Lil'Bit is my 2+ year old half blind brahma hen. I've noticed recently that her vision seems to be getting worse, but she sticks close to my roo all day and does just fine. Each evening her crop is about the size of a tennis ball, so it's not like she's having trouble finding food.
Lil'Bit's biggest obstacle has always been getting up on a roost at night. She just doesn't have any depth perception when the light is low. As a young pullet she developed the habit of waiting for me by the coop door in the evenings, knowing that I'll put her up on a roost when I go out there to lock them up. If for some reason I'm late, she gives up waiting and parks herself facing a corner of the coop, under the roosts.
Last night I was late going out and Lil'Bit parked herself in her corner. When she heard me enter the coop she turned to come to me, but I moved towards the nestboxes instead so she stopped. When I noticed her just standing there I started calling to her. She'd walked a few steps towards me and then stop, cock her head to listen, make course corrections and then walk a few more steps. She zeroed in on my position using the sound of my voice and then leaped into my arms. The way she started chattering away I could tell she was proud of herself.
Lil'Bit will always be special needs, but she's also one smart chicken.
Lil'Bit's biggest obstacle has always been getting up on a roost at night. She just doesn't have any depth perception when the light is low. As a young pullet she developed the habit of waiting for me by the coop door in the evenings, knowing that I'll put her up on a roost when I go out there to lock them up. If for some reason I'm late, she gives up waiting and parks herself facing a corner of the coop, under the roosts.
Last night I was late going out and Lil'Bit parked herself in her corner. When she heard me enter the coop she turned to come to me, but I moved towards the nestboxes instead so she stopped. When I noticed her just standing there I started calling to her. She'd walked a few steps towards me and then stop, cock her head to listen, make course corrections and then walk a few more steps. She zeroed in on my position using the sound of my voice and then leaped into my arms. The way she started chattering away I could tell she was proud of herself.
Lil'Bit will always be special needs, but she's also one smart chicken.