- Apr 7, 2009
- 10
- 0
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I posted the following about a week ago but have not received a response. I'm posting it again (moving it up) because I think another of our hens is going blind. Help!
One of our hens, a little over a year old, seems to have suddenly gone blind in the last couple days. We can see no discharge or change in color in her pupils, although it's possible that the area around her eyes might be irritated. I say "might" because she also seems to be molting and so has lost feathers around her face. Or is she not molting and the feather loss plus blindness is indicative of something else? She's stopped laying, too.
She seems to have no problem finding her perch or food and water in the coop, and she's still hanging with the others and not being pecked. But we've noticed she seems to be using sound more than sight to get around and find the others when they're all outside free ranging. She will eat out of our hands, as always, but we have to get our hand right in front of her. She used to come to us and find it herself.
Any ideas about how to determine if she is indeed blind, what might be the cause, and what might be done about it?
UPDATE: The hen has definitely stopped laying and her eyes do seem somewhat cloudy now. The second hen is still laying but her eyes may be showing the beginnings of clouding.
One of our hens, a little over a year old, seems to have suddenly gone blind in the last couple days. We can see no discharge or change in color in her pupils, although it's possible that the area around her eyes might be irritated. I say "might" because she also seems to be molting and so has lost feathers around her face. Or is she not molting and the feather loss plus blindness is indicative of something else? She's stopped laying, too.
She seems to have no problem finding her perch or food and water in the coop, and she's still hanging with the others and not being pecked. But we've noticed she seems to be using sound more than sight to get around and find the others when they're all outside free ranging. She will eat out of our hands, as always, but we have to get our hand right in front of her. She used to come to us and find it herself.
Any ideas about how to determine if she is indeed blind, what might be the cause, and what might be done about it?
UPDATE: The hen has definitely stopped laying and her eyes do seem somewhat cloudy now. The second hen is still laying but her eyes may be showing the beginnings of clouding.