Keeping a Blind Chicken

[lala4578]

@SlyDog Thank you for adding your story! Mona is adorable. She will def require more effort and attention than your other hens, I am glad you are up for it! You will become very attached to her. I lost my FC earlier this month, I miss her. She was my favorite hen and was a great pet. She was laying internally and I did not recognize the signs (not that you can fix the problem) but I am going to share those symptoms in a new thread.

For Mona's living arrangements, my first concern is will she be safe from predators and the other chickens if they decide to "peck" on her? I had my FC in with a group that "learned" she was the top bird so there was no need to babysit and make sure they were playing nicely! If Mona cannot find her way to roost, are you up for putting her in every night and helping her down in the mornings?

For the colder weather coming, the most important thing is to make sure the chickens are protected from the wind and precipitation. If fully feathered they can handle the cold temps. Some people will wrap the run with construction grade plastic, we did something similar to block the wind and keep the snow out.

The parrot cage could work.. but will Mona get pooped on? I think even blind chickens benefit from company and socialization. Very curious to see what she looks like as she gets older, could be a Sussex like you said.

 

[SlyDog]

Thanks lala4578. She is my baby now, so yes I'm up for the challenge. Let's hope she can get bigger so she's not such an easy target. Her siblings have so far tolerated her, and even let her huddle under them when they sleep. Hopefully they stay that way. The australorp pulled I bought when I got the eggs seems to think she's part of that family, she was sitting on top of Molly in the nesting box most nights and thinks she's one of them. She's never picked at MONA,,but she has the others. She may turn out to be her protector....

 

[16 paws]

Hello All

I've just skimmed through your thread as I also have a little bantam who was born blind and very small, just like yours Bocktobery.

I've just posted this on the welcome forum so apologies if you've read it already

I've recently started keeping pet chickens and started off with 2 older bantams (Thelma & Louise) who came with the second hand coop I bought. They're gorgeous girls, but don't lay so I bought another young bantam silky (Milly) who layed for about a month, and then decided to brood. It wasn't a great start to my chicken egg journey, so I thought, why not get a full size chicken! I found a nice Australorp pullet and after being dicked around by the seller he kindly gave me 4 fertile eggs when I finally got to pick her up (Tilly). Milly was still broody so she got sit on 3 full size eggs and one bantam. 21 days later and I now have Lilly, Maggie, Verna and the bantam is Mona. Mona came out a day late and seemed odd from the get go. Turns out she has no eyes at all, and is very stunted in her growth. Where the other 3 have thrived, Mona has grown very little and still fits in my hand at 8 weeks of age.

Mamma Milly has taken very good care of them all and still does, but has started to wander now, which isn't so good for Mona. I have been taking extra care of Mona - put a tray of pellets down and plop her in the middle, keep a small water dish in the same spot so she can find it and put her in and out of the hutch most days as she can't always find her way up the ramp.

I have so far kept the older ladies separate during the day, but they all sleep together at night. I have to make sure Milly and the babies are settled, and Mona safe with them before letting the older ladies in or they will peck at Mona who is unable to figure out how to get away from them. I am worried that Mona won't grow any bigger and therefore not be able to mix with the others, and with our winter approaching she's not big enough to keep herself warm. It doesn't snow here, or get into the minuses, but it does get very wet and windy.

I do have a small burkes parrot, about the size of a budgie, in a large cage - do you think Mona could live on the ground of the cage while the parrot stays to the perches?

I also have 4 dogs so there's no way she can be an inside chicken without risk of being chomped.

Any advice to this newb? BTW - I won't cull her, she's happy and healthy as far as I can tell. Just a blind runt

I also can't tell what breed she is - any ideas? I thought perhaps a speckled sussex?

thanks


This is her near one of her nest buddies, she's just so small!

