Cataracts and Crooked Toes in Brahma Chickens

Abstract

In 1991, 69% of the cockerels and 15% of the pullets in an inbred flock of approximately 200 dark and light Brahma chickens had unilateral or bilateral cataracts and crooked toes. Affected chickens were normal at hatching but developed cataracts with or without crooked toes by 6 months of age. The cataracts were initially focal and polar but progressed to be diffuse throughout the lenticular cortex. The crooked toes involved one or more of the second, third, and fourth digits and were due to a medial deviation of the distal aspect of the first phalanx. The cataracts and crooked toes were considered likely due to a hereditary defect, based on the following: the history of flock inbreeding; the lack of historical, clinical, or pathological evidence of avian encephalomyelitis or Marek's disease; the presence of lesions only in Brahma chickens and not in the approximately 200 other chickens on the farm kept under the same management and environmental conditions; the age at which the lesions occurred; and the nature of the lesions.