Sudden blindness....

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Katiee
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Sudden blindness....

Post by Katiee »

My Blackrock seems to have lost her sight quite suddenly ...she is also moulting a lot. Could there be a connection? She is eating but I have to coax her. I put a cob of corn on the grass which she really enjoyed, but she is losing weight. She is approaching 4 yrs old. Don't think it's Maraks as there are no other symptoms which fit. Going away for a few days soon so worrying about how to advise my neighbour on caring for her....any advice welcome )t' .

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kitla
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by kitla »

Any chance you could nip her to a vet, even a drop in one as you havent much time?
They will be able to look into her eyes properly & see whats going on.
Mareks can take different forms, occular mareks (affecting eyes) can affect them without the paralysis but it seems to be more unusual. I believe certain deficiencies can cause temporary blindness, that could be affected by her moult. My blind hen Giblet sometimes goes a bit odd when she moults & I put nutridrops in her water at that time
Have her eyes changed in appearance? are the pupils quite large or very small, or slightly misshappen? has the coloured part gone a bit grey?
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bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi , not worried about sight as with care and attention you can feed her and water her .
Weight loss is not good .
Make sure she eats as much as you can get in her .
water squirt in her beak as well . Don't over do the water as could drown her .
If she losses to much weight her body will start shuting down and have knock on effects.
vets for sure .
I have a girl that has recovered from a bad illness . She is happy and is back with the flock although she does keep to her self . A few friendly girls keep her company .
4 years is a good age some of my girls did not make that long.
I was giving my girl tylan and other meds ,off it all now . Moult is over and she looks beautiful.
I have to make sure she gets food in morning and the evening plus water . rest of the day she finds her own food and water . As long as she can feed herself it is not to bad . But make sure she is getting her food and not pushed away .
Mealworms maybe a good way of putting weight on her as my girl fills up on them and she is a little fatty now.
Hope it all goes well .
Bob
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kitla
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by kitla »

just to add - it's important she gets some grit if she's still eating things other than pellets. I feed Giblet wet layers mash with some grit & treats mixed in, in a bowl that's always in the same place, water is nearby - also always in the same place. I encourage her by tapping on the bowl which makes her eat and chatter, I reckon she thinks I'm eating with her when I do that!
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Katiee
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by Katiee »

Thanku both..the corner of at least one eye is grey. She's very disoriented but I notice that she put herself to bed tonight and so I'm guessing that she's still able to see enough to know when it's dark.. I'm hoping a vet may be able to call in ( the partner of a friend of mine ) and give me an idea. I do have a few weeks before I go away so should get something sorted..she's been moulting for quite a few weeks, so here's hoping she picks up. Otherwise I'm left with one girl ....decisions, decisions >eas2<
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kitla
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by kitla »

what about her pupils Karen, are they slightly off shaped - not quite round?
I found it easier to get someone to hold my hen & I took photos of her eye which I loaded onto my laptop for a really good look (without her fidgeting). Also if you take another pic a week later you can compare them & see if its changed.
This is my pekin Nettle, she had a funny shaped pupil on one side but this eye was normal so we thought it was just a genetic defect
Image
this is how it became in time
Image
see the change in shape & colour & the grey ring around the iris. It's much worse now but she can still see. I took her to a chicken vet who is certain it's occular mareks, my cockerel also had it, it took him 2 years to go blind (no other symptoms) then he died in a couple of days. Nettle is about 4 years old & has had this since I got her - about 3 years. It must be a mild strain.
Still hoping for you its just a nutritional thing though.!
"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."
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Mo
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by Mo »

Someone on a radio 4 programme was talking about vision. Said that birds need to be able to see close (to feed) and at the same time watch the distance for predators. Some do it one way but hens have one eye for each job.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
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bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Mo , you may have answered why my hen looks sideways at food and has bad aim.
Well done .
Thank you very much .
I listen to radio 4 , did not hear that one , shame .
Bob
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Mo
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by Mo »

Wish I could find it on their website. I've looked through the science programmes. Within the last week probably
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
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kitla
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Re: Sudden blindness....

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I've read about that, I also have a hen with only one eye, I think she has the distance one as she's quite clumsy. I just googled to find out & came across this facinating article about chicken sight. I'm delighted to hear that blind chickens can still see light through their heads! Still not sure which eye is which where the close/distant thing is concerned though.
https://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com ... en-vision/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....Just found out it's left eye for distance, right for close up. Bonny only has her left.
"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."
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Mo
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by Mo »

Yes, I found that article, but it didn't say anything about left & right eyes.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Katiee
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by Katiee »

Well....Katiee seems to be manfully striding on!! She doesn't have any issues with her pupils that I've noticed...she tries to wander round the garden ( tripping over curbs, food bowls & her chuck pal as she goes). She does seem to have a little vision though, and when she has a good shake,more feathers fly into the air....her small comb is quite red and her tail is up most of the time. She is doing a " beak to path" sweep as she walks but if I offer her any food she mostly refuses. I have seen her eating but not a lot. Will see my friend tomorrow ( her partner is a vet ) so will see what I can sort out. Really hope it's a bad moult as you said Kitla...
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kitla
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by kitla »

I presume she's still drinking ok, the easiest thing is to put nutridrops (or any avian vit/mineral mix) in the water. I always give that to them when there's alot of moulting going on.
Good luck with your vet friend
"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
Katiee
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by Katiee »

Sad update re Katiee.....she went into the coop, tucked herself in the corner...and has remained there ever since in a sleeping mode ( This started Thursday eve !). She seems to be in a coma, and hasn't had water or food. She was refusing either before this. I just can't believe she is still breathing...just hope she goes today. I have my other remaining girl sleeping in a box inside with us as I think it's better for both. Am really upset but she seems totally unaware so am not going to disturb her now. The vet thought she had either an infection or parasites, but we didn't get chance to do anything ( re blindness ). I wonder if she had a tumour as she laid a lash last year and this could have developed from there..who knows? {cry} {cry}
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kitla
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Re: Sudden blindness....

Post by kitla »

oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. Sometimes when they're fading like this, if you drip a little water on the side of their beak they will instinctively take it in, just for her comfort.
I hope she goes soon, but if it carries on consider taking her to a vet, they dont charge much to pts a chicken.
"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

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