Embden gander eye problem

[charlindabob]

I apologize if this has been asked and answered before: I have a 9 week old
Embden gander that has itchy eyes (both eyes) and they are somewhat swollen and slightly
watery. How do I know they are "itchy"? The gander rubs both eyes on his body
and I have seen him scratch at his eye with his foot. Watery? The feathers
around the eye appear to be wet and it isn't from dunking his head in the water
bucket. And swollen? I have a same age mate that has no problem and I compare
his eyes to hers. His eyes appear to be in some distress and I want to do what
needs done to correct this. What do you people think and what medication would
you suggest? And what are the possible causes of this problem? Any educated
thoughts on this is really appreciated.
Thanks to all!

 

[Denninmi]

How about some uneducated guesses.

Several possibilities come immediately to my mind -- 1) conjunctivitis aka "redeye" or an infection; 2) allergic reaction due to something in the environment; 3) "dry eye" due to defective or poorly functioning tear ducts/tear glands; 4) inverted eyelids or feathers in the eye causing irritation.

I guess you could try various things first before breaking down and consulting a vet. If it were me, I would go to the drugstore and buy a couple of things -- sterile saline eye wash, a boric acid based eye drop, and gel type "liquid tears". Wash out the eyes with the eye wash, and apply a drop or two of the boric acid drops and then follow up with the liquid tears. Do this 2 or 3 times a day for a couple of days and see if it helps. The wash will help if there is any foreign matter or allergans, the boric acid is soothing and also may help with infections, and the liquid tears fight dry eye and also soothe.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Medicating goose eyes. What fun.

It sounds like he doesn't have water to wash his face, but if he already has clean water to dunk his head, then do as Denn suggests. It might be something as simple as a weed seed under the eye lid. Do you have foxtails?

Personally, I would wash the eyes out and then apply a dab of neosporin to the eye. This has been recommended to me by multiple vets and also the pharmacist looked it up for me. Use a brand new tube so you can be certain it hasn't been contaminated with anything. Never touch the actual tube to the animal. Squeeze the ointment into the eye and squeeze the eyelid shut to cut the ointment.

You'll want to consult your own vet or pharmacist, naturally, and not rely upon recommendations from strangers on the internet.

Just thinking about trying to medicate the eyes of my gander, I think it would be easier to just butcher him.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
can geese get pink eye? the itching makes me think of it. there is a product called Vetericyn, I bought it at TSC, pretty pricey but well worth it. you can spray in the eyes . It's for wound and infection treatment, Very safe. like the other poster said they need to be able to wash their whole head so you need to set up a bucket with water for them.