young hen maybe blind?

[tlcorley]

I have a sweet barred plymoth rock that seems to be blind in both eyes. My question is...will she be ok, she isn't quite old enough to lay yet, expecting that in mid feb to early march. she seems to be healthy otherwise so i havent worried much.

New to this chicken owning stuff and don't quite know all the tricks of the trade just yet. any help you can give would be wonderful.

thanks.

Tammy

 

[cnj-tx50]

I have an EE that is not totally blind but ver near sighted. She spooks very easy and if something touches her she jumps. She also sleeps alone on the floor. She does lay blue egg every other day, but under the coop. She eats, drinks fine, but everything stays in the same place. When I give treats she is always to the outside of the flock and never comes close to see whats there. Only after everyone goes on about their business does she come to check it out.

 

[theFox]

We had a White Rock who was mostly blind (could see only light and dark from what we could tell) DB was a good girl (used to go for a walk around the yard sitting on one of my sneakers or following the light and shade patterns behind us) and a steady layer.

However, DB deposited her egg in the corner of the coop as she couldn't make it into a nesting box.

One day she managed to get up onto the top set of roosts. Sometime after first light DB flew straight into the corner of the coop breaking her neck while trying to get down.

There are challenges being a blind chicken, make sure she has a place to get away from the rest of the chickens and in which she can lay her eggs. She'll tend to stay close to the edges of the coop or pen feeling her way around. The other hens may beat on her as she'll act differently and is likely to also provoke them by entering their spaces. As long as she is eating, drinking , and otherwise well, I'd let nature take its course.

 

[tlcorley]

thank you for the replies. they have helped ease my mind about her a little. She is super sweet and seems healthy other than the blindness thing. We'll just keep an extra eye on her when she is let out to free range, Im worried a predator could sneak up on her. But I guess that is also part of the whole "let nature take its course" thing huh.

Thanks again, you are why I love this site.

Tammy