Society finch with white pupil

[Nyenna]

Hi everyone

I am new to the forum and finch-keeping as well. It has very quickly gone from "I'll just get two finches" to 4 flight cages and an aviary! lol

I noticed today that my all-white female society has a white pupil, almost like a cataract. No red or anything, so I'm assuming not albino. Is she probably blind in that eye? She's only about 8 months old.

[dayhiker]

Hi! Welcome to the forum! Not being an avian doctor i wild like to chime in if i may.

you are probably correct with a white pupil being a cataract. How long have you noticed it? Does your bird exhibit any behavior thag makes you think it is blind in that eye? If its been therefor awhile (since he is only 8 months old) could it be congenital and are there other things behind the eye that are more worrisome than a cataract?

Could you post some pics if you can manage? You can use a flash- it would give a white reflex to the affected eye.

[finchmix22]

White Society's can be blind in one or both eyes if their parentage includes the fawn gene. A Cream Ino with red eyes is more likely to have vision problems because of the breeding background in the genes. There are blacked eyed all white Society's who do not have the inherited vision problems. Also, if someone bred two all whites and both had the fawn gene, you can have a whole clutch that is blind.

[Nyenna]

I got a really cute picture but I'm not sure how to post it, or if I even can from the smartphone... haven't quite figured that out yet lol

She doesn't seem to be having any problems that I can tell; she still seems to maneuver around very well Today was the first time I had noticed that it is actually white and not just a reflection from the window. She's never really sat still long enough for me to ever really get a close look lol

Her brother is a fawn pied, so I assume she's got the gene. Scary stuff about a whole clutch potentially being blind. I'm glad I got her a chocolate pied mate I hope there's no chance he would have the fawn gene... Here I was mostly concerned about keeping her and her brother from mating lol I am very quickly learning why it's better to buy from a knowledgeable breeder. When I got the first two (the brother & sister) I had no idea they were going to start trying to reproduce in the first week or that they were even related lol I have since learned that if they're in a pet store they likely are. After that I was just running around looking for unrelated mates for the two of them. What a learning experience this is. Enjoying every minute of it though

[Nyenna]

I think I figured it out. She's the one on the far right. Can't really see the white pupil in the picture but I had to share it cause it's precious

Today was their first day out of the nest!
Her babies look just like her

[Martie]

Nyenna, if you go to the Board Index and into the "New Users Start Here" section, there are pretty detailed instructions on a few ways to share photos in your posts.

I, too, would like to see a photo of your bird.

[Tammy]

welcome to the forum. the society finches are sweet birds. love the pics. -tammy

[debbie276]

They sure are cutie pies