12 week old pullet with misshapen iris - is it marek's? Photos inside

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I was reading about marek's and noticed that there is an ocular form and remembered that one of my chicks has a misshapen iris. She's 12 weeks old now and it's been a couple weeks ago since I first noticed her iris being a strange shape. She may have had it from the beginning - all the australorp chicks were skittish (raised by a hen)and didn't come close to me like the other chicks did. I thought it was just a mild deformity (I have another chick with crooked toes).

This chick (a black australorp) was hatched from an egg purchased on e-bay - never vaccinated. Most of my flock (currently eleven 9 mo. old pullets & eight 12-16 week old chicks) was purchased from the feed stores - a few hatched from purchased eggs. As far as I know, none of them were vaccinated for marek's (will check with the feed stores tomorrow). All my chicken's have been healthy, with the exception of a few cases of bumblefoot (not contagious - been treating them for that).

I'm really hoping this is not ocular marek's. I was trying to rehome my 12 weel old light brahma roo and didn't plan on keeping this australorp either (she's too skittish for my taste), but certainly don't want to send a sick or contagious chicken to someone else.

Those of you with experience, can you tell me if this is marek's or just an eye defect? There are no other symptoms in her or any of the other chickens.

I just went out and brought her in off her roost for these pics -- she wasn't too happy with me.


Edited to add: I guess it's not really a misshapen iris, but there is some black in the part of her eye that shouldn't have black (look very closely).

This is her right eye - the eye I first noticed:

This is her left eye:

 

[dlhunicorn]

see photos here for reference:
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/lesion/464

 

[chickenzoo]

I think that is just the coloring of her eyes........

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Quote:
I agree. You can see a color difference in the black of the Pupil and the black of the Iris.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

That's good to hear. Now that I can look more closely - since the photos don't move - I can see that the pupil itself is round while there is some extra dark spots in her iris.

I went out and double checked all the rest of the chicks and their eyes all look normal. I don't have any more of the BAs to see if they have it too (genetics) - they were roos and rehomed already. The LB eggs came from the same seller as the BA eggs and he is beautiful and has such a calm personality, even though he was raised by the same mother hen.