# Badly Swollen Eye



## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Hello,

I found a pigeon today in my yard picking at seed with a very badly swollen eye. The bird's eyelid appears swollen andthe eye watery and darker in colour than the other which is totally normal. Would like to help this bird so any direction you could give me is greatly appreciated. I do have a few types of medication( Baytril, Sulmet Liquid, Amoxicillan and a couple others)
The bird's poop is runny and the colour of green spinach(bright). Thanks


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## pigifan (Nov 2, 2005)

Thank you for helping this pigeon.

I assume you caught this pigeon and you have it somewhere safe.
This could be an injury caused by a predator (cat, hawk).
In this case, the antibiotic of choice would be Clavamox (US), Synulox (UK).
This is the same as the human antibiotic augmentin (amoxicillin and clavulanate).
A quarter of a Synulox 25 mg tablet (ie. 6.25mg) should be given twice a day.
First day give 1 dose of half (12.5mg) tablet.

I am in the UK and because Synulox requires a prescription I have tried the human augmentin (which can be bought on the internet) and it works.

Where are you ? We may have a member in your area who is willing to send you the antibiotic.

If the cause is not due to a predator there is a cream applied when dealing with eye problems - other members will tell you which cream is used.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, that begs a question--does the bird's actual eyeball (the orb itself) look as though it is enlarged or is it only the periocular tissue (the eyelid, the conjunctiva) which is swollen? There was a name for a condition called a "one-eyed cold" that you used to hear the old racers talk about. A lot of references used to say that was actually Ornithosis, which was another name for Chlamydia psittaci. Nowadays, they call that "Chlamydophila" but it's the same thing. The suggestion is that the bird has an acute (it's kinda' sudden and needing something now) infection of that tissue which generally requires a topical antibiotic like Terramycin which is Oxytetracycline. You can usually get Terramycin Ophthalmic (for the eyes) Ointment at many pet stores.

Another thing they used to use is an NFZ puffer. The letters stand for "Nitrofurazone" and it came in a plastic bottle that you can open the top spout and squeeze while pointing at the eye and a bunch of yellow dust comes out. It's a mean chemical and it often works.

However, other strategies would be to give the bird Doxycycline in its food or water or down the hatch with the right amount every day for the next 6 weeks if it really is Chlamydophila, which you have very little way of knowing. For now, you can treat with the Baytril as that can reduce the symptoms of Chlamydophila as well as catching several other things that it MIGHT be.

Pidgey


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Vesna,

First of all thank you for helping this little guy out.

The bird you have sounds like it may have conjunctivitis. This is causing the clear watery discharge you see from the eye and this is accompanied by congestion and oedema (swelling of tissue with fluids) of the eye lids. The cause of this can be viral or bacterial in nature. With bacterial conjunctivitis it needs to be determined if it is strictly a local infection, is related to a sinus infection or whether is being brought about by a systemic bacterial infection. If it is viral in nature the most likely cause in Pigeons would be pox. 

If it is viral it is important that the be flushed with sterile saline if possible and an antibiotic ophthalmic ointment, such as Terramycin, be applied so that the bird does not develop a bacterial infection of the eye on top of the pox. If the problem is bacterial and local in nature the Terramycin should clear it up, but if it is being caused by sinusitis or is a systemic bacterial infection that is the cause, the bird will need to go on antibiotics to clear it. Would you be able to post some pics and have a good look around and inside his mouth, ceres, feet for any lesions and also check to see if there is any nasal discharge as well. 

How is he eating, drinking and pooping? Perhaps a few photos of his dropping would be helpful as well.

I hope this helps for now and good luck with him,

Ron


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Incidentally, if it's Pasteurella multocida, Baytril gets that one, too. If it were that and you knew it for sure, then the Amoxicillin would work but there are too many other possibilities.

Pidgey


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Thank you for the information. I am located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I did catch the bird, it is able to fly but not so eager to do so. The bird did eat today and seemed quite hungry. I am not able to post pictures but may be able to try tomorrow. I have not noticed anything else wrong with the bird but have only had it in the cage a short while. I will try and examine the rest of the bird. I did look in its mouth, it seemed fairly normal to me and I believe the ceres to also look normal.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Vesna, does anything else seem out of whack w/this bird besides the eye and poop like missing feathers, feather clumping, or anything else that you can tell that would point towards a possible or probable predator situation? And have you given this bird a pretty thorough going over to look for anything out of the norm?

fp


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

OK, looks like we cross posted, I'd give the bird a very thorough hands on exam to look for any signs of predation injuries or predation contact in general.

fp


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

I just came from the bird and have noticed a few things. First of all the bird's eye is forming pus and stays mostly closed, I cleaned the yellow pus and it did open the eye which seems to be very foggy looking. I did observe the bird sneezing, I opened the birds throat and saw one small white nodule or bump in the back of its throat. It's legs seem to be more of a blackish colour with some pinky red. I did not see anything leaking from the nasal area. It may have come in contact with either a Hawk or Peregrine Falcon as these two birds have been terrorizing my yard daily for over a month now. I tried to look for wounds but the bird is very nervous and from what I was able to check saw none but I will look again in the daytime when the lighting is better. I would appreciate further advice as I am hoping to start it on some type of medication in the morning(probably Baytril) The bird ate earlier on its own and had some pedialyte. Thank you all for the advice and help.

