I have a year old little serama that about 2 months ago, she started shying away from the other chickens. I could go right up to her and pick her up. The more
I watched her, I noticed that she was only seeing out of the perpheral area of one eye. It appears she can only see shadows or movement. I have isolated her in
a pen by herself and she knows where the food and water is. My thing is, that I don't know why she just went blind. I am having a hard time with whether I
should put her down or not. She is a sweet little hen but it is a burden caring for another disabled chicken. I have one hen I had to amputate her foot over a
year ago and have to change her prosthesis weekly. Does anyone know why a hen would just up and go blind?
0 Kudo
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QUESTION ABOUT BLIND HEN
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 DBBQUILT55 |
QUESTION ABOUT BLIND HEN |
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Posts: 1633 09/04/08 09:21 PM "Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a Chicken out of my hat!" |
Deana ~ The LowCountry of SC!!
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robin416 |
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Posts: 3737 09/05/08 05:55 AM |
I will try to do some digging on it today.
But I can tell you that you really don't have to treat her different. She's actually better off with at least one other bird being with her for companionship. I have a blind roo, he uses his mate to navigate when they are out. I never move his food or water, he has a low perch that he uses when he's not out navigating the pen. |
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DBBQUILT55 |
Blind hen | #2 | ||
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Posts: 1634 09/05/08 09:48 AM "Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a Chicken out of my hat!" |
Thanks, Robin. That info about your blind Roo makes me feel better. She is eating well (fat as a miniature butterball turkey)and is able to find a place to
roost but not in the hen house since I think it is to dark for her to see enough to make out where the roost in there are.
Deana ~ The LowCountry of SC!!
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robin416 |
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Posts: 3738 09/05/08 01:02 PM |
What I have for a perch for him was actually for waterers. Its a two foot length of deck board with 8 inch lengths of 2X4's for legs. If he isn't out
he either uses his girl as a guide or follows the pen wire around to reach his food and water or to return to his perch. He's not skittish in the least and
talks back when I talk to him. His girl practically crawls up under him to sleep at night. He knows when I've opened his outside window and will turn
towards it. He knows when I've opened his pen door so he can investigate the coop aisle. I've found that he feels more secure outside if he has a
boundary he can follow so I use a wire cage that is the same dimensions of his inside pen.
Other than those few things he's not any more work than some of my sighted birds, maybe a little less because I don't have to chase him down since he can't see me coming. |
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robin416 |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 3740 09/05/08 01:15 PM |
Last Edited By: robin416 09/05/08 01:18 PM.
Edited 1 time.
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DBBQUILT55 |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 1635 09/06/08 07:43 PM "Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a Chicken out of my hat!" |
Thanks for the link. None of those seem to apply. It is as if she was seeing well one day, then the next day, she couldn't see anything but shadowy
figures. thanks for the searching. I really appreciate it.
Deana ~ The LowCountry of SC!!
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simba |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 9 09/08/08 08:33 PM |
sorry to hear about your little girl. is it possible that maybe she was caught in the crossfire of a fight. she does need a friend with her, i have a cat that
is half blind and he has a "seeing eye cat" that watches and helps him around cause he cant see very well. the little girl will have a "seeing
eye hen" which will also make her feel assured. dont put her down she will have a friend that will help her and she can be a "special needs"
girl. i had a barred rock named baby that was. and the roo adopted her and protected her from the rest of the flock and she was fine. give her a chance she
will be fine
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heavypetting |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 772 04/04/09 07:24 PM Talent Agent to the Poultry Stars! |
My hen Eunice has the same issue. Seemed fine yesterday (but has always been less adventurous than the others) and today she has just slight periferal vision. I hope you had a positive outcome. We are going to try to work with her and hopefully she will cope well. It seems Rhode Island Reds and crosses seem to have a higher incidence due to retinal defects. |
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- General and Social Discussion
- Disease, Cures and Emergencies!
- Eggs to Hatch and Beyond
- Chicken Behaviors
- Coops and Runs
- Predators and Pests
- Poultry show and swap meet listings
- Buy ~ Sell ~ Trade ~ Giveaways
- Breeds in General
- Breeders & Backyard Hatcheries
- Meat Birds and Other Poultry
- reference material, med and disease info
- Egg & Chicken Recipes
- Notable Archives
