Hens: one eye dilated and one not.

[Michael Apple]

Ok thank you! I have only had chickens for a short time and with all the recent tragedy with my flock, the one I have left is important to me to keep alive and healthy. She is thriving being an inside chicken for now. She is eating and drinking regularly and grooms like it's her job in life. She is kind of inactive. She just wants to perch and not move much. I have to take her off her perch three times a day usually to eat and drink, she eats her fill 5-10 minutes, and when she is done, she goes back on the perch. I know she was a pretty inactive chicken when outside too so I am not too concerned. And when it isn't raining she will go outside during the day light so hopefully she will get more exercise when that happens. Thank you!!! On average, how detrimental is a lack of exercise to a chicken?

I wasn't aware of previous problems in your flock. It is obvious you really care for this Barred Rock hen

Chickens are social creatures and that is what encourages activity. She may just go back to the perch out of boredom. Sunlight stimulates activity too, which lessens in Winter. Inactive chickens are prone to a condition called fatty liver disease. You can benefit the bird by periodically using a specific supplement for that once a week during moult or lack of activity. The supplement is Lewerstim, and comes in liquid or tablet form. It is composed of B vitamins, thioctic acid and other beneficial nutrients for liver support. Poultry vitamins and probiotics would also be beneficial in a soluble powder 2 days a week, aside from Lewerstim once a week. Avoid overfeeding or excessive "treats". Provide grit and oyster shell with a good quality layer ration.
Lewerstim: http://www.pigeonsproducts.com/index.php?route=product/search&keyword=lewerstim

 

[calderoncc88]

Well she is my last one left. I didn't think she would thrive outside all by herself in the rain so I made the decision to migrate her into an indoor chicken for most of the time. I will get that supplement today. Thank you. I would not have know otherwise. We made the decision to go ahead and raise three more chicks on the spring. But until then, our barred rock will be inside. Especially at night. Thank you for your support. Had I known this community was so supportive, I would have joined ages ago! The live trap is still out there. I will refresh it with goodies today. And after I catch the sucker, we are electrifying the fence. That is the problem I had with the flock.

 

[Michael Apple]

Varmints are bad news. Once they have access to food, they run a circuit of opportunism, and eventually return. It is best to trap and cull predators to prevent overpopulation. Different states have different ordinances, and relocating predators is often illegal, in addition to being cruel since raccoons are very territorial and will kill new additions to established territory. A person was upset by statement once and responded with,"either way they get killed." I believe it is more humane to quickly shoot one in the head, rather than encouraging it to be torn to shreds by another coon, linger for a few days in severe pain, dying slowly. People who feed them, or leave cat/dog food outside also encourage visits by predator animals. Suburbanites and city people are notorious for that.

 

[calderoncc88]

I do believe there is one offender currently. And yes, I think it's a raccoon. After its first victim, we pad locked the coop every night. But I believe it still visited often because the hen we have inside now refused to go into the coop at night and I would have to manually put her in. On thanksgiving night I was 2 hours late after dark getting home from our families house. That's all it took. It killed and ate my laying road island red. It was then that I brought the remaining hen inside. In the morning when I went to clean up the carcass, it was gone. So the critter came back. I bought a live trap that night. I live in California but in a rural community. I haven't caught the thing yet. I believe because we are experiencing some heavy rain and it'll continue through mid week. Nick thinks I should have the hen down there at night as bait but I can't stand to think of her being terrorized by the critter. Especially after watching two of her companions eaten alive.

 

[Nambroth]

If the photos in post #5 are of your hen, I would be very suspicious of Marek's disease. There is a look to her eyes that is very hard to pinpoint but I have seen it in other Marek's birds. That said, she can still live a happy life and she looks healthy otherwise. It sounds like she is not blind but she may have some reduced vision. If you put a single food item such as a grain in front of her does she connect with it easily?

Because of the suspect Marek's, you may want to consider getting your new chicks vaccinated at hatch and then keeping them in a complete quarantine for at least 3-4 weeks after. It is up to you, though.

I am glad you care for your hen so much. She looks really sweet. I have a soft spot for barred rocks.

 

[tkusc]

I also have a hen that as of a few months ago, has one eye dilated the other is not. Most days she acts normal, only when it gets cold spurts (as I am in South Carolina where the weather here recently is crazy) she acts a little sick and I give her a dose of vitamins and she appears to act normal. No other noticeable issues and the others in the pen are fine. What could this be?

 

[Marykailyn]

https://imgur.com/a/t2b4J

Why is this happening? I have not noticed this before but that does not mean she hasn't had it forever. Should I be concerned? She eats and drinks regularly and is currently inside (due to a critter we are trying to take care of). She is not a layer, but rather an older rescue we got as a companion chicken for our layer (who the critter killed).

One of my hens’ eyes look exactly like this. One fixed and one normal. Did you ever determine the cause?

 

[Zetaplayer]

I just copied your pictures for the thread to make it easy to see what we are talking about. Are your sure she can see out of the right eye? How long have you noticed this? Was she vaccinated for Mareks? I really hope it's not Mareks, but if you notice any others in your flock with unexplained lameness or tumors, I would investigate further. There is something called a coloboma defect in the pupil in humans and animal eyes, that can be a keyhole shaped pupil, and it is just a birth defect that doesn't affect the eye. Here is a thread with a picture of a chicken with bilateral coloboma who may or may not have Mareks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/845701/ocular-mareks-any-doubt

Interesting- it appears to be a Maran. I have one with the same condition. The smaller pupil doesn’t appear to be misshapen in any way. Could this be a rare genetic trait for this species, or just a coincidence?

 

[LaFleche]

There are some vaccinations that can and will be given by ocu-nasal application (eye drops) which leads to discoloration of the iris in the treated eye, sometimes looking similar to an Ocular Marek's eye.

The vaccinations against ILT (Infectious Laryngotracheitis), ND (Newcastle Disease), IB (Infectious Bronchitis) + Ma5 (Marek's) are just some of them.

https://www.msd-tiergesundheit.de/produktliste/?product-category=gefluegelimpfstoffe&species=poultry

Depending on where you live (Europe, Asia, USA etc.) and your hen maybe a rescue from some industrial egg producing plant, this might well be the cause.