Last fall, I took in 30 chickens from a lady that couldn't take care of them anymore. Most of them were old hens, and banty mixes. I noticed that one of them, a silkie mix, was looking pretty droopy a few days after I got him, so I started giving him the special treatment. His own pen, electrolytes in his water....he perked up a little, but he still wasn't normal. That's when I figured it out.
He was blind.
His eyes are slightly foggy, and when he walks, he keeps his head low to the ground, so he can peck at the ground to tell where he is. He also rakes his beak around until he find the food or water. It's interesting, and a little sad to watch, but he gets along fine now that we know what's wrong with him.
I've tried letting him free range with the other chickens. I didn't think he would go far. Boy, was I wrong! He just kept walking! And the geese kept on picking on him. So I ended up putting him in a nice pen with his own food and water- right next door to my chick pen.
I thought about letting him in with the chicks, but I was worried that because he couldn't see them, he might step on them. So I figured I would wait until the chicks were bigger, and then I would appoint Ray Charles (as we so dubbed the little blind rooster) as babysitter!
So this morning, when I went out to feed, this is what I came out too:
The little chick had managed to squeeze through the wire, into Ray Charles's side of the pen. It was all snuggled up to him when I came out there.
As soon as the chicks are a little bigger, I think I'll move him in with them. He makes such a good babysitter! Does anyone else have an older chicken that babysits the younger ones? Just curious?
He was blind.
His eyes are slightly foggy, and when he walks, he keeps his head low to the ground, so he can peck at the ground to tell where he is. He also rakes his beak around until he find the food or water. It's interesting, and a little sad to watch, but he gets along fine now that we know what's wrong with him.
I've tried letting him free range with the other chickens. I didn't think he would go far. Boy, was I wrong! He just kept walking! And the geese kept on picking on him. So I ended up putting him in a nice pen with his own food and water- right next door to my chick pen.
I thought about letting him in with the chicks, but I was worried that because he couldn't see them, he might step on them. So I figured I would wait until the chicks were bigger, and then I would appoint Ray Charles (as we so dubbed the little blind rooster) as babysitter!
So this morning, when I went out to feed, this is what I came out too:
The little chick had managed to squeeze through the wire, into Ray Charles's side of the pen. It was all snuggled up to him when I came out there.
As soon as the chicks are a little bigger, I think I'll move him in with them. He makes such a good babysitter! Does anyone else have an older chicken that babysits the younger ones? Just curious?
