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Hi all,
I'm new to your group and new to raising chickens. I have three hens and a rooster. THey are all about 4 mos old. I have noticed that the white one, who is part brahma, seems to peck in the wrong place when going after food. i.e. I brought them raisins, which they go crazy over, and she 1. has trouble even seeing them, and 2. when she does spot one she pecks about 1/2 further then the raisin is. She tends to be aloof and she seems to walk with a half sideways waddle. I notice that when she comes down the steps when leaving the coop in the mornings, - well she waddles/slides off to the side and ends up half flying.
Could this 'nearsided-ness' be a breed thing? I don't see any visible signs of infection? The good news is that I feed them mash and she has no trouble eating that, but she's definitely missing out on many bugs, and virtually all of the fun leftovers that the others get to before her.
Any ideas?
I'm new to your group and new to raising chickens. I have three hens and a rooster. THey are all about 4 mos old. I have noticed that the white one, who is part brahma, seems to peck in the wrong place when going after food. i.e. I brought them raisins, which they go crazy over, and she 1. has trouble even seeing them, and 2. when she does spot one she pecks about 1/2 further then the raisin is. She tends to be aloof and she seems to walk with a half sideways waddle. I notice that when she comes down the steps when leaving the coop in the mornings, - well she waddles/slides off to the side and ends up half flying.
Could this 'nearsided-ness' be a breed thing? I don't see any visible signs of infection? The good news is that I feed them mash and she has no trouble eating that, but she's definitely missing out on many bugs, and virtually all of the fun leftovers that the others get to before her.
Any ideas?
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Re: Hen with a vision problem
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 9:43 PMHi, I'm also new to this group, and new to chickens.
My thoughts about this hen and her poor eyesight is that if she is managing well, and getting her mash and water then that's good. As long as she is not realy suffering from her condition I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe a visit to the vet will re-assure you that she's not actually sick or injured, just has poor vision.
One strategy for making sure she gets her share of goodies is to hand feed her, or take her aside and give her her share of the goodies somewhere that the other chickens can't barge in and take them from her. Perhaps with you standing guard. If you hand feed her/pick her up, then you can use this time to check her over for any injuries. If she's bumbling around she might get a few bumps and bruises, so keep a look out for that.
Maybe you could modify the ramp/steps to have side walls (like a chute), so she is less likely to fall off before she gets close to ground level.
Just ideas from a newbie. I hope you get some help from more experienced folk. Good luck to you, and your chickens.
-Brigid -
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Re: Hen with a vision problem
Wed, September 12, 2007 - 7:07 AMThanks for your support. (Sorry for my delayed response. I thought that these messages would show up in my mailbox, but they do not)
I am going to follow her behavior closely. I have tried to hand feed her, but she is a bit aloof, unlike the others. She's gradually been able to eat out of my hand a few times, but I think some of her issues are just 'breed' related.
And as for the coop steps, I'm building a new coop and will make sure the ramp is bigger, more gradual, and that the cross pieces of wood are bigger and thicker so it's easier for the chickens to grab onto.
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