Possible eye infection? Looking for some advice please

[kosherpickle]

Hi Everyone at BYC,

I'm looking for some advice on what I suspect is an eye infection. I went into the coop to change waters at lunchtime and I noticed one of my coturnix quail (Little Head) had a 'dull' looking eye. I picked her up and saw that she did in fact have some redness around the bottom of the eye and that there was a 'film'. I've brought her to my birdie ICU inside my house. She is drinking and eating fine. So far I've sprayed the eye with some vetericyn and have noticed that she looks at me with her 'bad' eye but its swollen on that side of her face. I'm just worried that she may have a sinus infection developping.

I've added 1 cc of Tetracyline 250 HCI USP to her water which was purchased at the feed store. I've also mixed in some Prime vitamin supplement with the same water. I was hoping that the Tetracyline would help being a wide spectrum antibiotic in case it is a bacterial infection. I check on my birds quite often so I'm hoping this hasn't developed too far and I've caught it in time to help her as best I can.

Here are some pics of her eye in hopes that you can assess her situation.









I think that the vetericyn has been helping because she doesn't have the redness that was once under her eye but I just noticed that there is red 'inside' her eye and its very watery. Should I keep spraying the eye every few hours or so?

Please let me know if you think I maybe doing something wrong or if I could be doing something more helpful.

Many thanks for your help and time.

Tracy

 

[TwoCrows]

That looks like a sinus infection. Eye infections generally make the eye cloudy. I have never used this form of Tetracycline before however most of the Tetracyclines work well on sinus infections. So make sure you are mixing it properly. Not enough of the meds and the bacteria will become immune and she could get sicker.

Keep her on this med for 7 to 14 days depending on how fast she recuperates. Generally you go 3 days past the last symptoms. I would go with at least 10 days on this stuff. She looks like there is quite a bit of swelling.

Keep us posted and I hope she makes a full recovery!!

 

[kosherpickle]

Hi TwoCrows,

Thanks for your help. I'll continue with the meds like you've explained. I really appreciate your reply and Little Head says thanks

I will update in a couple of days.

Tracy

 

[TwoCrows]

Hi TwoCrows,

Thanks for your help. I'll continue with the meds like you've explained. I really appreciate your reply and Little Head says thanks

I will update in a couple of days.

Tracy

Keep us posted and I sure hope she pulls through this!!

There are other antibacterial drugs you can use if this stuff doesn't do the trick.

 

[kosherpickle]

Thanks TwoCrows!

So, say if in 5 days there is no visible improvement , what would you recommend as another antibacterial med?

I 'm hoping I won't need it but just in case I'll look for the kinds you use in my area to see if it is available.

thanks so much

 

[TwoCrows]

Tylan works really well on sinus infections if you could get some. You can get injectable or water soluble. Of course the water soluble is a lot easier on quail.

But yes, if there is no improvement in 5 days, I would see if you can give her some Tylan in the water.

 

[kosherpickle]

Hello,

I was going to wait until the 5th day for an update but we're on day 3 on the tetracycline, saw some initial improvement but tonight her other eye was leaking and watery and I suspect some swelling started. She is sometimes making a soft honking/squeaking sound possibly indicating a congestion? I have noticed the right eye gets redder at night. She's eating and drinking well and moving around normally. There is still swelling on the left side where the original infection was. Is this likely a draining process?

We've called around to all the co-ops and farm supplies stores in the area, as well as pet shop catering to birds, and none of them stock Tylan. Do you know if that is available in New Brunswick, Canada or if there is a Canadian equivalent? Is it the sort of thing you would need to get from a vet?

Here's some pics of Little Head that I took tonight (Atlantic time 9pm):

Right eye (where her problem first appeared)





These are pics of her right eye where watering has started and I suspect some swelling also.





And here's one I tried to take of her from the front




I'm really hoping that this is part of the healing process and that it's the medication kicking in.

Please let me know what your thoughts are.

Thanks,

Tracy

 

[TwoCrows]

I would continue for another 2 days and compare day 5 to day 1. I have no idea about getting Tylan in Canada. You might check around on line and see if any poultry suppliers ship to Canada. If not, you might need to ask a vet to order it for you.

But give the meds time. Most antibiotics take till at least day 3 to kick in. Tetracyclines are slow to react but are powerful if given long enough.

Give us an update in a couple days and if she is not improving we can take this down another avenue.

Keep us posted!!

 

[kosherpickle]

TY -will do. btw, she s doing well today and no worse I was just worried to hear her little noises.

 

[kosherpickle]

Good Day,

Here's an update on Little Head after 5 days (going on 6 now) on the tetracyclin.

Her eye has alot of fluid leaking from it and it sometimes comes out as little bubbles on her eye. There is now a reddish ball formed under her eye. I still spray the eye every now and then with the vetericyn just to make sure the area is clean.

I just finished holding her with a wet warm cloth against that side of her face. She seemed to appreciate it. I'm going to continue doing that as it seems to give her comfort. Please let me know if you think it could help or if it's a bad idea.

At night, I can hear her making breathing noises.

Her appetite is good and she is drinking fine on her own, along with me offering her medicated water with a dropper. I've been feeding her a hard boiled egg that's been soaking in water that has her meds.

My husband is calling the vet to see if there is any other type of antibotic we can give her if this isnt working. I'll keep her on this for as long as I have to hoping she will heal but if not then I will try whatever we can find in our area. I looked up Tylan and we could order that online, but it would take some time to get to us, so if you think this isnt doing the trick going on day 6, then we will go with something else.

Here's some pics from today:









I'm wondering if this showing improvement (should I be seeing better results?) or if I should find another type of antibotic. I will of course keep her on this either way until I hear back from you and see what you think. Hopefully the vet will have something (not sure if they will give us something without seeing the bird or if they even see birds... it's our dog's vet). It will be the first time we call this vet in regards to our quails. If there isnt any help there, we will most likely order the Tylan online.


Thanks for any help or ideas you may have.



Tracy