Possibly blind chicken, does this sound like Marek's?

[Kiki]

Can you get clear photos of each eye?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Maybe you can try some Terramicyn eye ointment. I have never used it myself, but I have heard there is great success with it in multiple threads. Can you post a picture if her eyes? Maybe try and give her some electorates in her, or some sugar or apple cider vinegar, to give her some help with whatever is going on. I don't think I can help much more then that, but I hope she gets better! @Overo Mare @casportpony @Eggcessive Please someone more experienced respond!

Thank you, @Weeg.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

There is an eye blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency. Fish oil mixed into her mash can help, but it can build up to toxic levels over time, so this shouldn't be a forever supplement. It's worth a try for a couple weeks.

Thanks, @azygous, I may try that. She is able to eat from her feeder so we don't havecto make a decision tomorrow. She does seem stressed, though, which does concern me.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It sounds like your chicken may be blind in the eye. It sounds like a cataract or cloudiness from an infection or injury. Common causes for blindness in chickens besides Mareks, are cataracts, past exposure to AE or epidemic tremors virus as a yound chick, vitamin A or E deficiency, peck injuries, and infections. Some chickens may have cloudy dilated pupils after a respiratory disease or ammonia toxicity from coop odors. Mostly the cause is never known, but there may be no treatment. As long as they have sight in one eye most chickens can get around to find food and water in a familar area, but they may not be able to see another chicken or a predator as quickly to run away. Here is an older article that still is good:
http://joneshamiltonag.com/wp-content/uploads/PLT_Poultry-Eye-Disorders.pdf

Thanks, @Eggcessive, I'll read that.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Can you get clear photos of each eye?

I'll try to do so tomorrow.

 

[natyvidal]

Hi. I hope I am posting this on time for you to read before euthanizing her. I also have 1 hen in my flock that is blind. She wasn’t blind as a chick when I bought her and her sister. She started to show signs of blindness in one eye, at about 3-4 months when I introduced her to the flock. It might have been she was hurt when the usual pecking order antics started or it was from birth and waiting to develop, the thing is it happened.
Picusa, that’s her name, started to isolate herself from the other ones. I started paying a bit more attention to her to observe her behavior and The thing is her other senses, with time, have developed. She has learned to find the feed container, the water, the nests, she diligently lays 1 egg almost every day, the main rooster favors her and protects her, she stays close to the coop and inside the run, and seldom finds herself outside. At morning and evening feedings she has learned to perch close to my chair to get her own handfuls of scratch and pieces of wheat bread. In the morning I feed the flock veggies and I save her a handful to eat on her own separate from the other ones since she can’t handle the conglomeration of the whole flock eating at the same time or better said gobbling up the veggies. And best of all she has learned to trust me. Once she realized that I didn’t mean any harm to her and that every time I picked her up was to reward her with treats.

So my suggestion is to watch her and make sure whatever she has is not a sickness. Contagious. If it’s not contagious give the hen a chance to overcome her handicap, and show her the ropes. She will learn and continue to provide you with great eggs and a great satisfaction that you gave her a chance to better herself.

By the way my Picusa is a RIR and her eggs are beautifully shaped and large.

 

[Weeg]

Hi. I hope I am posting this on time for you to read before euthanizing her. I also have 1 hen in my flock that is blind. She wasn’t blind as a chick when I bought her and her sister. She started to show signs of blindness in one eye, at about 3-4 months when I introduced her to the flock. It might have been she was hurt when the usual pecking order antics started or it was from birth and waiting to develop, the thing is it happened.
Picusa, that’s her name, started to isolate herself from the other ones. I started paying a bit more attention to her to observe her behavior and The thing is her other senses, with time, have developed. She has learned to find the feed container, the water, the nests, she diligently lays 1 egg almost every day, the main rooster favors her and protects her, she stays close to the coop and inside the run, and seldom finds herself outside. At morning and evening feedings she has learned to perch close to my chair to get her own handfuls of scratch and pieces of wheat bread. In the morning I feed the flock veggies and I save her a handful to eat on her own separate from the other ones since she can’t handle the conglomeration of the whole flock eating at the same time or better said gobbling up the veggies. And best of all she has learned to trust me. Once she realized that I didn’t mean any harm to her and that every time I picked her up was to reward her with treats.

So my suggestion is to watch her and make sure whatever she has is not a sickness. Contagious. If it’s not contagious give the hen a chance to overcome her handicap, and show her the ropes. She will learn and continue to provide you with great eggs and a great satisfaction that you gave her a chance to better herself.

By the way my Picusa is a RIR and her eggs are beautifully shaped and large.

This is so sweet! Thank you for sharing this! I wouldn’t feed them bread though. It’s not good for them. I don’t know about wheat bread but I am assuming it is the same.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi. I hope I am posting this on time for you to read before euthanizing her. I also have 1 hen in my flock that is blind. She wasn’t blind as a chick when I bought her and her sister. She started to show signs of blindness in one eye, at about 3-4 months when I introduced her to the flock. It might have been she was hurt when the usual pecking order antics started or it was from birth and waiting to develop, the thing is it happened.
Picusa, that’s her name, started to isolate herself from the other ones. I started paying a bit more attention to her to observe her behavior and The thing is her other senses, with time, have developed. She has learned to find the feed container, the water, the nests, she diligently lays 1 egg almost every day, the main rooster favors her and protects her, she stays close to the coop and inside the run, and seldom finds herself outside. At morning and evening feedings she has learned to perch close to my chair to get her own handfuls of scratch and pieces of wheat bread. In the morning I feed the flock veggies and I save her a handful to eat on her own separate from the other ones since she can’t handle the conglomeration of the whole flock eating at the same time or better said gobbling up the veggies. And best of all she has learned to trust me. Once she realized that I didn’t mean any harm to her and that every time I picked her up was to reward her with treats.

So my suggestion is to watch her and make sure whatever she has is not a sickness. Contagious. If it’s not contagious give the hen a chance to overcome her handicap, and show her the ropes. She will learn and continue to provide you with great eggs and a great satisfaction that you gave her a chance to better herself.

By the way my Picusa is a RIR and her eggs are beautifully shaped and large.

Thank you, @natyvidal, this is very sweet and encouraging. I will keep it in mind.

 

[cmom]

I had a young male RIR that was blind. I had a pan with feed in it and he would find it and the water. I did eventually give him away to a young boy with his parents permission.

 

[azygous]

I, too, have a blind chicken. She's a twelve-year old Brahma with a benign tumor over her eye that has caused her to go blind in the right eye. This effectively blinds her to her food and water since chickens see up close with that eye. (The left eye focuses on distance)

She does just fine, in fact so fine that she manages to keep her rank as top hen by effectively hammering anyone who disrespects her with a solid peck. As she lost her sight, I discovered it was nearly impossible for her to compete for the feeding dishes and get what she needs before the others ate it all. The waterers have vertical nipples she can't see, so she wasn't getting the water she needed. I discovered this by her behavior. She would sleep a lot during the day.

So I've made adjustments, added more feeding dishes and an open dog bowl of water. She's now happy and active all day, and she also gets a small handfull of meal worms in a private enclosure to spend all the time she needs to eat them all without competition for them. Yes, you can see the frustration and anger when she tries to compete with the others for meal worms. Stress isn't good for humans and it's not good for chickens, either.