Hen w/ Eye Injury

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

My partner went out to tuck in the chickens this evening and found our oldest hen (a 5 year old Americauna) being pecked in the head by the other hens. She has several wounds on her head, face, and comb, and it looks like her eye was injured. He immediately brought her inside and we cleaned her up and have her safe and warm. I put Blu Kote on the wounds and terramycin in the eye. Is there anything else I should be doing? Have any of you seen an eye injury like this, and will it heal? I already have the vet coming on Monday so he can also check her over then. She did eat a little and has settled down to sleep. My other question - can she go back out with her flock once she's healed? I'm going to find out who the aggressive one is and try to solve that problem as well. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Eggcessive]

Her eye could be a sign of ocular Mareks disease unfortunately. That is not a diagnosis, however. It may be blind, and the others may sense that something is wrong with her. Does she have any other symptoms? Is there any way that you can separate her in a dog crate with foor and water inside the coop with the others.

 

[Eggcessive]

I hope that she is not really sick with the disease, but just wanted to suggest the possibility. I will try to post some other pictures of ocular Mareks, but a pinpoint pupil or an irregular shaped pupil can occur with tumors on the optic nerve. The eye may become grey eventually if it is caused by Mareks virus. How does her other eye look? Here is a good link about Mareks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Normal eye on left, Mareks eye on right

 

[Eggcessive]

In post 6 of this thread, another member with Mareks in her flock has posted pictures of some of her birds with the ocular form of the virus:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ocular-mareks-symptoms.1144846/

 

[MissChick@dee]

Good catch @Eggcessive. I’ve never actually seen a posted picture like that. And chickens are cruel when there is something going on with one of their flock mates. They intuitively know.

 

[azygous]

Treating injuries is one facet of the issue this hen is facing. Figuring out why she was attacked and injured is the other.

As @Eggcessive has pointed out, this hen may be suffering from an illness and the others sense it. For chickens to sense a weakness in one of their flock, the victim is behaving in a manner that calls their attention to that weakness. Chickens have an instinct to drive out the weak among them.

I noticed the irregular pupil and thought of Marek's. Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do for her if she has Marek's tumors. However, if she's a special chicken and a pet, she can live a reasonably normal life with Marek's until it overwhelms her immune system. She could have another good year of life or even more with good care.

Try to keep her with the flock or else returning her later will be very hard on her. A safe pen for her to relax in during the day will protect her while she gets her strength and self confidence back. She can still sleep with the others at night since they aren't as apt to pick on her while settling down to sleep. Perhaps you can find some useful tips in my article on bullying. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

Be aware that if this hen has Marek's, the entire flock is carrying the virus. When the vet comes, ask if they can do a serologic antigen test or a pcr test to determine Marek's or find someone to do it so you will know.

 

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

We already have her in the house in a crate. She's safe and sleeping now. I haven't seen any other Marek's symptoms in her and her other eye looks normal, I think. Does it always occur in both eyes? I have noticed one of my Swedish Flower hens has gotten ridiculously possessive of one of the nest boxes and I wondered if that started the fight. I'll be keeping a close eye on them tomorrow to try to figure out what's going on. I hope it isn't Mareks and I'll ask my vet about the serologic antigen test. She's a pet and whatever happens, we'll keep her safe and comfortable.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for posting a photo of the normal eye for comparison. Notice the color of the iris in the normal eye as compared to the muted color in the affected eye. As an ocular tumor progresses, the color becomes more muted until it's mostly a muddy grey. The dull yellow of the affected eye compared to the rich reddish orange of the normal eye further points to an ocular tumor.

 

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

Thanks for posting a photo of the normal eye for comparison. Notice the color of the iris in the normal eye as compared to the muted color in the affected eye. As an ocular tumor progresses, the color becomes more muted until it's mostly a muddy grey. The dull yellow of the affected eye compared to the rich reddish orange of the normal eye further points to an ocular tumor.

I do see what you mean. Thank you. That's not at all where I thought this would go, but it would definitely explain why her flock mates suddenly turned on her this way. I'll be spending a lot of time reading up on Marek's and trying to learn what, if anything, I can do to help my birds.

 

[BaltimoreWoolCo]

So, my hen is doing well this morning, all things considered. Marek's does look like the most likely thing and I really appreciate you folks who pointed that out and explained the ocular form. We're going to build a chicken jail space in that run today and keep her with but safe from the rest of the flock during the day. We'll try letting her roost with them at night.

Up until a month ago, my flocks were right smack in the middle of the 30 acre farm that my sisters and I own. Last month my partner and I moved onto a little 4.3 acre place of our own and brought the chickens with us. This neighborhood has lots of chickens and maybe that's why Marek's is making an appearance after all of these years. Either way, thanks again for your help and advice. I'll talk with the vet about it tomorrow as well.