Laura Lees
In the Brooder
About 10 days ago our Koekoek chicks hatched! One was very slow to pip, and eventually a day after all the rest were out, this one started cracking the shell. It cheeped weakly, so I zipped the shell to help it along. It was very weak and cold, but survived the first day.
It struggled to keep up with the other chicks, so I gave it a sip of sugar water, which seemed to help. We noticed it had its one eye closed all the time. There was no swelling or infection though. It just seemed sleepy and slow, the first couple of days. By the third day we noticed that one eye was a bit milky. The chick also kept scratching at it, but luckily didn't cause any injury.
So now it's happy and healthy, although a little smaller than the rest.
Is the blind eye cause by a birth defect, and possibly due to the fact that it struggled to hatch?
It struggled to keep up with the other chicks, so I gave it a sip of sugar water, which seemed to help. We noticed it had its one eye closed all the time. There was no swelling or infection though. It just seemed sleepy and slow, the first couple of days. By the third day we noticed that one eye was a bit milky. The chick also kept scratching at it, but luckily didn't cause any injury.
So now it's happy and healthy, although a little smaller than the rest.
Is the blind eye cause by a birth defect, and possibly due to the fact that it struggled to hatch?
