Peacock with swollen pink eye Vet has no idea of the cause!

[AandAranch]

Yes, that is how ours started as well. We did have the eye removed as you can see by the pics and she did live for a few weeks but died anyway, probably from an infection. The operation was risky and it took four of us to do it. I held the bird, my wife monitored the heartbeat, the vet tech monitored the anesthesia as the vet removed the eye. The worst part was stopping the bleeding once the eye was cut out.

The second pic is a few weeks after the procedure and probably when she was developing the infection. In hindsight, there should have been a weep hole for drainage, more cleaning out of the socket and the antibiotics should have been administered longer.

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Thank you for all the info! In all my years of owning birds I have never seen something like this. I'm so sorry to hear your bird didnt make it. I've called a few vets and it is proving impossible to find one willing to do the operation. Not sure what to do at this point. Preparing for the worst at this point.

 

[casportpony]

Thank you for all the info! In all my years of owning birds I have never seen something like this. I'm so sorry to hear your bird didnt make it. I've called a few vets and it is proving impossible to find one willing to do the operation. Not sure what to do at this point. Preparing for the worst at this point.

Ask you vet for a referral to a veterinary eye doctor.

 

[AandAranch]

Ask you vet for a referral to a veterinary eye doctor.

I'll give it a shot. We have a grand total of ONE avian vet within a five hour radius and he is not willing to do it.

 

[AandAranch]

Yes, that is how ours started as well. We did have the eye removed as you can see by the pics and she did live for a few weeks but died anyway, probably from an infection. The operation was risky and it took four of us to do it. I held the bird, my wife monitored the heartbeat, the vet tech monitored the anesthesia as the vet removed the eye. The worst part was stopping the bleeding once the eye was cut out.

The second pic is a few weeks after the procedure and probably when she was developing the infection. In hindsight, there should have been a weep hole for drainage, more cleaning out of the socket and the antibiotics should have been administered longer.

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Quick question: was it a local anesthesia that was used for your peahen's operation?

 

[Trisseh]

My question is how your vet got a look behind the eyeball in an awake bird...? Definitely an issue with something putting pressure on the eye, although it may also be intraocular pressure.. did the vet mention anything like glaucoma or anything like that? I’ve seen plenty of animals with foreign bodies in weird places too, so I wouldn’t necessarily rule that out either... had a barn cat that came in time after time with a similar situation only to find, once she was under general anesthesia, that she had a 4” piece of straw in the socket behind the globe of her eye... anesthesia is tricky in birds but that must be extremely painful for that poor bird...

 

[casportpony]

I'll give it a shot. We have a grand total of ONE avian vet within a five hour radius and he is not willing to do it.

Did he say why?

 

[KsKingBee]

Quick question: was it a local anesthesia that was used for your peahen's operation?

She only used a gas so she could pull it if the hens heartbeat slowed too much.

 

[AandAranch]

Did he say why?

I think because it's dangerous to put a bird under general anesthesia. But for some reason he wont do local anesthesia or gas.

 

[AandAranch]

My question is how your vet got a look behind the eyeball in an awake bird...? Definitely an issue with something putting pressure on the eye, although it may also be intraocular pressure.. did the vet mention anything like glaucoma or anything like that? I’ve seen plenty of animals with foreign bodies in weird places too, so I wouldn’t necessarily rule that out either... had a barn cat that came in time after time with a similar situation only to find, once she was under general anesthesia, that she had a 4” piece of straw in the socket behind the globe of her eye... anesthesia is tricky in birds but that must be extremely painful for that poor bird...

I was wondering the EXACT same thing. No idea how he accomplished it but supposedly he did! He didn't mention anything! Not even a possible tumor behind the eye. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Gives me a good idea of what else could possibly be wrong with him.