[BlackRockLovers]

as i thought spoke to the breeder and he said they had the Mareks + Infectious Bronchitis vaccine

[joyfull]

What time is your vets appointment?

[BlackRockLovers]

no idea, called them this morning, waiting for them to call me back. said they wuld call within the next few hours, i hope its not too late as i have to go out later to work

[BlackRockLovers]

i think i can confirm the chicken is blind she's walking into tree's ! so im keeping her penned up with a companion while the others free range

[jhub]

Oh no- poor girl.
What has the vet suggested??

[compostqueen]

Sorry to hear that she's blind. We'd be interested to hear what the vet recommends you should do with her.  Can a blind hen lead a near-normal life? 

Pink Ladies

Your hen with the droopy wing could have injured it. They use a muscle to hold the wing by their side and if she's been injured this could account for it drooping. Mine had an injured wing and it fell by her side as she was too in pain to hold it up after being attacked by a fox.  Painkiller immediately and antibiotics for a week and she was happy again.  Keep an eye on her and take her to the vet if you see no improvement today

[BlackRockLovers]

Oh no- poor girl.
What has the vet suggested??

They didnt.. they just said theres nothing we can do and jst make sure she gets feed and water

[joyfull]

As I said to you in my pm I know a chap who has a blind serama - she has a friend living with her and her hearing is far sharper than normal so she can hear corn being dropped etc. Your hens hearing and other senses will also develop pretty quickly. You just have to make sure nothing gets moved around xx

[BlackRockLovers]

well unfortunatley another of my chickens left eye has gone blind now, so i have seperated the 2 from the rest of the flock and im claling the vets out on monday to do tests on them. The vets havent done anything else so far so lets hope they get into action and tell me whats wrong with my little girls

[jhub]

This sounds quite worrying and you probably need a speciaist poultry vet's opinion. I looked again at photos and the iris and conjunctiva appear clear and there is no obvious discharge. It does look a little like cataracts but they have appeared so quickly.
I went online and chickens can develop avian encephalomyelitis when young, recover from the initial illness and develop cataracts later. There are many other causes of blindness but in most causes the chickens are ill and have other symptoms whereas yours appear well apart from the blindness?
Sorry but this probably isn't very helpful.
I do hope the vet can help.
Jane

[BlackRockLovers]

fortunatley the vets i go to in carmarthen has a chicken specialist in so, it will cost me a few months of pay im sure to afford gettin my chickens looked at but yes, they are well apart from the eyes, i feel so sorry for them tho, it must be horrible . They are locked away in the stables now, seem to be enjoying it tho, all that space and straw to themselfs heh, they look very cute cuddled up together tho . will update u all on progress after the vet has been tmrw

[jhub]

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/202243253-67179980/ftinterface~db=all~content=a784691587~fulltext=713240930

found this article citing an outbreak of cataracts in a commercial flock of poultry.
It discusses potential causes which included:
toxoplasmosis
Mareks ( but they then discarded this as ocular form of marek's affects the iris)
Newcastle disease
Avian encephalomyelitis
Vit E deficiency
prolonged exposure to artificial lighting
an inherited form- is it worth having eye check in your other chooks??

However most of the diseases cited caused other significant symptoms.

I am sure you practice hand washing after handling your chooks but just in case...

I am so sorry, this must be so worrying for you.
Jane

[BlackRockLovers]

says Internet explorer cannot view this webpage
I dnt think it would be Vit E Deficiency, as they get a supplement which contains it.
They dnt have artificial Lighting
Inheritance, not sure the breeder said none of his birds are blind and he has never heard of it.
As for the other diseases im not sure
if it helps at all the chooks in the stables ( blind ones ) have runny VERY smelly might i add poo.

[jhub]

That's strange as it's just opened for me- it's title 'a cataract outbreak in broiler breeds' authors Landman W.J.and  Dwars R.M.(1998) Avian pathology,27:2, 209-212
Jane

[Casey76]

Newcastle disease is a notifiable disease (like F&M)... however there hasn't been a case in the UK for years.