Any ideas please?????

[Suechooks]

My 2 year old Amber Link has been behaving a little strangely for a few weeks now. She looks at the ground twitters excitedly and runs a few paces backwards! This has been the cause of some amusement!
BUT -yesterday I noticed that one of her eyes has a constricted pupil and the coloured part looks smaller that the other eye. I'm not sure how long it's been like this but I think I'd have noticed if it had been like that for long as I handle them almost every day and she has always been particularly tame. This morning she didn't get off the perch when the others came out and wasn't over keen on eating either. I'm feeling very uneasy as I know how serious these symptoms can be in mammals. As my vets are not poultry specialists I thought some words of Forum wisdom would be helpful before I make an appointment - Please?

[TPeers]

Is it only the one hen afected? The only thing I can find online implies a reaction to some form of poisoning. You don't have ragweed or anything like that around? Could she have picked up any plant that could be toxic?

[TPeers]

Black's veterinary dictionary - Google Books

Link to search results

[Hilary B]

Those symptoms in a sheep would be either Scrapie (incurable) or CCN (recovers with the right vitamin injection, given fairly promptly, but I can't remember which one). There ARE differences in the symptoms, but I can't describe them. I don't know what (if any) similar ailments chooks can get.
It does sound like some problem with the nervous system (including brain) but I suspect the vet is the best person to tell you what.

[Suechooks]

Yes Terry it is only the 1 hen and it's only 1 eye which rather elimnates poisons etc. I pull ragwort up when I see it starting up!

Hilary - My feeling was brain tumour but as I said our vets are not avian specialists so some help from our poultry experts is always good so I can go with some ideas.

[Hilary B]

Yes Terry it is only the 1 hen and it's only 1 eye which rather elimnates poisons etc. I pull ragwort up when I see it starting up!

Hilary - My feeling was brain tumour but as I said our vets are not avian specialists so some help from our poultry experts is always good so I can go with some ideas.

Brain tumour would be very drastic. Blood-clot on the brain (stroke) would be less drastic, and equally possible, also may be easier to deal with.
Ask the vet whether Chooks can get CCN like sheep, and if so what vitamin to try......

[Suechooks]

Brain tumour would be very drastic. Blood-clot on the brain (stroke) would be less drastic, and equally possible, also may be easier to deal with.
Ask the vet whether Chooks can get CCN like sheep, and if so what vitamin to try......

Yes agreed but not showing any signs of hemiplegia at the moment other than the eye. I'm hoping when I get back to the allotment later she will be back to normal! One of my favorite girls. She may just be going into a moult as she hasn't stopped laying since Feb 2008 and the eye symptom may be a red herring (I hope!). She was perfectly ok yesterday apart from the eye and layed a normal egg. Will mention CCN - what does it stand for?

[Bramble-Poultry]

cerebrocortical necrosis - and its Vit A - its common in cattle and sheep usually from eating something that is poisonous to them such as bracken - its usually a ruminent disease - ie goats, sheep and cattle. but I suppose like all diseases there must be some sort of version for poultry.

Sue just a few questions for you -

Does she have a grey coloured eye, maybe a bit spotty in colour, the pupil is unresponsive to light. Is the pupil still round? basically has the eye lost its pigmentation?

Also how old is she?

[pdblake]

I know this is probably a simplistic answer from someone who knows very little about chicken ailments (not having had an ill one yet), but could it be something as simple as having had a knock on the head?

[di]

One of ours has an odd eye,pretty much as you've described,although none of the other symptoms.
I was a little concerned at first,but it's been like it for a few months now & absolutely nothing else seems to be wrong with her.Would be interested to know what may have caused it though.

[Suechooks]

Update on Amber

Thanks Jennie!
She's 2 years old (POL in Feb 2008) and has layed non-stop since.
The affected eye looks a bit like a cat's eye - the pupil is more slit shaped than round. The iris is also smaller and slightly mis-shapen. From a point of view of colour I did wonder if the iris was a bit bloodshot but not really obvious.
When I got back to the allotment she was under the hut and didn't come out to free-range with the others. She then went into the nestbox and layed a normal egg. (Did I mention she layed a tiny wind egg one day last week?)
She hasn't free-ranged today even when I let the new girls out. She did show a somewhat sluggish interest in the spaghetti and chard provided for their lunch! She is also drinking ok.
She's happy to be picked up as always. Droppings may be a bit loose but nothing to be really alarmed about. She just seems to be having a bad day but if she doesn't perk up tomorrow I'll be really alarmed as she's never ailed all the time I've had her.

[Bramble-Poultry]

when I read you post origionally, several things flashed through my mind - 1 was trauma - ie banged head - they can get this sometimes if they are spooked and jump up banging their heads on coop rooves.

another was poisoning - ingestion of a poisonous substance can lead to similar symptoms - flush with epsom salts in the water is an old wives cure - whether it works or not I have no idea I have never tried it!

the final one was inface leukosis, this is in fact a tumour as you said that causes it and can often lead to misshapen pupils, mareks is a form of leukosis but is usually only prevelent in chicks upto 25weeks over this it will tend to be another form of leukosis hence why I asked the age.

Apart from that i'm fresh out of suggestions - you can watch her carefully and see if she improves or deteriorates - suggestions 1 and 2 she should improve (assuming shes still not eating the toxin) obviouls suggestion 3 she will deteriorate.

hope this helps a little
jennie

[Suechooks]

She's not a bird that gets spooked by anything normally but I guess she could have missed her footing getting on the perch or something. I've just been back again and she's showing no interest in their afternoon corn or even a sweetcorn cob I offered her.
I discounted toxins mainly because it's only one eye affected, and also no one else is showing any similar symptoms. however I will scour the run and plot for anything when I go back later to put them to bed.
If she's still ailing tomorrow I'll bring her home for closer obs but I think she would miss Chucky who's been her companion since she came. They still stick together even though they're in with the rest now.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

[Suechooks]

Another update on Amber

Well thank you everyone for your previous ideas. Thought you might like to know how she is now.
I took her to the vet who put drops in her eyes but could find nothing wrong, no injury and pupil was reacting ok. Nothing obvious behind the eye that he could see. No weakness or limb injury.
We decided as she had been droopy and uninterested in life that we'd try a few days Baytril.
In the meantime the coop and run are awash with white feathers.
Yesterday found her sitting in the nest box and laid a lovely egg and again today.
So I think the eye was a red herring and she was just going into a very quick moult. She's now looking much whiter as the new feathers come through and back to her normal self! Phew!

[Flummery]

That's great news. Don't they scare you?