Ocular Marek's? (tiny squarish pupil) PICS

[Bear Foot Farm]

Marek's causes the COLOR of the Iris to change to gray.

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disviral.htm


Quote: You can easily test to see if the pupil is reactive by taking her into a dark area and shining a light in her eye to see if the pupil expands and contracts

 

[joannac]

I recently noticed that one of my Buff Orp hens has one pupil which is almost heart shaped. She is 3 years old and otherwise healthy. I wonder if she has Ocular Marek's. If so, are her eggs safe to eat?

Joanna

 

[Debbiedoobs]

Hi, one of my silkie chicks had this in both eyes. It's almost like a birth Mark. Does anyone know what it is yet?

 

[casportpony]

I'm not sure whether that is Marek's or not. I have a pullet that has had strange looking pupils since she was about 8-10 weeks (at least that's when I noticed), but I think she just has misshapen pupils, not Marek's disease. She is now almost 7 months old, laying eggs, and seems very happy and healthy.

These are her eyes at 12 weeks of age:

This is her about a month ago - I don't think the eyes have changed any.

Here's a few good links (in case you haven't already found them) for pictures of ocular marek's:

http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/lesion/464

http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/lesion/464

http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/lesion/464

Near the bottom of this thread are a couple more chickens with ocular Marek's
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...I7GGLF_en&sa=N&um=1&ei=NRZAS4ffDYPutAO1vLnTAw

Even if your hen does have ocular marek's, I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean a death sentence - most likely, she'll be fine.

@ArizonaDesertChicks , is this hen still alive?

-Kathy

 

[rararanch]

I have a hen that has one pupil like that! The weird thing is, she can still see out of it. It's been like that since we got her and I don't really know how old she is. I guess I never thought much about until I ran across your picture.

Look into "Coloboma" it is an eye disorder that sounds like what you have described for your hen.

 

[rararanch]

I recently noticed that one of my Buff Orp hens has one pupil which is almost heart shaped. She is 3 years old and otherwise healthy. I wonder if she has Ocular Marek's. If so, are her eggs safe to eat?

Joanna

Yes her eggs are safe if it's mareks