Birds going blind

[Guest]

if bird going to blind, would you keep it or not ?

[Guest]

Not an easy one to answer, Speight.  

 

If you look back at the beginning of the thread, the birds couldn't eat. Bit like the winter culling of wild deer in Scotland. Sounded awful when I was told about it, less so when explained. Which is the more humane? Slow death by starvation, or 'quick' cull?

 

The other point is that very few fanciers use vets. Personally I think that is the major reason behind DEFRA's current draconian Show and Sales actions, and my reasoning is because the Show license requires a vet to be 'on hand' or available.  With no disrespect intended, fanciers tend to treat their birds in a 'try this and see if it works' way. In my case I was never absolutely sure what I was dealing with, and therefore never really sure that I had cured the bird.. if the bird isn't cured it becomes a danger to the rest of your birds, either directly or as a 'carrier', and so your 'state of mind' suffers. (at least mind did    )

 

On the other hand, 2004 was a particularly trying year for me and I was faced with things which in my opinion no novice (i.e. me) could hope to cope with successfully. Always the same, Sod's Law and the bird you really like - still don't know to this day what happened to him - a youngster out exercising, lost at least three parts of his eye: the nicky membrane, cornea and iris - not a drop of blood, but a head three times bigger than normal. To cut a long story short, he pulled through, but as the swelling went down I discovered the true extent of his injury... blind in one eye. He is still there, doesn't race, takes his chances with the skyhawks the same as the others, and where others have been taken, he hasn't... I call him Blin' Harry, after the old Scot's Poet / Chronicler. His 'one eye' seems to go down well with the gals too... he nailed two young hens at the same time and its the first time I've ever seen three birds down in a happy huddle in the corner.

 

So, as I said, not an easy question to answer.  ;D