Possible eye infection? Looking for some advice please

[TwoCrows]

No, by now if you were going to see any improvement you should. I would definitely contact your vet. There are meds like Sulfadimethoxine or even Duramycin for things like Coryza or MG or CRD. Both of the last two I mention here take care of these depending on which one she has. But if you have a vet you can take her to, all the better. Why shoot in the dark with this.

I am so sorry she is still not doing well.

 

[kosherpickle]

Hi TwoCrows,

Thanks for your input, time and support.

Our vet has suggested doxycycline for mycoplasma which they said is probably the problem (over the phone). The vet also said that they can get us both Tylan and doxycycline and that they both target that bacteria (mycoplasma) in particular.

Have you heard of doxycycline?

The Tylan only comes in a huge amount (for a flock of chickens) but the doxycycline we could get in capsules. They'd give us specific directions on dosage and figures we'd need 3 or 4 capsuls of the stuff to treat her at a cost of 6 to 10 $ CAD.

My husband's going to pick some doxycycline up after work. He has the pics of Little Head on his cell phone so hopefully that helps the vet better assess her problem.
He's also going to mention the info you've provided about Sulfadimethoxine and Duramycin for things like Coryza or MG or CRD.

I wanted to bounce doxycline off of you to see if you'd heard of the stuff.

Thanks again,

Tracy

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh Doxycycline is a wonderful antibiotic. It works really well on Mycoplasmas. I used it along with Baytril when my flock turned up with MS which is also a mycoplasma. Doxcycline is a very good broad spectrum antibiotic and works on both negative and positive gram bacteria's. Many antibiotics don't. The interesting thing about Doxy is that it doesn't actually kill the bacteria but it prohibits it from reproducing. This is good for the body because it isn't hard on the system like other bacteria's and allows the immune system of the bird, or human, to kill the bacteria as well. All and all, Doxy is a great med to have on hand. I always have some stocked in my poultry medicine cabinet. I first learned of it with my parrots 20 years ago and this is the number one med to use on them with any respiratory ailment.

So I would go ahead and get the doxy and if you have any left over, save it for future use if you have enough of it.

I sure hope this helps your bird and keep us posted!!!

 

[kosherpickle]

hello,

Here's Little Head's update after 6 days in with Doxycline. (sorry for this long post).

The swelling isn't as severe but I noticed it has moved somewhat from the bottom of her eye towards the front of her face. Her eye still gets runny. She was showing some improvement but she still isn't cleared up. We spoke with our vet yesterday and they gave us the name of a poultry specialist who was supposed to get back to us 'soon'. They were just 40 minutes way in Sussex. My husband called back yesterday before the end of the day and they said that the vet wouldnt be getting back to us before the end of day. So today he called again and specialist left to go back to Fredericton (an hour and half away from us) because the weather has been bad (big snow fall here).

My husband mentioned to our vet (the one that gave us the doxycline) about ordering the Tylan, (which would take a couple days), but our vet said they figured if the doxycline didnt help that the Tylan wouldnt be good to go with at this point and to wait until we hear back from the other vet (who is with the provincial ministry).

I asked if we could get more of the Doxycline because she only has one more dosage left and they said that it wouldnt hurt her to be a couple days without antibiotics. Somehow I don't trust that.

I'm sorry about the long post, but I'm so worried about her at this point. She is still eating and drinking fine but she still has a hard time breathing, making a soft honking noise along with her swelling and eye still watering.

I'm considering getting her some natural antibiotics. I was looking up oregano oil and wondered if that might help. My husbands says she has shown some improvement and thinks that it is possible her own immune system maybe kicking in.

I don't know when that vet specialist will be getting back to us, but I don't like waiting on things like this. I wonder to myself, do they think: "big deal, a quail. it can wait " ?.

Sorry, just needing to vent.
She means ALOT to me

I don't want to leave her with nothing in the meanwhile.

I really value your opinion on this.

Do you think it would be useless to get our vet to order the Tylan?

Do you think it would be helpful to give her oregano oil as a natural antibiotic? According to the info I've found online, it needs to have at least 70% carvacrol in it and the health store I called has it in essence form. I could mix a drop in some veg oil then with some scrambled egg for her.

She's exhausted poor thing. It's hard to get a good night sleep when you're all congested and sore like that

Thanks for caring and hoping you can give some advice, yet again

Tracy

 

[TwoCrows]

Hi Tracy!

