Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 1/23/2007

Question

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The text above is a follow-up to ...It is red around it.  Alittle puffy it just happen to day.  He was playing with another bird and the other bird was biting him around the side of his eye. So I think the other was bitting a little hard and hurt the eye and it now it is red and puffy.  I washed it out.  Is there any eye drops I can get for him to help him heal?

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My cocktail has a very red eye I think it is infected what can I do for him?
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Hi, Vicki.  Thanks for posting!

Exactly what part is red...the area around the eye, the soft tissue that lays on the eyeball itself...need details! How long has it been like this?  Are your tiels feet/toes clean or do they get droppings on them?  Was the tiel injured somehow?  Any blood?  Pus or oozing?  Any breathing difficulties?  Any other birds in the cage?  Any little pieces of wire or anything sharp inside the bird's cage that your bird could have hurt itself on?  Is your bird in it's cage all the time, part of the time, or outside all the time, free-flight in your home or do you control where your bird can go?  Any other signs of illness, is bird eating/drinking, etc.? Does it seem to bother the bird?

What you should do for him depends on what's causing the problem.  If you can answer my questions above, it might shed more light on what might be causing the problem and what can be done.

Thanks.

Chrys

Answer
Hi again, Vicki.

You can buy sterile eye drops at any pharmacy, however, these would not be antibiotic eye drops.  You'd have to get antibiotic eye drops from an avian veterinarian.  If you choose to buy sterile eye drops, don't buy Visine or any of those that "get the red out" (these only constrict the blood vessels in the eye).  Buy the sterile eye drops only.  This is about all I can recommend without avian veterinarian intervention.

Chrys