Please help me help my 5 month-old Tom! He has an eye injury (it's bad, I need help with treatment) but it's also affected his depth perception so he can't eat or drink. He has swiped at food so was feeling well enough to try to eat but just missed by a few centimeters right above.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Royal Palm turkey, 5 months, decent sized but one of the smaller Toms
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
His eye was injured Thursday affecting sight in his right eye - I need help treating his eye. The corner nearest his beak is bulging out of the socket, covering 2/3 of his eye (still pretty sure it's in there) plus pushing the eye opening up away from the actual eye too (that's why looking on without moving protrusion to the side I can't see is eyeball). It feels firm like a grape not hard like a marble. Is this his 3rd eyelid with blood or pus trapped under? I've scoured through threads here looking at pics of eye injuries and can't quite find the same thing. I will post pics asap but more problems. He can't eat or drink, he has pecked/swiped at food but gets just a few centimeters above. He tried 5 times to get food and gave up Friday and again today. He's getting weaker!
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Since Thursday.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? Same day (!) another Tom also got a eye injury pretty severe with the area around eye socket really swollen with bruising. His snood is bloody and he had blood inside of his beak.
5) Are there any other injuries or symptoms?
Two and 1/2 inch gash on very top of scalp plus eye injury with bulging corner.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Fighting (way too many toms right now). Are these wounds consistent with fighting? They look so "blunt force" to me like a punch not a peck. Here in AZ we also had v. high, extreme winds that day - blew branches, dust, hay around maybe struck by something or maybe while flying down from the fence or a tree blown into ground or pig structure...??
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
I did get a bit of mash and cooked egg in him today but not enough, tending to his eye and scalp and trying to get food and water in him solo is making a lot of stressful interactions.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Normal but not substantial amount since not eating enough
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I've been cleaning the eye with warm water or raw milk and applying Neosporin three times daily. I went to the feed store and got opthalmalogic Terramycin today but managed to lose/drop the $20 v. expensive tube along the way to the barn (two v. sick kids have had me up 4 nites now is my excuse) so dissolved 1/4 TBSP. of Duramycin to quart of water and used that to just flush out again out again and apply Neosporin. Also gave dissolved Duramycin orally about 10cc.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Treating myself is only option
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Will asap.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
In large dog carrier, in fenced in pen in barnyard. Other injured tom next to him in XL dog crate.
Thank you for reading. Any help much appreciated.
1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Royal Palm turkey, 5 months, decent sized but one of the smaller Toms
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
His eye was injured Thursday affecting sight in his right eye - I need help treating his eye. The corner nearest his beak is bulging out of the socket, covering 2/3 of his eye (still pretty sure it's in there) plus pushing the eye opening up away from the actual eye too (that's why looking on without moving protrusion to the side I can't see is eyeball). It feels firm like a grape not hard like a marble. Is this his 3rd eyelid with blood or pus trapped under? I've scoured through threads here looking at pics of eye injuries and can't quite find the same thing. I will post pics asap but more problems. He can't eat or drink, he has pecked/swiped at food but gets just a few centimeters above. He tried 5 times to get food and gave up Friday and again today. He's getting weaker!
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Since Thursday.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? Same day (!) another Tom also got a eye injury pretty severe with the area around eye socket really swollen with bruising. His snood is bloody and he had blood inside of his beak.
5) Are there any other injuries or symptoms?
Two and 1/2 inch gash on very top of scalp plus eye injury with bulging corner.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Fighting (way too many toms right now). Are these wounds consistent with fighting? They look so "blunt force" to me like a punch not a peck. Here in AZ we also had v. high, extreme winds that day - blew branches, dust, hay around maybe struck by something or maybe while flying down from the fence or a tree blown into ground or pig structure...??
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
I did get a bit of mash and cooked egg in him today but not enough, tending to his eye and scalp and trying to get food and water in him solo is making a lot of stressful interactions.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Normal but not substantial amount since not eating enough
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I've been cleaning the eye with warm water or raw milk and applying Neosporin three times daily. I went to the feed store and got opthalmalogic Terramycin today but managed to lose/drop the $20 v. expensive tube along the way to the barn (two v. sick kids have had me up 4 nites now is my excuse) so dissolved 1/4 TBSP. of Duramycin to quart of water and used that to just flush out again out again and apply Neosporin. Also gave dissolved Duramycin orally about 10cc.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Treating myself is only option
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Will asap.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
In large dog carrier, in fenced in pen in barnyard. Other injured tom next to him in XL dog crate.
Thank you for reading. Any help much appreciated.
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