I understand your anxiety on this. When one of my babies is sick, I am all torn apart inside as well!

If you are seeing any improvement on the Doxy, then stopping it is not such a good idea. This gives the bacteria resistance when the meds are stopped. Tylan is the preferred meds for sinus infections however Doxy can work well too. If I had the choice, I would go with Tylan but if all I had was Doxy, I would use that too. The Doxy might take longer to cure this up. Some vets are nervous to leave birds on antibiotics too long. I don't know why. When my chicken flock turned up with MS, (Mycoplasma Synoviae...a very bad bacterial infection) my vet had my birds on two of the strongest antibacterial drugs on the planet for 16 weeks straight. It never harmed them, although toward the end I could tell the meds were starting to effect their livers. But I doubt it is going to take 16 weeks to clear up this sinus infection.

So if I were in your position, I would do my best to get one of these drugs as soon as possible. Preferably the Tylan. But if all you can get is the Doxy, do it. Try to insist that she needs another round if you can. I certainly would.

If they refuse, then definitely try some natural things on her. Tumeric is supposed to really boost the immune system as does Apple Cider Vinegar. Bacterias and virus's don't survive high alkaline environments..high PH. So a teaspoon ACV in a quart waterer filled with a quart of water might help as well. What ever you can do to combat this thing.

I am so sorry your baby is suffering. If I can think of anything after I post this, I will surely let you in on it.

 

[kosherpickle]

Hi there,

Little Head and I went for a visit to our vet today. They wouldnt give us the meds unless they could check her out so I brought her in.

After looking and examining her, they agreed to what we already told them. So the vet figured another round of Doxycline should do it because she has improved in baby steps, but improving slow but sure. The vet also said that he figures her immune system is kicking in with the help of the antibotics.

I was really surprised that they would even take the time to see a quail. I don't think there's ever been a quail in the office before! She stole the show
Everyone loved her and treatment continues.
Oh and would you believe that because of the heavy snow storm we had on Tuesday the meds were late coming in today so I was a little frazzled because she'd had her last dosage this morning. Fortunately the delivery came in late this afternoon so I had to make a second trip to pick up her doxycline.

She still not out of the woods, but making progress~~

Little Head sends her regards and lots of love

I'll update in another week from now... or so


Tracy

 

[TwoCrows]

Hi Tracy!!! This is great news!!! I am so glad they agreed to do another round of the Doxy! Sometimes it takes a bit longer on the meds. Just like humans, sometimes we also need to stay on antibiotics a bit longer to take care of bacterial infections. That is the thing about Doxy...it doesn't kill the bacterial but stops it from multiplying. So it allows the immune system of the bird to do the work of healing. It is a potent drug and if you keep the bird on it long enough it should be able to take this sinus infection down.

Great news Tracy!!! I hope your little girl makes a full recovery. Now that they have all seen just how adorable she really is in that vets office, I think they will work to keep her alive.

Keep us posted and I look forward to your next update!!

Sending her lots of healing vibes!!!

 

[kosherpickle]

Hiya TwoCrows,

Sorry it took me this long to give you Little Head's update. We've been busy shoveling, then again shoveling some more... more snow then should be allowed! As I type yet again more snow descends upon us here in New Brunswick Canada.

It took our Little Head an additional two weeks after she finished her meds before the swelling in face went down but I am now very pleased to announce that she is doing fantastic. She laid her first egg of the season two days ago and is a very happy quail.

We wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU

for all your help and support during our stressful time.

I hope all is well with you

Much peace and love,

Little Head's mommy aka Tracy and Little Head

 

[TwoCrows]

Hiya TwoCrows,

Sorry it took me this long to give you Little Head's update. We've been busy shoveling, then again shoveling some more... more snow then should be allowed! As I type yet again more snow descends upon us here in New Brunswick Canada.

It took our Little Head an additional two weeks after she finished her meds before the swelling in face went down but I am now very pleased to announce that she is doing fantastic. She laid her first egg of the season two days ago and is a very happy quail.

We wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU

for all your help and support during our stressful time.

I hope all is well with you

Much peace and love,

Little Head's mommy aka Tracy and Little Head

Oh I am SO SO happy for you and her!!!

This is great news!! I have wondered about her these past weeks. I am thrilled to hear she is all better!! I had hoped the Doxy would kick in. Sometimes they just need to stay on it longer.

Give Little Head huggies for me. One for yourself as well!