Blindness

Occasionally chickens can either hatch blind or without eyes, or can go blind as a result of disease or injury to one or both eyes. Like with people, blindness can make things more challenging, however there are many blind chickens who are able to live happy, healthy lives. Chickens that are born with or acquire disabilities should not be so quickly cast aside---as there are many people who have kept and continued to care for blind chickens.

Signs of Blindness

Some signs that your chicken may have impaired vision include:

• Bumping into objects
• Acting like they aren't sure where to go
• Pecking at air
• Clumsiness
• Depression
• Reduced activity
• Enlarged or irregular-shaped pupils
• Cloudiness or discoloration of the eyes

Diagnosis of Blindness in Chickens

A quick and easy test that can be performed, to check whether a chicken is blind, is to slowly (don't use rapid movements because otherwise they can feel the airflow and sense the motion) move your finger towards the affected eye. A chicken that does not blind or try to move out of the way is likely blind.

In 2006, University of Florida scientists developed a gene therapy that helped restore sight to chicks with a certain genetic defect that were usually born blind. The genetic defect was associated with the Rhode Island Red chicken breed, that carry a defect preventing them from producing an enzyme essential for site. The condition is very similar to Leber congenital amaurosis type 1, or LCA1, a genetic defect in humans that causes blindness.