African Grey Eye is watering

[str8gone]

Good evening everyone. My name is Sam and I own a great african grey named Coco. A little background on him. He was given to us by a very nice couple who had him for 15 years. Because of changes in his environment he began to pluck his feathers. Since me and my girlfriend have had him his plucking has pretty muched stopped because he is now receiving all the attention that he is used to getting. The thing is a couple of days ago we noticed his one eye was watering. The white around the eye is darker than it should be (it almost looks like a black eye). His eye waters off and on. The fluid that comes out almost looks like tears. Its clear and shows no signs of cloudyness or anything of that nature. His behavior hasn't really changed, as a matter of fact he is speaking up a storm as I type this. He is eating normally and overall seems to be perfectly healthy. Since I know that looks can be decieving in parrots, I do not hold much credit to the acting/looking normal thing. I was just curious if anyone has come across this before or has any ideas on what this could be. To me it almost seems to be an allergy although we can not pinpoint what that allergy could be or why it would only manifest itself in the one eye. Also there is no nasal discharge or sneezing at all. We have made an apointment to see the vet but can not get him there for a couple of days because the vet is out of town. Since there are no other avian vets in our area that I trust (bad experiences with the other vet in our area...but thats another story) I am a little concerned. Please if anyone knows why this could be happening I would really appreciate it.


Thanks so much,
Sam

[Monica]

For some reason I was thinking a cold... I'm not sure what it could be...

Originally Posted by http://www.tcparrots.com/parrotencyclopedia.php

An African grey Parrot that is well cared for, has a proper nutrition and is properly housed will seldom become ill. Like most birds classified as parrots, some visible signs of illness to be aware of are ruffled plumage, listlessness, drooping wings, sagging body, extreme mood changes, having no appetite, bulges in feathering, partially closed or watery eyes, swelling of the eyelids, rasping, difficulty breathing, excessive saliva, dirty vent, and any change in the feces not apparently diet related.

Originally Posted by http://www.marltons.co.za/jit_default_908.html

Cages birds are susceptible to colds and pneumonia particularly in the winter. Symptoms include watery eyes and sneezing. Tail bobbing may be a sign of breathing difficulty as the result of a cold. Keep your bird in a warm place and consult your vet.

Originally Posted by http://www.parrotdise.com/diseases.shtml

Pigeons, doves, and raptors have trouble closing their mouth due to oral lesions. Drooling and repeated swallowing movements. Watery eyes in birds with lesions in the sinuses or periorbital area. In rare cases with penetrating cranial lesions may show CNS signs.

Originally Posted by http://www.jackspets.com/bird%20information.htm

Birds are naturally healthy and disease resistant. The most common health problems are colds and bronchial infections. Sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, runny nose, etc. are symptoms of these illnesses. Avoid drafts and rapid changes in temperature.

[birdlady49]

I was thinking a barb from one of his feathers got lodged in the eye. In either case, keep a close watch and make sure new symptoms don't develop. If you tell us where you live, we may be able to help you find a real avian vet.

[Lisa B]

greys will tear when stressed. they might even have blood tears.
Its important to have him checked. There seems to be something underlying.
Could be a variety of things, but I am not saying it is serious. only your vet can determine and check for:
Upper respiratory, Nasal infection, & blockage.
I am interested to know as well, and I will be looking for your update.
Please keep him warm and make sure he is eating and pooping normally.

[str8gone]

I would like to thank everyone for the advice. I have some what ruled out a cold because there is no sneezing and he only waters out of his left eye. The idea of a barb or something lodged in there may be closer to the problem. I do notice when he eats his Zupreem that he sticks his entire head in the dish while eating and will sometimes flick out the pieces he doesn't want. So perhaps he got a small piece of food in the corner of his eye. I know he really needs a bath but I am affraid to get him wet because I do not want to make the problem worse by doing so. But the water may help clean his eye (he loves to have the bath tub filled to halfway up his wing. Of course i do not leave the bathroom while he bathes.
Birdlady - The vet I take him to his Dr. Peter Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio and he is really great. He specializes in avian medicine and exotics. He takes care of the penguins for The Newport Aquarium so if they trust him with thier birds then I know I can trust him with mine. Dr. Hill's staff is amazing. They take their time to answer any/all questions and even call you in a couple days to see if you have any new questions and to see how your beloved family member is doing. We also have Dr. Dalhausen. Who is a very good expert in the field of avian medicine (but with whom I had a very bad experience). Also Coco does not show any discharge from the nose. No tail bobbing or any abnormal sounds when breathing. If any one else has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated. Also I will keep this board informed as to what the vet says when I get him in there.


Thanks again,
Sam

[wildirish]

Good Luck at the vets! I know of 2 people who had similar situations, and ended up finding a down feather lodged under the eye lid, I had never seen that happen, but it was wierd!

[str8gone]

You may be right about the feather in the eye thing. I have noticed that since he is molting he keeps pulling out the tiny down feathers by the bunches. It almost looks like confetti when he pulls them out.

[str8gone]

Good morning/afternoon everyone. I took my bird to the vet and after $362 spent, I am happy to report that he is perfectly healthy! The vet said besides a little bit of debris in his nostrils (which is typical for larger birds because of the size of openings) he is fine. They flushed out his sinuses and said that when bathing him make sure to mist his head. This will cause him to breath in a little water and sneeze it out which effectivly cleans out the nasal cavity. He said in the wild this is done naturally by the bird being rained on. He also stated that the feather plucking looks to be behavorial related and not from disease, allergy or skin disorder. He said that he is begining to re-feather nicely and that it doesn't appear that he has picked lately. He said more than likely it was due to me and my girlfriend giving him the extra TLC that he was longing for when he lived with his former owners. As far as the eye is concerned, it appears that, as someone else stated that he had a tiny down feather under is eyelid which he could not get out. This was causing the eye to water. He said his eye looks fine and there is no signs of any infections. Thanks to everyone who left me a reply on this, it was really appreciated.


Sam

[Lisa B]

I'm glad to hear things are ok. I know the money spent is not easy, but the peace of mind, knowing you bird is well and not sick, is priceless.

thanks for the update, and stick around to share more experiences with our group about Coco.