# Cockatiel Eye Issue



## WendyKL (Sep 14, 2014)

Hello,

Would love to hear some opinions/advice here. I brought my cockatiel, Adore, to the vet last week because he had a weepy eye. The vet gave him a complete exam - checked respiratory and used this special light to check for ulcers (which there were none). There was no redness/ inflammation about the eye. The vet did find a tiny piece of fluff in the eye which she removed. The vet did not want to put Adore on any antibiotics or topical ointments - thinking that removing this bit of fluff had solved the problem. Adore's eye did look good for three days after the vet visit. On the fourth day - however - this same eye looked a bit cloudy. I flushed it out with some sterile saline but I'm really wondering what to do (if anything) now? I do have the antibiotic ointment (I recently had another bird with an eye issue who was prescribed the ointment) but I do not want to use it unnecessarily - especially because putting the ointment in the eye is no fun for Adore. Thanks in advance.

Wendy


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Earlier this year I had a chick who had an irritated eye after getting a bit of millet shell stuck in it, and it was a stubborn problem that took a long time to clear up. There can be lingering irritation in the eye that can take a while to heal. My suggestion would be to call your vet and ask for advice, which might not be possible right away because the weekend is almost here. Until then, I'd continue to put saline in it once or twice a day - I did this while I was waiting for my vet appointment, and it REALLY seemed to help keep the irritation/infection under control. 

Secondly, make sure that matted feathers around the eye aren't causing any problems. When the feathers get matted they can interfere with the bird's ability to close its eyelid completely, which causes a dry eye (basically a different kind of irritation). Check at least a couple of times a day (especially at bedtime) to make sure the bird can close its eye completely. If it can't, wash the feathers until they come unstuck (I used a wet Q-tip with my chick) or even pull them out. Some of them are likely to get pulled out by accident anyway. The feathers will grow back pretty quickly, and keeping the eye healthy is the top priority.


----------



## tielbob (Mar 25, 2013)

Can you give the vet a call and explain the situation - see if it's ok to give the antibiotic ointment? The vet is familiar with the problem since you were just there.

I know it's not pleasant giving the eye ointment, and with a squirming bird in one hand and tube of ointment in the other pointed at the eye you are probably worried about causing more harm.

Try holding the bird up against your body and immobilize his head as you hold the ointment at an angle along the direction where the eyelids meet - then quickly deposit a narrow band of ointment across the eyeball while trying to keep it on the eye and not the lids. You have to keep the head still while not squeezing him to cut off breathing and want to be quick. Expect medicine to rub off or fly around when he shakes his head - enough will stay on the eye and be spread by blinking.

If you get it over with quickly you will minimize your suffering and Adore's discomfort as well. But first check with the vet to make sure the medicine is the next step.


----------



## WendyKL (Sep 14, 2014)

Thank you for your responses. I WILL keep rinsing the eye. That is an interesting observation about it possibly being dry eye - I have some experience with dry eye (dog has this problem


----------



## WendyKL (Sep 14, 2014)

Question for Tielfan:

You say : 

matted feathers interfere with the bird's ability to close its eyelid completely, which causes a dry eye - after you pointed this out - I'm wondering if perhaps Adore has some *dry eye* - would it make sense then to administer drops which would give some relieve for dry eye . . . . I really do not think there is an active infection - there is no redness, no squinting and no swelling - so I don't want to use an antibiotic ointment unecessarily - also - the vet did not see any signs of infection. THANKS AGAIN


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You could use some kind of over the counter artificial tears or lubricant eye drops to help with dry eye. I used a kind called Systane Balance that I bought at a drug store. It won't have the bacteria-limiting effect that saline does, but it might help more to relieve the dry eye. You can use both saline and artificial tears in alternation. But not at the same time of course, since one drop is bigger than a cockatiel's eye and there's not room in the eye for two drops at the same time. Try not to spill too much of any eye drops on the rest of the face, because it tends to get crusted on the feathers when that happens.


----------

