Help with eye issue

[LisaA]

My 17m B&G is having an eye swelling issue. First he just favored it a little, I was sure it was a foreign body. It swelled shut, I had to take him to the ER where they treated him for conjunctivitis (abx gel). It started to go away, then look bad again so his vet changed to drops. At that time his behavior was normal and he was eating fine. After a few days of drops, it swelled again and he was acting very sickly. He wanted to be held all the time, wouldn't open his eye, wouldn't talk, and he was shaking. He would eat but only if I hand fed him. His vet was concerned about sinus infx, but he only had a little intermittent, clear drainage. We were going to draw blood but he seemed so traumatized we decieded to do oral abx (cipro). He started getting better the next day, did a seven day course and never missed a dose. Now, two days later, he is squinting the eye again, but acting fine. Hopefully his vet will be in on Mon., but I'm afraid the vet is going to want to sedate him for an x-ray which scares me to death. Maybe the course of abx wasn't long enough? He chews his foot like a baby when I hold him, his things are very clean but could this be the problem? Any experience or suggestion with something like this would ease my mind greatly. Thanx

[birdsnreps]

why would he have to be sedated to take an xray? ive taken xrays of my birds, and they were never sedated. an xray might really give the vet some valuable insight as to what is wrong wtih him so he can come up with a real treatment plan. ask the vet if maybe you can hold him in place, maybe the bird will be calm enough to take a quick xray, and iand maybe you guys can find a position where your own bones wont show up in the xrays.

if there really is something stuck in his eye, it could be infected, and it might be whats causing him to be sick. if that was the case, hes prob gonna need some good antibiotics, for a longer period of time, and the vet might suggest surgery if he thinks he might be able to remove the foriegn object safely, if that is the case.

if you really trust your vet, if hes a really good, experienced, educated vet, i say just go with what he thinks would be best. you can always get a second opinion if you want.

[birdlady49]

I don't understand why he would need an x-ray??

I would think that an avian vet using a penlight to examine the eye while the bird is toweled would answer many questions. Then possibly drawing some blood to see if there's an infection causing the swelling.....

[imabeliever]

I am praying that your birds eye problems will be cured without any more stress for the bird OR you! I am a strong believer in prayer! Who better to ask but the Creator? I sincerely hope you have a super Christmas, and your precious birds' health is restored quickly and without any hitches!

Ginger A
Mom to a Ruby macaw, Willow, 20 Speedie, 20 Triton/Eleonara hybrid, Jingles, 15, Eleonara, Minor Sulphur Crested Hybrid, and LadyBird, 5 Umbrella Cockatoo, Daisy, 11 months, CKC Catahoula puppy and a nameless abandoned (till i got her) kitty with no claws... its a houseful, but the love is everywhere!

[Beaks]

sounds like a sinus infection(they dont always have a discharge)

i would talk to the vet about scoping the sinus cavity and looking under the eye for something that may have gotten in there.

[fwfran]

I agree about something getting in your birds nasal canal. My daughter had a orange seed in her nose and her eye was watering, swollen eye lids. I took a flashlight and looked up her nose and saw the object and removed it carefully. I have seen doctors blow things out of the nose, use a tweezer, or use suction. Depends on where the foreign body is. and if it began to stick on the tissue and adhere to it. Dont delay on removing the foreign body, because it can start to adhere to the tissue and rot. Please go to the vet.

[Barb E]

Hi Lisa,
Any news on your B&G's eye, nose issue?

I haven't had that much experience with Macaws but each one I get to know seems to have his own unique way of handling the stress in his life.
Ex. my Ollie bites his toe when he's upset, frightened or trying to intimidate (especially my husband).
He self-soothes by regurgitating on his foot also.

I almost adopted a B&G that rubbed his eye lid and sometimes even his eyeball. I was told by his owner that is was like a baby sucking its thumb (sound familiar)
I was worried about this behaviour leading to future problems (infections or worse) so I did'nt adopt him.

One book I read had me convinced that many of our birds have behaviour issues as adults because they were force-weaned or transferred to a new "parent" to finish the weaning process. This causes stress on the young bird and can leave emotional scars that we only become aware of in adulthood.
If this is true then I guess we'll all have problems of some sort with our birds???



I hope you get a good resolution with your baby and try not to worry too much