I mentioned this chick before, the one with the split eyelids. New ???

[chicken_china_mom]

Okay, I mentioned in another thread that I got this little girl about 2 weeks ago, and she is a GLW, and about the sweetest thing ever. She came to me not making a sound, not a chirp, not a pip, nothing. And her eyelids looked so strange, like the upper lids had been split. Several people suggested that she had been pecked, which was very likely because she had absolutely NO feathers on her back either when I got her. Well, nearly two weeks in and she is like a different bird. She socializes well, though she sticks close to the birds she is most comfortable with, and I finally have heard some soft peeping coming from her. Her back is feathering in sooooooo nicely, and even one of her eyelids seems to have mostly healed itself. It's like a miracle! Then I went out into the coop today, cause I just placed her and 8 others out there yesterday, and I wanted to check on how they were doing, and I went and gave them some fresh water and food. Well, I was happy to see her come running up to the water to get some. Then I saw something that alarmed me some. She put one foot up on the side of the water dish, which my SLW's do a lot, so I wasn't bothered by that, but then she stuck her head into the water! Not just the tip of her beak but her whole head almost to her eyeballs! She then leaned her head back and drank/choked on the water cause it went up her nose. She did this three times before she realized the depth of the water. I began to suspect that maybe she is partially blind. I slowly reached out toward her and it wasn't until I was almost touching her (less than an inch from her face) before she ran. I am wondering if maybe she does have vision problems? I suspect that if she does, it's from the birds in the brooder she came from pecking at her eyes. She seems to be holding her own though, so I'm not terribly worried, though I think I will keep a closer eye on her than I already was. So, my question is, does anyone else think, from her behavior, that she is blind? Or am I reading too much into her strange behavior? How can I tell if she is or isn't blind? I love this little bird, she is so sweet and TOTALLY unlike my SLW's. She isn't "In your face" like they are. Even my hens are pushy and demand attention. Goldie is content to hide in a corner and be left alone. And also, is there anything special I should be doing for her? Like, should she have a special nesting box, should I not let her out to roam the yard, or should I not ever allow her to become broody? Things like that. I knew this bird was special. She stole my heart the moment I first held her . She is so sweet. I think anyone that met her would just love her little fluff butt self. Thanks everyone for any info you can give me with this.

 

[firedove]

I currently have two blind chickens. They cope pretty well, one better than the other. I have been told not to let them free range but I've discovered that they usually buddy up with one of the sighted chickens and follow that buddy around all day, staying within a neck's reach apart. My blind one that copes the best uses her beak like a blind person would use a cane. Whenever she is unsure of where she is she starts pecking out in random directions. She knows where the feeder and waterer are but when she gets close she starts pecking out until she finds the edge and then she eats or drinks like any other chicken.

About the drinking, when my normal hens are really thirsty they get overly enthusiastic and dip their whole heads sometimes. They seem to be smart enough to blow out when they lift their heads since I have never seen them choke on the water. I could see how a young one might not know enough to do that. If you are particularly worried you should put marbles or pebbles in the waterer so it isn't quite as deep.