Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

We picked up a batch of Black English Orpington chickens just before Christmas - one rooster, one hen, and 5 chicks, three of which were black, one was a cross of black and buff, and one buff. Really cute. The chicks were all supposedly 5 weeks old.

The rooster and hen have merged into the flock quite nicely and are doing really well. Of the chicks, the buff died when momma hen squashed it (it didn't look more than a week or two old to me) and the cross keeled over one morning with no warning. Of the three blacks, one is now merged into the flock, one was culled after it became apparent that it was a carrier of god-knows-what virus, and the last one is my problem pet chicken....which is what my question is about.

She's thin under her feathers and doesn't appear to be able to see very well. She'll eat and drink when coaxed, but we haven't managed to catch her doing either on her own volition. Given a choice, she'll hide in a corner all day in the coop, and is being harassed mercilessly by the other hens, although the SL Wyandottes are the worst for it. She'll actually climb onto me and hide her head given half a chance.

We've been treating her eyes with a combination of saline water and erythromycin meds that we got for my toddlers pinkeye. One eye seems to have a film over it (cataract?) and the other appears to have an abscess in the lower eyelid, which seems to be getting lesser with warm compresses, but it's not a consistent improvement, and the time we're having to spend nursing her and convincing her to eat and drink....sigh.

Part of my problem is guilt that we didn't realize they were missing key vitamins from their diet while they were kept in the garage coop during the winter because it was too damn cold to put them out, which is likely what caused the damage to her vision - rookie mistake.

We're in a quandary about what to do with her. She's almost 6 months old now and the odds of her ever managing to find her position or being truly healthy in our very type-A personality flock is slim to none, and we can't keep her separate because we're just not set up for separate pens and coops. My gut says she's not a medical danger to anyone but herself, but there's no way I'd ever feel comfortable rehoming her with another more docile flock for the obvious 'but what if' reasons.

The obvious answer is to just cull her.....but I'm having a hard time accepting that. I'm going to post some pictures of her eyes when I get home....I would really appreciate your opinions on her condition, and if there's any hope for her or not, or any alternative solutions to this....

thanks
karen

Soak warm tea bags on her eyes am & pm & put small 2/3 pen with fresh water & complete grower feed with vit & mins in it so she can't miss . Is what I would suggest without being there. Luck
What's your 20 . Maybe someone near could take a look see .

Is there no way to at least temporarily separate her from the rest of the flock? The other chickens will make her life intolerable and she's not going to get better being harassed by the others. If you can do as Ross suggests, that will give her every opportunity to get better, so if she does not, you can make a decision then.
IMO if you don't wish to do the separation/ nursing, there's no point prolonging misery. Chickens are ruthless. If you didn't feel guilty, would your decision be different? If she's the only one with vision problems, and all the other chickens are fine that spent time in the garage, vitamins may have had nothing to do with her problem and you are feeling bad over nothing that you could have had control over. And even if it was vitamins, things are what they are, and you have to make the decision based on what's going on right now. Doesn't sound like a fun life for her with the status quo.

Oh kdms - that sucks!

My flock attacked my favorite Ameracauna "Honey"
They blinded her & I had to remove her from the flock.
I out Honey in with a bantam hen.
She lived out her life in peace & harmony.
Maybe you Can find a little space for 1 or 2 birds?
Good Luck

One of these plastic dog crates works well for isolation & you can still leave in coop . Lots of used on Kijji or cheap new at Walmart . Luck
If not yes put out of its misery . Luck

Immediate time frame - get her separated and see if she picks up. Even a bathtub with a towel in the bottom and sliding doors can double as a recovery coop believe it or not (dont ask how i figured that out). Food. Water. Electrolytes or superbooster. Keep eyes clean. Protein add to food (hard boiled egg, wet or dry cat food...whatever).

If she picks up and gets stronger you can rehome or find her a buddy and get a dog house and fence...separate run. If she gets strong and fiesty you can try reintroduction to coop but she will remember the pick on-ers. And the pick on-ers will remember her.

If she doesnt show improvement within a week i would call it the end and cull. Then you have tried pretty much everything.

I too agree if all arent blind then that wasnt their husbandry over the winter....more likely weaker genetic makeup.

Living in the garage without vitamins and minerals has nothing to do with her condition. As long as you fed her chicken feed, it is balanced and already has the vitamin and minerals she needs. She has some kind of virus going on ,doesn't feel well is trying to isolate herself because she knows the other chickens will pick on a sick individual. An antibiotic may improve her condition but I suspect it is too late, most chickens don't show signs of illness untill it's too late. She has to be kept separate, period, she probably has more than one issue going on. When a chicken gets sick parasites take advantage in an otherwise healthy flock, she may have mites, worms going on as well.
Separate her , at least then she can eat and drink in peace, check for mites, give her superbooster. If mites treat her, she won't get well if parasites are munching on her.
You can put her in a dog crate untill her condition improves if you have no other way to separate her, but as I said before I think it's too late for her but you can try. At least if she is separated she will not be harassed.

A PTO member sold me a 2 1-2 ur old Silkie hen
"Lola" was for company for Honey.
( the other bantam decided to set & Honey cried with loneliness )
Well Lola also had an eye injury.
Awhile later she was fine.
She could suddenly see in the eye.

IF your girl is blind in Both eyes it will be a challenge...but once she has been separated you will be able to get a better idea.

IF she gets stronger then maybe a gentle buddy for company will pick up her spirits.

Keeping good thoughts for you!

I had a hen with an eye problem and treated with polysporin eye drops. Worked well.

Thanks everyone. I put her out with the flock yesterday during the day because her energy level had picked up, and left her dog crate (like the one posted above) available for her to shelter in if need be. When we got home she didn't look any worse for wear and was fighting off the horny rooster.....clearly he didn't see any problem with her!

Both eyes were open and the right one looked clear to me. The left one still has some issues (will try the teabag) but when I put food and water in the kennel (with super booster in it) she didn't seem to have any problem finding it.

I've put her out again today with her kennel available because both of her eyes were open and not crusted over this morning, and we'll see how it goes. DH has given her a D-day of Sunday -- part of the problem is that we've got chicks hatching out right now at the kids school and they'll be brought home next week and we just don't want to risk exposing healthy chicks to a potentially sick bird.

I'm picking up a trailer frame out of our local scrap yard tomorrow morning with the intention of building a brooder/quarantine coop on it....it's just finding the time to build it.

My 20: I'm just east of Smiths Falls on Code Dr, and around 15min from 2 PTO members that I know of. If someone wants to come take a look at her, I'd be grateful, but I don't want anyone to feel like they have to volunteer, so I'm not naming names. :)