Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[mrsatroy]

My little red bantam Flora has always had rather strange eyes. In that her pupils always seemed very small and didn't dilate in light like normal eyes. That said she never seemed to have any trouble finding food and pottered about the same as the others - running away from Francis my resident bantam rooster. I did notice she was always in bed earlier than the others but I figured maybe because of her eyes she didn't see as well as the sun began to go down. In recent weeks she has taken to hiding under my fruit bushes and seems less certain about things. She still rushes out when I give a shake or grain or some other treat in the evenings. Not quite sure what to do with her, she's just over a year old and I am worried in case she's beginning to decline. Has anyone else ever experienced eye problems in their chickens??

[Chickabee]

My Pekin frizzle only has one eye, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all. I suppose losing sight in both would be a bit more daunting though. I would just spoil her more

[Lewis]

I guess there's not much you can do apart from keep a close eye on her.

 

Partially sited animals can learn to cope, especially if she is taking herself to bed earlier etc, I'd just make sure she is eating and drinking ok.

 

We had a falcon with bilateral (both sides) cataracts and we think he could only really see shadows.

In the wild they would die from lack of food so its very rare to see so we took him to the specialist ophthalmologist who took lots of pictures for research. He was happy enough and would still jump up to the glove and eat ok, just needed a bit more care and would sometimes bite fingers instead of food.

 

Anyway, waffling on, I hope shes alright

[Beantree]

We have two old related Orpington cocks and both have eye problems. When light levels are lower, but still daytime, they lose vision in one eye and can't focus to peck at a close object. They miss a grape treat by an inch or so and appear to be pecking at fresh air. They do get very frustrated by the condition.

[mrsatroy]

She's eating and drinking ok and comes out from under the bushes to potter about. It's very hard to know what level of site she has - it's enough to be able to see grain on the ground and other little bits. Possibly her recent habit to hiding in the bushes is due to my little black cat getting into the run and stalking her. My cats don't usually bother the girls and if they get too close there's an awful lot of squawking but perhaps for poor Flora it was like being stalked by a huge leopard and gave her a bit of a fright.

[Margaret]

Mummyhen used to have a blind orpington, she may be able to advise you. Saying that she hasnt been on the forum for a while.