Chicken bald back

[donbon79]

Hello everyone,

 

My first time on here, I hope you can answer my question. I have four lohman browns and noticed around six weeks ago that Tikka had one iris smaller than the other almost the size of a pin head. It has now got worse and her entire eye is a bluey grey. I originally thought her eye was just a part of her as she also has a bent toe on her right side too. We got her when she was 17 weeks old in June. Other than her eye she is perfectly fine, she is laying and eating and drinking well. She even sprinted away quickly when I tried to get a picture of her eye!. I know this is vague, I hope to get a picture posted on here soon. I have thought about the vet but the ones around where I live do not deal with chickens.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

Donna

[Christian]

Hello Donna and welcome to the forum

 

I believe that a vet cannot refuse to treat/or at least see an animal Worth mentioning this at your vets? If they can treat parrots, then they should see a chicken. I do appreciate that avian medicine is more specialised, but it is bad to say that they won't treat a chicken.

 

With regard to her eye, does it bother her at all? Red/inflamed? Any discharge? If you can, take a very close look and see if you can see anything in there. Is it possible that she could be blind in one eye? Watch her eating and see if she turns her head to look at something in detail.

 

 

It might be an infection, so a short course of antibiotics should help.

 

Good luck and again, welcome

[donbon79]

Thanks Christian,

 

Her eye is not inflamed, and there is no discharge. It is just completely grey. She seems ok in her self. I will have a word with the vets again then. I was not aware of that, so thanks very much

 

Donna

[Christian]

Good luck Donna. Don't quote me at the vets!

[Jools]

As a commercial hybrid, she should have been vaccinated as a day old against Marek's disease, however the way you describe her eye does make me think of the ocular form of the disease as it's also known as grey-eye.

 

Here's a link to wikipedia which I came across earlier today when doing some reading about the disease. There's a photo which may help you decide if it's the case with your hen.

 

In your shoes, I'd be tempted just to keep an eye on her (sorry, no pun intended) for any other symptoms. If she's okay in herself and there's no swelling, weeping, discharge or injury, I'd leave her alone for the time being. However, if that changes, I'd be looking for a vet.

[chelsea]

My little chicken Willow is blind in one eye - her eye is completely blue/grey in colour.

 

I wonder if your chicken is blind?

 

Willow is an ex-broiler house rescue chicken.

[Pikey]

Hi Donna

Sounds like a cataract. My season has one exactly how you describe and is now blind in that eye.

 

Is she an ex-batt?? They do tend to get it due to high levels of ammonia in the battery.

 

I will try and get a picture tomorrow of it....if the rain stops....oh and if she stays still enough to take one.

 

I would take her to the vet just to double check nothing else tho.

 

Pikey x

[donbon79]

Hello everyone,

 

I have managed to get a photograph of Tikka.My husband spoke to the farmer that supplied us with the chickens to see what innoculations they had and all we got out of him is that they have had everything that they should have had which is vague at most but I hope that they have been vaccinated against Mareks. They are not ex battery, they were kept in a barn. She seems ok but is becoming isolated from the other girls, they are excluding her and getting aggressive if she comes near them. The farmers advice to us was if she is laying still( which she is) to leave her alone but if there is any change to put her down which obviously I want to avoid. Has anyone else had tis problem where they are bullied by the rest of the group?.

 

Thanks again

 

Donna

 

 

 

 

 

edit - have added the picture for you Donna - Christian

Edited November 29, 2009 by Guest

[Macfoy]

Hello Donbon

 

It seems as if Tikka is blind in one eye, she will not know this of course, to her it is just how things are, we are bothered by such things, but she will get around just fine. As for the others bullying her, well I'm afraid chickens are like that, there will be a top bird and the rest in their pecking order beneath. Tikka will by the nature of her problem sometimes be in the wrong place and get a peck to remind her of just what is what.

 

Sometimes birds are loners, they don't always hang out in a gang, as long as she appears healthy and lays well then there is no problem.

 

A blind in one eye bird will tend to use her head more as she will have to turn more to see things, so that may give her a lobsided look.

 

I had a blind in one eye bird, she was often on her own, she just cleared off to her favourite spots,

 

Macfoy