Hen going blind

[ClaraK]

Hello all, I would appreciate some insight or tips to manage this.
For some background context: my hen is named Rocket and she is a 4 year old Delaware Broiler. She weighs 8 pounds.

Recently I started to notice some behavior changes. She wouldn't go to her coop at night and instead I would be finding and retrieving her from wherever she plopped down. This morning however I noticed that she was walking slow and taking careful steps. I looked her over for injuries and than I noticed her very cloudy left eye. I checked her reaction to it by seeing how close my finger could get to the eye without her blinking. She didn't blink at all. I did the same on her right eye and she did blink when I got very close.
I set her down and watched her and she would lower her head and gently bump into something, turn, and keep going. She found the food which hasn't moved and I showed her the water.
She seems to be navigating by listening to my other birds and feeling.

Any tips on managing this? She's not loosing weight, still laying eggs, and is active

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post pictures of each eye in good light? Cataracts can be a common cause of blindness in chickens, and injuries or infections are other possibilities. Mareks disease can some times cause a gray iris and an irregular pupil. Many chickens cannget along well with sight innone eye, but with both eyes blind they really need to be in a place with food and water in the same places and not bullying. They can get lost if they wander off too far or outside of a fence. Usually even a blind chicken has some sight, and ability to distinguish shadows and light. A chicken has close up vision in the right eye and far off vision in the left eye.

 

[eikome]

Following because I also have a hen who i think is beginning to lose her sight as well.

My hen is 7.5 years old. I have found that she's able to be more active in brighter light (I think it helps her differentiate distance/objects/shadows better), so I've been leaving the coop lights on for her even during the day and she's been able to navigate around better. I also built ramps for her because she was having trouble judging distances to jump up/down to the roost, coop door, nest boxes, etc. I've also not moved any of their "furniture" around. All the feeders, waterers, perches, hideouts, etc in their coop and run stay in exactly the same positions so she knows where they are, no surprises. So far she's been managing really well and seems happy to spend her twilight time with my young pullets doting on, snuggling and preening her. Good luck with your hen!

 

[ClaraK]

Can you post pictures of each eye in good light? Cataracts can be a common cause of blindness in chickens, and injuries or infections are other possibilities. Mareks disease can some times cause a gray iris and an irregular pupil. Many chickens cannget along well with sight innone eye, but with both eyes blind they really need to be in a place with food and water in the same places and not bullying. They can get lost if they wander off too far or outside of a fence. Usually even a blind chicken has some sight, and ability to distinguish shadows and light. A chicken has close up vision in the right eye and far off vision in the left eye.

I'll get some pictures when I get off work. These birds are vaccinated against Maraks and I am very religious with biosecurity and no one else is acting odd and looking perfectly normal. Rocket is normal except for the blindness.
She is in a fenced grassed yard that does not have any holes (I had a stray dog getting in and now my fencing is really good) and her flock mates are not bullying her yet. The roosters are being very gentle with her and offering her more food but I will be keeping an eye out for any potential bullying.

 

[ClaraK]

Following because I also have a hen who i think is beginning to lose her sight as well.

My hen is 7.5 years old. I have found that she's able to be more active in brighter light (I think it helps her differentiate distance/objects/shadows better), so I've been leaving the coop lights on for her even during the day and she's been able to navigate around better. I also built ramps for her because she was having trouble judging distances to jump up/down to the roost, coop door, nest boxes, etc. I've also not moved any of their "furniture" around. All the feeders, waterers, perches, hideouts, etc in their coop and run stay in exactly the same positions so she knows where they are, no surprises. So far she's been managing really well and seems happy to spend her twilight time with my young pullets doting on, snuggling and preening her. Good luck with your hen!

Thanks for the reply! I will have to string up some lights for the coop so she can find her way back at night

I've had ancient hens before (13 years old was my oldest but I've got a hen going on 12 and not slowing down) but she is my first bird to ever show any blindness.
All my coops have ramps from when I had a bird with arthritis and she doesn't seem to be having any issues getting in and out