-Vi-Sol (pediatric vitamins, available at walmart, no iron!) for a couple days, it seems to give them an extra boost.

If you decide to keep her, and have any questions, PM me, I'll help as much as possible!
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/ScootersPet/chicks011.jpg

Thats why its JMO !! What a cute baby you got there. I do hope they both live wonderful and happy lives !! I would just think it would be a weakness in the flock and they would get picked on. Again I also would try EVERYTHING I could do but somtimes things just arent meant to be !! I had a silkie hatch not to long ago that had a leg problem and I knew that someday he wouldnt be able to hold his weight and would have to be put down, sure enough he did, In 1 way I wish I had hubby put him down when he was 3 days to save me and the chick the pain. So I understand why we try to help !!

 

[dsyd]

Thanks very much for your tips and offers of help. I am positive that there is an eye there (though it may not be properly formed) - there is a bulge, although it doesn't show up on the picture. It is in a small brooder with 2 other chicks of the same age, and they seem to get on OK. I have scattered food all over the litter and it occasionally manages to randomly peck at some. Not sure it is ready to find the food/water on its own, though. I'll try dipping its beak in the water.