Is This Chick Blind?

[lovezebs]

Hi All, Babs Cindy

Some of you may have seen my thread about my two baby Zebras, one light, one dark in "Well here is my surprise".

Well these two chicks have been very well fed and looked after since they hatched.
The darkling one has had his eyes open now for several days and is feathering up nicely. The white one, whom I named Porky, still had his eyes closed until today.

Today I found him with one eye open, but I think sightless, apparantly plucked and unfed.

Here are a couple of pictures of him.
I fed him, but he''s looking decidedly unhappy.

What do you people make of this developement, as this is a first for me???

Is he blind?
Is he being plucked because he's handicapped?
Have they stopped feeding him, because of his handicap?

Any thoughts?

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

Oh heavens no....please tell me they didnt pluck his eyeball.

I am hoping the other eye will open and reveal at least partial sight. I see you got formula in his crop, and you have your canary feeding station set-up.

Keep him and his crop as warm/stable as possible. He's probably battered and bruised. I'd give a morning feeding with some light ACV just because of the trauma and stress bringing on yeast.

Damn, sometimes I wish I could just head over to your house and lend a hand (and the other way around as well).

[Ricardo Ronsini]

That's definitely not normal.

To me it looks like a genetic abnormality, do you know if its parents are related by any chance?

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

I wish I could be more help, but I am lost with zebras. I know Midget got handfed with the rest of the crew because he must have followed and begged by sound. Even I didn't notice.

I only noticed after he rode another younger sibling around like a turtle horse-ride on the floor of the cage with his talons sunk in, I then put him in a flight and he stayed in the same place for 2 hours.

When I scooped him up, he didn't even see me coming. That's how I found out.
They behave and beg normally and as far as I can see, the parents just fill open mouths. But we all know these birds have that special sense sometimes.......

I'm with Ricardo Ronsini These birds can sniff out a defective trait in ways that will puzzle us forever.

[lovezebs]

Babs Ricardo Ronsini

No eyeball plucking allowed in my house!

This is not an open wound, but he has no sight in that eye. I tried shining a flashlight at his eye, but there is absolutely no response.

As to the parents, no, they are not related ~ the dad coming from an old timer breeder, and mom was bred here from a normal male, and a white female.

It does sort of look like there never was an eyeball there, doesn't it? If he is completely blind, then it would almost be a mercy to just let nature take it's course, but I can't just allow a baby to starve, can I? It just goes against everything in me. Poor little guy.

I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings, sigh....

[lovezebs]

Babs

Hey hon, I wish you could just pop over too, that would be grand but alas, popping over from Virginia to Alberta, is a long hop my friend.b

[Ricardo Ronsini]

Elana, what are the parents' mutations?

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs

[lovezebs]

Ricardo Ronsini

Mom, is pure white (like her mother before her).
Dad, is something of a mystery, possibly light back (pictures below).
Grandparents on Mom's side, are pure white and normal gray).

[lovezebs]

Little Porky is still with us as of this morning.
Doesn't have a lot of food in his crop, but has some.

His blind eye seems the same, and the left is still sealed shut
If he survives, I think I'm going to have to deal with a completely blind chickie, which will be a bit of a challange.

But, where there is life, there is hope

[Ricardo Ronsini]

lovezebs

Hum, i think i know why he or she is blind, father seems to be a fawn, lightback, fawn cheek.

Chek this out:

http://www.efinch.com/species/fczeb.htm

[cindy]

the head on your baby looks a bit mishappen... internal parasites, bacteria, giardia can all travel upward into the sinus, effect the eyes, brain.... parents may have sensed something wrong with him and stopped feeding him.

[haroun]

Yes dad is from cheeked mut and as per roy Beckham blindness can occur even when cheecked are mated with other mutation
Do you remember my two cases
BC X FC LB
NG x GC LB i' each case i got at least one blind
I thing may be i'm wrong the lb factor has something to do

[lovezebs]

cindy haroun Ricardo Ronsini

Thanks people for your input regarding little Porky.

He is still with us amazingly enough, and hanging in there.

When I offer him supplemental feedings, he doesn't open his mouth and beg, he licks the food off the toothpick instead, and very little at that.

Ciindy, I agree that the parents know that there's something wrong with him, and that that's why they've cut down on the feedings. However between parents and a few Socies, he is still alive somehow poor little guy. As to bacteria or parasites being the reason for his blindness, I really don't know, seeing as his sibling is perfectly well in the same nest.

Haroun and Ricardo, after reading the link you posted, I suppose it is possible that this is the reason, although I'm still not 100% sure of the dad's colour mutation. I've had him for several years now and no one could say with certainty what exactly he is. Strangely enough, he has never bred before now.

Here are a few more pictures of him with different lighting...

[Babs _Owner]

lovezebs haroun Ricardo Ronsini

After looking at the article, your fellow and remembering the pictures of Haroun's blind chicks.....

Your boy looks very similar to the fawn cheek male(of course I'm no pro) and possibly the genetic combo with mom played a part.

And the eye's look very much like the deformity Haroun's chicks had.

A case of unlucky pairing, I think my friend

He's a tough little guy.