lefttowrite
Chirping
Hi! I'm a new chicken keeper (6 Australorp hens, 12 weeks old at time of posting).
One of my girls has been acting strangely for the last few weeks, off and on. Sometimes, she integrates with the rest of the flock, behaves normally, looks happy/curious, etc. Other times, she sets herself apart, droops her tail, and frequently closes her left eye.
I've checked her out multiple times and have never seen any abnormalities with her eye, even close up--it's bright, shiny, and looks healthy....except when it's closed. Today, when I checked her out, she had a fine white dust around her eye (not in it, but around it). I'm guessing it was maybe food residue, which leads me to believe she's being pecked there.
The one constant is that she's the last to do everything. The last to come out of the coop in the morning, the last to realize where everyone went when they free range and move to a different spot, the last to come running when I give treats. Maybe this is due to poor vision, but I'm wondering if this has to do with the pecking order, (which is why I'm posting this here instead of in Emergencies/Disease/Injuries).
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it simply them figuring out who's top bird and bottom bird, and my Ella drew the short end of the stick? Or is there something more serious going on, and I should head over to the Disease thread? Thanks for your time!
One of my girls has been acting strangely for the last few weeks, off and on. Sometimes, she integrates with the rest of the flock, behaves normally, looks happy/curious, etc. Other times, she sets herself apart, droops her tail, and frequently closes her left eye.
I've checked her out multiple times and have never seen any abnormalities with her eye, even close up--it's bright, shiny, and looks healthy....except when it's closed. Today, when I checked her out, she had a fine white dust around her eye (not in it, but around it). I'm guessing it was maybe food residue, which leads me to believe she's being pecked there.
The one constant is that she's the last to do everything. The last to come out of the coop in the morning, the last to realize where everyone went when they free range and move to a different spot, the last to come running when I give treats. Maybe this is due to poor vision, but I'm wondering if this has to do with the pecking order, (which is why I'm posting this here instead of in Emergencies/Disease/Injuries).
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it simply them figuring out who's top bird and bottom bird, and my Ella drew the short end of the stick? Or is there something more serious going on, and I should head over to the Disease thread? Thanks for your time!