Half blind chicken won't come out of coop by herself

Studio2770

Songster
9 Years
Apr 29, 2013
1,068
68
221
For the past several months my EE hasn't come down from the top roost unless I open the coop door and she jumps all the way out. It's a 7 foot jump. Thankfully she doesn't get injured.

I just noticed she's blind in one eye. I have no clue how it happened. Maybe age? She's 9 years old. She still eats and drinks just fine.

Getting up to the top roost is no problem, it's getting down that she has trouble with. She prefers to jump down to the coop floor rather than the roost she used to get up. I added another roost bar yesterday thinking that'd help but she didn't. Maybe she needs some time but I'm unsure what to do. Do I paint them with a bright paint?

Once she's out, she forages as normal.
 

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Have her eyes always been swollen looking??? I have ees ad well and they don't get that way unless their sick.
 
Could be just the lighting if it isn't. I had a disabled hen that hated ramps, never used them. I had to put her up and down every day.
When I first saw her eye and looked it up, most of the cases had that swollen/deformed look. Other than the cloudy eye, I didn't see a difference in my first look. Again, I'll check again. Thankfully she has no trouble getting down the ramp nor does she have trouble jumping up into the coop and on the roosts.
 
When I first saw her eye and looked it up, most of the cases had that swollen/deformed look. Other than the cloudy eye, I didn't see a difference in my first look. Again, I'll check again. Thankfully she has no trouble getting down the ramp nor does she have trouble jumping up into the coop and on the roosts.
I saw the cloudy eye. Looks like my half blind dog's clouded eye.

My advice is to lower the over all height of the roosters. Our roots are only five ft high at most. My bantams roosts are only a ft high at most.
 
I saw the cloudy eye. Looks like my half blind dog's clouded eye.

My advice is to lower the over all height of the roosters. Our roots are only five ft high at most. My bantams roosts are only a ft high at most.
Yeah one of my late cats went blind and it looks the same.

Our coop floor is elevated 2 ft off the ground so our highest roost is 3 ft from the coop floor, but the floor is a wire mesh. Actually if you look at my profile pic, you can see the coop floor (and Harley, the half blind EE). It's when I open the coop door that she's able to make that long jump down, but I don't want her doing that.

I'm now wondering if the fact that the floor is transparent instead of solid, if that makes her nervous. She *wants* to come down, but shows hesitation. I end up gently tapping her with a stick and then she'll jump down, treats don't really work anymore.
 
Yeah one of my late cats went blind and it looks the same.

Our coop floor is elevated 2 ft off the ground so our highest roost is 3 ft from the coop floor, but the floor is a wire mesh. Actually if you look at my profile pic, you can see the coop floor (and Harley, the half blind EE). It's when I open the coop door that she's able to make that long jump down, but I don't want her doing that.

I'm now wondering if the fact that the floor is transparent instead of solid, if that makes her nervous. She *wants* to come down, but shows hesitation. I end up gently tapping her with a stick and then she'll jump down, treats don't really work anymore.
I see the mesh. Not sure what I can give for advice then other then to lower the coop it's self.
 

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