This has been preying on my mind and while I don't want to go borrowing trouble, I am a bit concerned about the fact that both Ginger and Miranda have one pupil which is smaller and oddly shaped. I have looked back in photos and it is definitely a development rather than something they came to me with.
All my girls are my first ones and came point of lay and, apparently, fully vaccinated. That's just for info.
Miranda has had a funny pupil for at least six months but I think it could be more like a year. So far she has been my healthiest hen. No other obvious problems to date (with chickens, you just feel like you're tempting fate when you say that...).
I noticed Ginger's pupil a few months ago but, although she hasn't been well,all her problems have been reproductive and she seems well in herself apart from that.
Miranda's pupil doesn't seem to have got worse during the time I have noticed it, and with both of them while the pupil is a strange shape, they can definitely see out of it and it does go bigger and smaller depending on the light.
Here is a close up of Ginger today:
Obviously you can see from my title I fear it is ocular Mareks but have also read that this sort of pupil could be caused by damage (say a peck) to the eye. Of course, that is what I am hoping for.
If it is Mareks however, all I can find online is a huge list of symptoms, none of which apply apart from the pupil - but perhaps it is because it's early days - and advice which says there is no treatment and you have to cull.
Wiggy's eyes are normal. On a side note, when we got them all the girls except Wiggy were in a big barn. Wiggy - being mega posh with blue egg potential and a higher price tag -was in a separate area with the other mental skylines, all flapping about like mad, and I do wonder if it is Mareks then perhaps the skylines got a better dose of the vaccine.
Any info/ advice/ knowledge about the outlook and timescale would be very gratefully (if sadly) received.
Hi HenPen, I'm sorry I really can't help with your query but I just wanted to say what a lovely photo. It's like she's posing in a photographic studio I hope you get some more helpful advice from someone with more experience.
Kath xx
Mum to my beautiful girls Lucy, Holly, Rosie, Hettie, Polly, Ruby, Lily, Penny, Gracie, Maisie, Molly, Evie and my gorgeous boy Toby
RIP my beautiful Ranger, Roxy, Bluebelle, Poppy, Speckle, Daisy and Honey xxxx
Your best bet would be to drop Kitla a line, she's had Smidge and Nettle with ocular Mareks and would be best placed to give you some advice including tips on care if it is (and let's hope it isn't) Mareks. Did Cupid or Amber have the same thing?
Lovely picture of the Gingerbot
Karen Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
oh poor you, I understand your worry & frustration trying to find out about ocular mareks. All you find is pictures of eyeballs, paralysed chooks & advice to cull your flock & never keep any again! In actual fact I first noticed Nettle's odd pupil soon after I got her 2 1/2 years ago, my vet thought it was a genetic flaw as it responded normally to light, she's lived a normal life & only over the last few months her eyes have started getting worse, but she's still well. We spotted Smidge's odd pupil soon after Nettles - again the vet didnt think it was mareks. Over 2 years both his eyes changed, the pupils became small & the colour around them faded, but he was find & otherwise healthy until he suddenly went downhill & died this spring, it happened very quickly. I took Nettle to a chicken vet who is sure it's mareks. It's too late to worry about the others catching it - it's in the feather dander, it will be in the coop, in the run, in the garden, and the wild birds spread it. If they havent got it yet they're probably immune, all my others are unaffected, I'm still keeping an eye on Bill as he's the newest and youngest. It's a good idea to take photos of both eyes every few months so you can compare them carefully for any changes. The vet said Nettles broodiness would speed up the progression, she was broody for ages and her eyes are much worse now, but she's not blind & she's still happy for now.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." --Immanuel Kant
Did the vet say why broodiness would speed it up? Just out of interest
Karen Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
Are eggs ok? Gosh, hope so! We've been eating them all this time. Not to mention blow drying the dander all over myself...
I too wonder why broodiness makes a difference.
And yes, as you've touched on in your reply, I found myself horrified too by the "cull & don't keep any again" - I mean what about poor old Wigs if she was left alone? No companion allowed?
I don't know if it is but I am very suspicious if two birds have funny eyes. You think it is, don't you? I was hoping you'd say they've had it too long, it's a quick illness so it must be something else. Ho hum.
Ps thanks Karen and Kath for the kind photo comments. Sadly I am no photo wiz, I had to bin 17 photos to get one good one!
Dont worry you cant catch it! We eat Nettle's eggs. I'm not sure exactly why being broody makes it worse, I guess it's because her immune system is compromised under the strain, and mareks is a viral illness. Anyway she's had this for all this time & apart from Smidge no others have been affected, none of them are vaccinated - (apparently it doesnt totally prevent them catching it, but gives them a better chance of fighting it off.) Nettle also hatched some chicks & they've been fine as far as I know. I think this must be a weak strain & not very contagious. My vet thought it couldnt be mareks after it lasted such a long time, but the chicken vet couldnt suggest anything else it could be. It wont stop me getting any more chickens, but I'll probably stick to exbatts that've been vaccinated.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." --Immanuel Kant
Thanks - it's amazing how little info there is for the Pet Chicken Brigade, especially if it is as easily transmitted as all that. Sounds to me like watch and wait time. I've got enough to be going on with, having to do a daily chicken bottom bath, so while they're happy I will just keep a weather eye on things (and take the odd photograph).
I do value your help and advice, thank you so much.
I hope you get some more helpful advice from someone with more experience.
