Hello,
I am really hoping to get some feedback here.
I have recently discovered that my 4-5 week old buff orpington roo is blind, and I believe his sister is partially blind. It was not obvious until they started going outside for a little at a time. I have also noticed he is smaller then his sisters by about 4 oz, and he should be a little bigger or at least the same size. This has all just became apparent in the last 2 days. Since I have realized this, I have kept him confined and have been making him and the girl stay in...I also make them hard-boiled eggs with a bit of ground beef and grit mixed into their feed and the love it, chowing down each time I give it to them. I also thought he was the sweetest one because he never ran away from me..I thought he liked being held...well now I know why. He follows my voice and will come to me when i call out to him, so his hearing is fine.
My concern is why he is blind..I am very fearful of ocular mareks from what I have read. Neither of his pupils react to light, and the girl I am worried about, only one of her pupils react to the light. All of my hens and chicks are supposedly vaccinated for mareks, but I know that is not a 100% and I also question the [lace now I received these chicks from (TSC/Mt Heakthy Hatchery). All of the SLW I bought from them turned out to be Roo's except one, and they look like overweight barred rocks, not SLW.
I will never purchase from them again.
I am hoping to get opinions on the likelyhood of mareks, and also find out if anyone has successfully raised blind chickens/roos. I do not really want to cull him, but if I find he is suffering I will. Right now, he is doing well and sticks close to his sisters.
Heres a pic of his eyes if you can tell anything by that.
I am pretty sure the little white spot is glare from the flash. I looked very closely trying to see if I could find worms...Is there any way to test for eye worms?
Thank you for any help.
Jeanne
I am really hoping to get some feedback here.
I have recently discovered that my 4-5 week old buff orpington roo is blind, and I believe his sister is partially blind. It was not obvious until they started going outside for a little at a time. I have also noticed he is smaller then his sisters by about 4 oz, and he should be a little bigger or at least the same size. This has all just became apparent in the last 2 days. Since I have realized this, I have kept him confined and have been making him and the girl stay in...I also make them hard-boiled eggs with a bit of ground beef and grit mixed into their feed and the love it, chowing down each time I give it to them. I also thought he was the sweetest one because he never ran away from me..I thought he liked being held...well now I know why. He follows my voice and will come to me when i call out to him, so his hearing is fine.
My concern is why he is blind..I am very fearful of ocular mareks from what I have read. Neither of his pupils react to light, and the girl I am worried about, only one of her pupils react to the light. All of my hens and chicks are supposedly vaccinated for mareks, but I know that is not a 100% and I also question the [lace now I received these chicks from (TSC/Mt Heakthy Hatchery). All of the SLW I bought from them turned out to be Roo's except one, and they look like overweight barred rocks, not SLW.
I will never purchase from them again.
I am hoping to get opinions on the likelyhood of mareks, and also find out if anyone has successfully raised blind chickens/roos. I do not really want to cull him, but if I find he is suffering I will. Right now, he is doing well and sticks close to his sisters.
Heres a pic of his eyes if you can tell anything by that.
I am pretty sure the little white spot is glare from the flash. I looked very closely trying to see if I could find worms...Is there any way to test for eye worms?
Thank you for any help.
Jeanne
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