Blind ?? Star finch chick.

lovepoodle · Post by **lovepoodle** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:34 am

They're 21days old today..not fledged yet. I just noticed white kinda film on eyes on one of chick. The way he move his head..I think he can't see. How this happen ?? This is my pairs 2nd clutch. First ones were all healthy. .. can I fix him? Some special diet?? Eye drop ?? What do you think??

debbie276 · Post by **debbie276** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:41 am

Is it always there or does it come and go?
Finches have a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane, a thin semitransparent lid that washes the eye like a squeegee and closes for protection.

http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_d ... 121610.pdf

Colt · Post by **Colt** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 5:56 pm

I had Sicilian Buttercups once (an uncommon breed of chicken) and in the first set of birds I hatched out two of the hens were blind. I determined it was genetic as I hatched out some of their eggs to see and a few chicks came out that way.

With them being chicks, you may not notice a lot of head movement especially because they are not as independent as a chicken that age would be but as the bird matures more you should be able to notice it craning it head and turning its neck in a smooth, but jerky like manner if they behave like the chickens. I placed the hens in small round pens maybe three feet across that got moved weekly. Without corners they couldn't get stuck and were able to freely move. Food and water stayed in the same place and the roost was about 6-8 inches off the ground for them to sleep at night which they preferred over the ground. They lived to be several years old which is an abbreviated lifespan for a chicken but good I felt for birds that are so handicapped.

They become very sensitive to sounds so I made sure to talk as I approached them and moved everything slowly when I was working with them. My voice seemed to keep them oriented to where I was. And they will be very sensitive to strange noises. For example, I moved the girls much closer to some mature roosters than they had been previously and when the males crowed and it was so close all the hens froze because it was so close. If they did panic, they tended to run/flap in small circles.

Good luck with your baby if it is blind. Hopefully you can meet it's needs and it lives a long healthy life with you.

Zebrafincher · Post by **Zebrafincher** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:59 pm

Hello there,

You can adapt a cage and keep the little one separately. If you keep the seed/food and water in the same places they will learn where the food is. This is a youtube of a very, very old blind budgerigar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJS4kelzgiU

Good luck if the little one is blind./

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

lovepoodle · Post by **lovepoodle** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:51 pm

Colt, so every clutch they had some blinds chicks? But, good to hear that they had good life with you.. other chick fledged today. .. but this one.. I need to research more about this. It seems like third eyelid like DEBBIE said.. but why does not open though?? Having more than a few breeders..always something need to be worry..

Colt · Post by **Colt** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 12:15 am

Out of the original seven birds (two rooster and five hens) two of the hens were blind. I marked their eggs and set them separately from their sisters and hatched a few. Several of their chicks were also blind. I never had any other problems from the other flock because I outcrossed them to unrelated birds, but never bred the BB's (Blind Babies) again.

debbie276 · Post by **debbie276** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 6:45 am

Is the lid swollen?
Check this article about conjunctivitis
http://www.finchniche.com/features_conjunctivitis.php

Also from a pigeon site they also talk about the nictitating membrane
http://www.auspigeonco.com.au/Articles/ ... ealth.html
Eyelids
Pigeons have, in addition to the two eyelids that we have, a third eyelid (nictitating membrane). All eyelids are lined by a membrane called the conjunctiva. When inflamed, this becomes red and swollen. This is usually associated with respiratory infection. When infection is mild, the third eyelid can have trouble fitting behind the main eyelids because of the thickened membrane covering it. Severe infection is the classic ‘one eye cold’. However, not all red watery eyes are associated with respiratory infection. Some older birds, particularly if heavily wattled, develop loose-fitting eyelids, leading to air drying of the conjunctiva and irritation. This is compounded by the bird attempting to relieve the irritation by rubbing the eye with its wing butt.

lovepoodle · Post by **lovepoodle** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:42 pm

No not swollen ..no discharge ether. I'll try to put eye ointment then massage ....

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Blind ?? Star finch chick.

Blind ?? Star finch chick.

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