She is cute!
I would try and keep her with or near the other chickens if you can. She will learn things from them even thou she cant see. She can still hear them and they will teach her how to be a chicken. Just make sure she isnt picked on and leave her food and water in the same place
everyday.
Chicken Little is still alive and doing great. I put a few Seramas in with her and she seems to like them. They are about the same size. Dont worry about her being small. Just give her lots of scrambled eggs and treats.
Love her......
Marie

 

[Rebornartist]

That was a great story. You lovely chicken is so lucky to have you take care of her. Sounds like your flock was attacked by coyotes. My flock had a close encounter a few weeks ago with that kind of threat and luckily I was there to prevent it.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

She is cute!
I would try and keep her with or near the other chickens if you can. She will learn things from them even thou she cant see. She can still hear them and they will teach her how to be a chicken. Just make sure she isnt picked on and leave her food and water in the same place
everyday.
Chicken Little is still alive and doing great. I put a few Seramas in with her and she seems to like them. They are about the same size. Dont worry about her being small. Just give her lots of scrambled eggs and treats.
Love her......
Marie

Yay Chicken Little! So glad to hear she is doing well.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Hello All I've just skimmed through your thread as I also have a little bantam who was born blind and very small, just like yours Bocktobery. I've just posted this on the welcome forum so apologies if you've read it already I've recently started keeping pet chickens and started off with 2 older bantams (Thelma & Louise) who came with the second hand coop I bought. They're gorgeous girls, but don't lay so I bought another young bantam silky (Milly) who layed for about a month, and then decided to brood. It wasn't a great start to my chicken egg journey, so I thought, why not get a full size chicken! I found a nice Australorp pullet and after being dicked around by the seller he kindly gave me 4 fertile eggs when I finally got to pick her up (Tilly). Milly was still broody so she got sit on 3 full size eggs and one bantam. 21 days later and I now have Lilly, Maggie, Verna and the bantam is Mona. Mona came out a day late and seemed odd from the get go. Turns out she has no eyes at all, and is very stunted in her growth. Where the other 3 have thrived, Mona has grown very little and still fits in my hand at 8 weeks of age. Mamma Milly has taken very good care of them all and still does, but has started to wander now, which isn't so good for Mona. I have been taking extra care of Mona - put a tray of pellets down and plop her in the middle, keep a small water dish in the same spot so she can find it and put her in and out of the hutch most days as she can't always find her way up the ramp. I have so far kept the older ladies separate during the day, but they all sleep together at night. I have to make sure Milly and the babies are settled, and Mona safe with them before letting the older ladies in or they will peck at Mona who is unable to figure out how to get away from them. I am worried that Mona won't grow any bigger and therefore not be able to mix with the others, and with our winter approaching she's not big enough to keep herself warm. It doesn't snow here, or get into the minuses, but it does get very wet and windy. I do have a small burkes parrot, about the size of a budgie, in a large cage - do you think Mona could live on the ground of the cage while the parrot stays to the perches? I also have 4 dogs so there's no way she can be an inside chicken without risk of being chomped. Any advice to this newb? BTW - I won't cull her, she's happy and healthy as far as I can tell. Just a blind runt I also can't tell what breed she is - any ideas? I thought perhaps a speckled sussex? thanks This is her near one of her nest buddies, she's just so small!

How sweet! Rooting for her.

 

[SlyDog]

My little blind bantam runt - Mona
I think she's grown a little. Still no sign of a comb so I have no idea what sex she is, however in this pic she looks like a teeny weeny rooster I can't keep roosters where I live, but she would make the cutest tiny rooster I think. She doesn't make any noises so with luck she's a voiceless rooster?

 

[SlyDog]

and with her big sister Maggie

 

[Chick-n-mama]

Hello BYC Friends!

I want to share a story with you about my blind chicken. I believe she is alive today because of all the helpful people who post on this website, and for that I am so grateful.
Meet FC. Yep that's her name.




She was a riley pullet so a funny name seemed fitting for this carrot colored lady. Ironically, once she hit puberty her personality totally mellowed out and she became one of my sweetest most personable birds. She popped out fire colored eggs almost everyday, so the name had to stick! I got her as a baby with one other bird. She and her sister Chelsea were like two peas in a pod. They always stuck together, side by side, while exploring the great beyond.
Below is a picture of them, this is the day FC laid her first egg. I don’t think she recognized it!


Here is what they looked like as young chicks.



