Pullet keeping eyes closed

[Nlchicken]

We received 4 white ambers that are 16 weeks old. One of them keeps her eys closed just about all the time. I'm wondering if she is blind. I don't see any other signs of problems. She is eating and drinking and moving around the run with the other girls only bumping in to things. She even finds her way to the roost at night. She occasionally opens her eyes when eating or when bumping into something but she never keeps them open for more than a few seconds. When i look at her eyes they look the same as the other girls. Is she sick or blind? If sick what is wrong with her and how do i help her? I have tried searching google but have had no luck.
Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We received 4 white ambers that are 16 weeks old. One of them keeps her eys closed just about all the time. I'm wondering if she is blind. I don't see any other signs of problems. She is eating and drinking and moving around the run with the other girls only bumping in to things. She even finds her way to the roost at night. She occasionally opens her eyes when eating or when bumping into something but she never keeps them open for more than a few seconds. When i look at her eyes they look the same as the other girls. Is she sick or blind? If sick what is wrong with her and how do i help her? I have tried searching google but have had no luck.
Any suggestions appreciated.

Welcome To BYC
I'm sorry no one responded to your question.
Can you post some photos of your pullet? (whole body, poop and her eyes)
If you can take a video of her actions, post it to youtube, then provide us a link that would be good too.

Have you tried flushing her eyes with saline just to see if that will help?
What type of food/treats do you feed?

Hopefully with a little more information and photos/video we can make some suggestions.

 

[Nlchicken]

Welcome To BYC
I'm sorry no one responded to your question.
Can you post some photos of your pullet? (whole body, poop and her eyes)
If you can take a video of her actions, post it to youtube, then provide us a link that would be good too.

Have you tried flushing her eyes with saline just to see if that will help?
What type of food/treats do you feed?

Hopefully with a little more information and photos/video we can make some suggestions.

We are feeding layer feed with 18% protein. For treats we give them some scratch and bread every day. We also every other day give them something from the following depending on what we have. Cabbage, green peas, watermelon, beet greens, ears of corn, berrys things like that

I took some videos and pics of her yesterday i will add links to the videos once they are uploaded. I noticed while recording the videos she keeps one eye open abit while eating.
When she is finnished eating she picks a spot and just stands there with her eyes closed

 

[Wyorp Rock]

In your one photo, it looks like the shape of the pupil is irregular? Is that what you are seeing as well?

Unless someone has any other ideas, sadly I would say that she has Ocular Form of Marek's.
I don't see swelling that might indicate infection.
The best you can do is see that she is eating/drinking well. She may get to where she is totally blind. The balance issues/running into things I would assume is due to limited sight, but Marek's causes neurological problems too, so that could be part of it as well.
I'm sorry, I wish I had better answers for you.

Here's some reading about Marek's that you may find helpful.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[Nlchicken]

 

[Nlchicken]

In your one photo, it looks like the shape of the pupil is irregular? Is that what you are seeing as well?

Unless someone has any other ideas, sadly I would say that she has Ocular Form of Marek's.
I don't see swelling that might indicate infection.
The best you can do is see that she is eating/drinking well. She may get to where she is totally blind. The balance issues/running into things I would assume is due to limited sight, but Marek's causes neurological problems too, so that could be part of it as well.
I'm sorry, I wish I had better answers for you.

Here's some reading about Marek's that you may find helpful.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq


View attachment 1595036

Ok thanks. Looks like i have a lot of reading to do.

 

[rebrascora]

I would agree, that with one eye remaining closed like that, her age and the deformed pupil, it is likely to be Marek's. I have no experience of the ocular form to know what the progression rate might be like. I would keep her as happy and well fed as possible and be prepared to euthanize when her quality of life deteriorates. Marek's is caused by a Herpes virus and she will be shedding the virus whilst she is symptomatic. The other birds have likely already been exposed to it and will either get it or be resistant. It has a minimum 3 week incubation period between infection and onset of symptoms but it can be months or even years before a bird exhibits symptoms and the virus remains dormant until a stressor triggers it. Adolescent birds at point of lay are particularly at risk because of the stress and confusion that their bodies are under from hormone changes. Moving to a new home is an added stressor in this case. Do you just have these 4 chickens or a larger flock that they were added to?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the videos.

It is interesting, she seems to be able to pick up small bits of scratch o.k.

What does the eye that she keeps closed all the time look like?

 

[Nlchicken]

I will try to get a picture of her other eye. They were added to our flock we now have 21 chicken in total. The rest are sexlink with 1 silkey and 3 turkery

 

[pameladru]

We received 4 white ambers that are 16 weeks old. One of them keeps her eys closed just about all the time. I'm wondering if she is blind. I don't see any other signs of problems. She is eating and drinking and moving around the run with the other girls only bumping in to things. She even finds her way to the roost at night. She occasionally opens her eyes when eating or when bumping into something but she never keeps them open for more than a few seconds. When i look at her eyes they look the same as the other girls. Is she sick or blind? If sick what is wrong with her and how do i help her? I have tried searching google but have had no luck.
Any suggestions appreciated.

Hi, We have a mostly blind rooster who is also white (Maran x which is a dirty white color). He keeps eyes closed sometimes and gets around really well; he just can't roost at night so I put him in a dog crate for his safety. If she's eating and drinking, she is likely blind or partially blind but they do get along with this as ours will testify. Good luck!