Precious..the blind Barred Rock hen

[jsr5]

my biggest concern with the nipple waterer would be head bumps on the nipple while trying to line up would put water on her head where she could be frost bitten. Love ehr moving up in the pecking order. is the RIR she "bested" The one by the raamp waiting to eat?

 

[vantain]

my biggest concern with the nipple waterer would be head bumps on the nipple while trying to line up would put water on her head where she could be frost bitten. Love ehr moving up in the pecking order. is the RIR she "bested" The one by the raamp waiting to eat?

Frostbite...ugh...yes, I do want to avoid that. I didn’t have any issues with that this year, but probably because my hens got it the first winter, and lost all of their pointed comb tips.

That is one thing about the horizontal nipple waterer...when the birds are drinking from it, there are always drops of water that the other birds are trying to get to underneath, and they always get some on their heads.

As for Precious, I’m not sure she is moving up in the pecking order just yet. The group is now eight weeks old. They are challenging one another often, but it is still very subdued. There’s no clear boss. Even Daisy, the two year old hen who is with them, is more interested in being their mom. That said, I’ll continue to report how Precious does, as the pecking order becomes more established. I don’t expect her to rise in rank too much, unless by blind luck.

 

[vantain]

Today I introduced a PVC feeder to the littles. They have had some experience with it, since it is how I have been feeding the older hens for a couple of years. When I was letting them into the big girls run, they happily ate out of it.

Today, guess who has been spending a lot of time with her face in the new PVC feeder? Yep, it's Precious! She found it through exploration, and has been spending a lot of time exploring it. At first she was pecking all around it, not quite sure what it was, but eventually I saw her plant her face into it. Since then, she keeps wandering over there and spends quite a lot of time eating out of it. This is good, since the standard feeder I have been using is messy. They are getting so much of the feed on the ground, whereas the PVC feeder seems to eliminate that.

Here is an updated photo. I finally got around to moving the camera to a better spot with more visibility. You can see Precious with her head deep into the feeder.

 

[vantain]

This evening, I was topping up the waterer and food, and saw Precious attempting to get up on the little jungle gym tower that’s in their run. She walked around it, probing it with her beak, while the others were jumping up onto the platform and bars. She knows it’s there, but has been confused about exactly what it is. I think she has been sensing the others getting up on it, and it has just raised her curiosity.

Well, as I watched, she placed her head up on the platform, seemingly telling her it was something she could get up on. And then, she did it! But she didn’t stop there. She continued probing her surroundings, then she went up onto one of the bars, where she then sat for awhile. She amazes me with what she can figure out. She looks proud of her achievement.

 

[aart]

Great documentation!

 

[vantain]

It’s been awhile since I last updated you all about Precious.

She is doing very well. The final integration with Gwyneth, the mean hen, is over, and they all live...uh...peacefully. I say that with some pause, because peace with Gwyneth means just leave her alone and don’t go near her. This is especially true for Precious, as she cannot see Gwyneth, but can hear when she is around. This does get her into some situations sometimes, where she putS herself in a corner when Gwyneth is near, which results in a stern pecking from her. This then sends her into a wild escape maneuver, where she often runs into things.

Other than that, I see her dust bathing, scratching at the ground, eating, drinking....normal chicken things. The only difference really, is that she stays grounded, while the others get up on perches and things.

I think she tires out quite a lot from her blindness. Having to always be vigilant about Gwyneth, seems to exhaust her. She spends a lot of time in the coop, just relaxing. I think she finds it a peaceful place away from the activities in the run. That is, unless Gwyneth enters the coop to lay her egg. She isn’t inside all day, but I do find her in there often.

Here she is today, at 13 weeks of age!

 

[Ruthster55]

It’s been awhile since I last updated you all about Precious.

She is doing very well. The final integration with Gwyneth, the mean hen, is over, and they all live...uh...peacefully. I say that with some pause, because peace with Gwyneth means just leave her alone and don’t go near her. This is especially true for Precious, as she cannot see Gwyneth, but can hear when she is around. This does get her into some situations sometimes, where she putS herself in a corner when Gwyneth is near, which results in a stern pecking from her. This then sends her into a wild escape maneuver, where she often runs into things.

Other than that, I see her dust bathing, scratching at the ground, eating, drinking....normal chicken things. The only difference really, is that she stays grounded, while the others get up on perches and things.

I think she tires out quite a lot from her blindness. Having to always be vigilant about Gwyneth, seems to exhaust her. She spends a lot of time in the coop, just relaxing. I think she finds it a peaceful place away from the activities in the run. That is, unless Gwyneth enters the coop to lay her egg. She isn’t inside all day, but I do find her in there often.

Here she is today, at 13 weeks of age!
View attachment 2260992View attachment 2260993

Is there any way you could separate Gwyneth from everyone else? Sounds like Gwyneth is a troublemaker.

 

[vantain]

Is there any way you could separate Gwyneth from everyone else? Sounds like Gwyneth is a troublemaker.

I could separate Gwyneth from the others, but she isn’t really hurting anyone. They do have enough space in the run and coop to get away from her. I’m sure the pecking order changes to come, when these 7 pullets begin to lay, could change the dynamics a bit. For now, Precious is doing fairly well. Her best bud is actually our cockerel. I don’t know if that is good or bad.

 

[BY Bob]

I could separate Gwyneth from the others, but she isn’t really hurting anyone. They do have enough space in the run and coop to get away from her. I’m sure the pecking order changes to come, when these 7 pullets begin to lay, could change the dynamics a bit. For now, Precious is doing fairly well. Her best bud is actually our cockerel. I don’t know if that is good or bad.

That will be good as long as you are keeping the cockerel. He will make sure she has food, is with the flock, etc. The only thing I would be concerned about is surprised mating. That might really surprise and scare her.

 

[centralcaligirl]

I really appreciate that you're documenting her life. It's wonderful to see her doing so well! I have a nine day old chick right now who appears to be blind in one eye, and to have limited sight in the other. The first few days she was home were harrowing. She just kept circling the feeder but never eating. We finally realized that she could hear the other chickens eating but she couldn't figure out how they were doing it.

It was so heartbreaking to watch, but once we figured that out we put her in a separate box with one other chick and after a lot of struggle we eventually taught her how to use the feeder. Wow did she eat a lot! She was so excited and now she is gaining weight. We are definitely going to keep her, she's such a sweetie and we have a small flock and can give her a good life.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack Precious' thread, but I will be following it with great interest.