Exactly a month ago this night, tragedy struck. The flock was attacked in the night and in the morning I came out to find most of my hens strewn around the run, feathers everywhere, bodies mutilated. Only a couple were actually eaten, and the rest of them were killed for sport, had their beaks or faces or part of their head ripped off. I am so sad for how much they must have suffered, and how scared they were in those moments. I still miss those birds very much, they were my babies. I am 99% confident this was the work of a raccoon. Security was promptly beefed up to prevent this from happening ever again.
Shockingly, I had a few survivors. Chelsea was one, although not unscathed. She had patches of missing feathers and one small cut on her. She also developed some unusual behaviors I will write about in another post. I found FC standing in the corner of the run motionless, and I thought she was dead. Then, her tail twitched. I scooped her up and rushed her inside.
FC was badly injured. She had cuts all over her face, comb, waddles, and both her eyes were swollen shut. There was a lot of swelling around her head. She had many more bald spots and a few shallow cuts on her body. I cleaned her up and put Vetericyn on all of her sores. She did not move and had no interest in food or water. She stayed inside and for the next few days. I force fed her scrambled eggs and wet bread, but that became very tolling on the both of us. She fought it as much as she could. She used to talk to me all the time, and now it is the silent treatment. I could not coax her out of it. She always hung her head low and had her tail down. She was already a tiny bird and was quickly becoming just skin and bones. I was becoming convinced she did not want to live. Maybe it would be better if I put her down.
This is where Katheter Queen Kathy’s advice saves the day (see Go Team ‘Tube Feeding’). It wasn’t time to give up yet. FC received tube feeding as well as antibiotics over the next several days. Tube feeding was so much easier and less stressful on her, and she was slowly gaining weight. She was able to take larger portions gradually. After about a week she was ready to eat and drink on her own. Her swelling was gone, but sadly she had lost her eyesight in both eyes.
FC won’t be able to do all her chicken activities like before; running, foraging, chasing bugs, stealing treats from her friends, hopping up on roosts. She is very happy with being held though and enjoys walking around, albeit usually in circle patterns, but at least those circles are widening! Her curiosity has come back, and her tail is up, which is always a good sign! She started laying again two days ago, and is right on track, 2 for 2! She also just started eating grass again, right after her egg laying picked up. It is almost like laying eggs makes her feel like a chicken again. She suddenly had more life after that pivotal point. I wish she could be reunited with the flock, but Chelsea now views her as a weak link and tries to peck her, so FC will need a separate protected area to live in. I do want her near the others though so she can hear them and maybe chat with them again. Once this is set up I will surely post pics! She will have a special handicap coop, run, and of course nestbox.
I hope this post helps anyone who may have an injured chicken, a victim from a raccoon attack, or even a special needs hen. It is always a tough decision whether to put an animal down or not, especially one treated not like livestock but as a pet. I am glad I didn’t give up on her. FC is only 5 months old, and with some special accommodations I think she can live a long happy life.

Love this post! It has given me hope for our chicken who is currently in a small coop inside our house with only 1 eye. It has been 1 week from the day our ducks attacked her. She is not eating on her own and we have been force feeding her with a syringe. She hates it, but it is keeping her alive, enough to heal at least one of her eyes. She hangs her head and tail and sleeps all day long but has made little baby steps towards recovery. Waiting for the day she starts to eat on her own again. Thanks for sharing your story! We decided not to put her down cuz she was the sole survivor of a raccoon attack that took out her whole flock so my brother brought her up to my place. We put her out with our free range chickens and 2 ducks on 1/2 acre fenced in run. Everything was fine for 3-4 days and then we came home from being gone to her almost dead. Gonna try to save her life the best we can. As long as she doesn't give up neither will we. God Bless!

 

[Chick-n-mama]

Love this post! It has given me hope for our chicken who is currently in a small coop inside our house with only 1 eye. It has been 1 week from the day our ducks attacked her. She is not eating on her own and we have been force feeding her with a syringe. She hates it, but it is keeping her alive, enough to heal at least one of her eyes. She hangs her head and tail and sleeps all day long but has made little baby steps towards recovery. Waiting for the day she starts to eat on her own again. Thanks for sharing your story! We decided not to put her down cuz she was the sole survivor of a raccoon attack that took out her whole flock so my brother brought her up to my place. We put her out with our free range chickens and 2 ducks on 1/2 acre fenced in run. Everything was fine for 3-4 days and then we came home from being gone to her almost dead. Gonna try to save her life the best we can. As long as she doesn't give up neither will we. God Bless!