P.S. I have stopped feeding my backyard birds because I have had too much heartache lately from the Hawk and Falcon. Two rescued attacks and two found dead. I tried only feeding them when I am out there with them, the birds are smart and they know I'm trying to protect them but the Falcon and Hawk continue to come even when I'm standing out there. I hope they will find food elsewhere, my backyard has turned into such a dangerous place for them and I love them too much to see them ripped apart.


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Vesna,

With reading of the clouding of your birds eye, to be on the safe side I would not wait until the morning to start treatment, I would disturb him and dose him tonight. Also, in the big book, Avian Medicine Principles And Application, I was reading that Enrofloxacin (Baytril) can be dosed directly into the eye. I looked but I could not find a dosing concentration, but I did for Tylosin 1:10 (one part drug to ten parts sterile water) and would not feel too uncomfortable using this as a guide line for the Baytril (say one drop of Baytril to 10 drops of sterile water) applying a drop or two to the eye twice a day, although not ideal I think it's important to get some medicine directly into the eye. Perhaps others may have a the correct dosing regime for the eye.

Ron


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Vesna,

The nodule at the back of the throat could be canker or respiratory exudate, it is best to treat for canker because you don't know what it is.

As it has been sneezing you should also treat with an antibiotic. In similar circumstances I used just under 0.2 ml of the 2.5% solution of baytril twice daily, it worked well (that dose presumes the pigeon is around 300gms). However if it has ornithosis the drug of choice is doxycycline. A fecal test can determine whether it has chlamydia, but it could be expensive. I have sent of for one because I intend to keep the pigeon and it cost in the region of $180 - my vet says that because of this if he suspects chlamydia he treats for it.

There are eye drops and eye lotion that can be used for conjunctivitis (one is aureomycin which works well if the pigeon has ornithosis) but I have used two drops of tincture of euphrasia in a solution of warm water for eye injuries. Again, that worked well.

When a pigeon is sneezing you have to consider ornithosis which is a zoonotic disease (we can catch it). It is best if you wear a mask when handling birds with sneezes and wash your hands carefully afterwards. Also keep it separate from any other birds that you have.

I am sorry about the hawks, I saw a starling carried off from my garden and I was horrified as the starling was only there because there was food down for it.

Cynthia


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Yeah, I'm like the rest--don't wait starting the Baytril. Unie started out with a milky looking eye and it really went bad--she became completely blind from that and lost the one eye, too. Just out of curiosity, which Baytril do you have?

Pidgey


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Hello,

The baytril I have is the 15 mg tablets. I usually just disolve this in a syringe of 1 ml of water then dose .25ml twice daily for a bird approximately 300 grams. I will weigh the bird again this morning.


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Vesna, the concentration I had in mind in my earlier post was 20Mg per mL, so you should be safe in using a 1:10 solution to put directly into the eye, just make sure the Baytril is very well dissolved. Also, a dose of .25cc seems a little low, this is 3.75Mg, to me I would give a dose of .50 BID 7.5Mg (twice a day), perhaps others have thoughts on this.

Good luck,

Ron


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Thank you Ron,

I weighed the bird and did increase the dosage. The eye just looks awful this morning totally shut, swollen, crusty and painful looking. I hope this helps the poor pigeon. I was not able to find anything to medicate the eye at the pet store so I appreciate the baytril idea.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Pidgie has just pointed out that I didn't mention what solution of Baytril I dosed my pigeon with: it was the 2.5 % solution (25 mgs to 1 ml).

I administered it straight ito the throat but it can be givenm drop by drop into the front of the beak: this is unpleasant for the pigeon as Baytril has a particularly bitter taste.

Cynthia


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

cyro51 said:


> ...this is unpleasant for the pigeon as Baytril has a particularly bitter taste.
> 
> Cynthia


Seems to me that I recall we had a conversation about that over a year ago and one of our best researchers for this sort of thing (Phil) tasted some and found it... somewhat pleasant!


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Vesna, one last thing I would do is to put a few drops of colloidal silver into and around the eye as well, you can get this at almost any health food store, try to get a 5-10 ppm concentration. I would do this about 3-4 hours away from when you apply the Baytril drops.

Ron


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Thanks again,

I only have Baytril tablets 15 mg would I still be able to make drops out of this. I am headed out so I will look to purchase the colloidal silver. I have heard you speak of this before for other pigeon problems, what exactly does it do? Is it good for wounds in general? I ask this because at the moment I have four pigeons under my care(the most ever) and maybe it could benefit the one I rescued the other day with a string injury to its foot. thanks


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Vesna, sorry I was not more clear. Yes, just mix up the Baytril as you usually do and just use one drop of this to 10 drops of sterile water to use as an ophthalmic lotion.

It is well documented that a number of derivatives of silver, such as Silver Nitrate and Silver Sulfadiazine to name a few, have very strong anti-microbial properties. Colloidal Silver is a a solution that has extremely fine particles of silver suspended in it, so fine they do not settle out. It can be used in many ways in treating pathogens. To save some time here is a link explaining some of the basics and there is ton more information out there to read by just typing Colloidal Silver into your search engine. http://www.all-natural.com/silver-1.html

Vesna, for string foot injuries, before, during and after I get the string off I use a 10cc syringe filled with Colloidal Silver to flush the grooves and wounds caused by the string. I then apply a Silver Sulfadiazine cream afterwords, until I am happy with the healing as well and I use it in general as my antibacterial cream of choice. The name of the actual cream I use is Flamazine, it a prescription medicine, but my doctor is kind enough to write me a prescription for it. http://wound.smith-nephew.com/UK/Standard.asp?NodeId=2744

Ron

Vesna, I also don't think it would hurt to put a drop of the Colloidal Silver in the other eye as a prophylactic.


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Thank you so much for the wonderful information. I did buy the colloidal silver and put a few drops in and around the bird's eye. I am hoping for the best but the eye and eyelid seem very infected. Hopefully between giving the bird Baytril in the mouth and some in the eye with the colloidal silver it will get better.I guess time will tell.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm glad you mentioned the silver Ron, as I was going to when I saw this thread, but ended up getting too busy.

Here is the Sovereign Silver link:

http://www.vitacost.com/NaturalImmunogenicsSovereignSilverColloidalSilverHydrosol

I'm always surprised by the results and its versitility.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Hi vesna,
I'm sorry to hear about the pij, but so glad you were able to rescue him.
I hope he makes a full recovery.  

Cindy


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Vesna, sounds good, please keep us updated.

Good luck with him,

Ron


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Hello,

I would like to update you on the bird with the bad eye. I have had the bird on baytril for a week now and the eye still remains cloudy. I took the bird to the Vet who said it was a sinus infection and to keep the bird on Baytril for two weeks. Do sinus infections take a long time to clear up. It is still very hard for me to see a pupil due to the cloudiness of the eye. It does seem a little better than when I first found the bird and I have not noticed sneezing lately. The bird seems strong otherwise, eats and drinks. Should I be trying to put something more directly in the eye other than the colloidal silver and diluted Baytril (one drop to ten drops sterile solution) which I have been doing? Appreciate further advice. Thanks


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2007)

Are you certain that what you are looking at is not a cataract? If that's what it is, it will never clear up. 
Sinus infections take a long time to clear. Sometimes, the sinuses have to be flushed to clean out the infection and sometimes, if a vet has an incubator, the bird will be put into it and an antibiotic mist will be pumped in. I'm not sure that just giving a bird an antibiotic can fully clear up a sinus infection because the bacteria have so many places to hide.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

It may have been an infection that Baytril doesn't get so well or at all, too. There are some like Streptococcus sp. (Gram-positive) which fit that description. In a case like that, for instance, a Tetracycline would be better. As far as putting drops in the eye go, there is only so much that topical medicines can do when it comes to reaching deeper tissues. Can't say much definite about milkiness in terms of whether it's a lasting condition because a bad infection of the eye (uveitis) may cause a permanent milkiness (synechiae). Here's a past post to that effect:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=106253&postcount=9

Pidgey


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2007)

If that's the case, cycloplegic drops may be helpful to dilate the iris to exercise it but I doubt that anyone other than a really good avian vet would recognize that in a bird. I wish they would.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

We forgot to ask whether the swelling of the eyelids around the eye had gone down. That'd be helpful to know.

Pidgey


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## Vesna (May 13, 2006)

Hello,

Appreciate the information and advice Pigeonperson and Pidgey. The eyelids do not look as swollen as they were even though the eye is cloudy and irritated. When I first looked at the bird's eye area last week I wasn't even sure if the bird had an eye in there. Now I am able to see the eyeball just too cloudy to see the pupil. The bird seems to be keeping it's eyelids open more than before. I find it frustrating that I am medicating this bird and it is not having much of a result on the eye. The other eye seems perfectly normal and the bird seems strong (slaps me with its wing and fights me when I give the medication) I don't have any tetracycline, so for now I will continue with the Baytril.


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