Help! My Pigeon Has A Closed Eye! Is It A Cold?

[CENA]

Hello, one of my pigeons has a closed eye and he seems to be sick. He won't sit with the other birds and is puffy when he sits. He did eat and drink a LITTLE today. I did remove him from the coop. What can I give him to keep his health and what can I put on his eye? Thanks for any help!!

[Pidgey]

Sometimes they close an eye because they're feeling bad and sometimes it's due to a local infection. You probably need to open the bird's beak and look inside for any cheesy buttons. You might also describe whether the eyelid is being held closed by dried mucus or if there's anything like that around the eye, nostrils or beak.

Do you actually have any medications?

Pidgey

[CENA]

Hello, no I do not have any medications. I don't see any crusting or mucus on his beak or mouth. The eye does not seem to be crusted shut. I did open it and did see some mucus in it.

[Pidgey]

Well, if all that was wrong with the bird was an eye infection, it probably wouldn't show the other symptoms that you're describing. As such, it's highly likely that he's really sick and needs something more than just an ophthalmic antibiotic ointment. Your best choice would be to go to a vet if possible. Otherwise, you're going to have to try and obtain some medications. I'd probably choose a Tetracycline that you could get at a feed store in a pinch.

Pidgey

[CENA]

Thank you for the info. He seems to be doing okay. He is a little weak though. Today he is not puffy. I have him by himself now. I don't think he is eating. Mouth and throat look fine. I will know tomorrow if he is eating because I looked at how the food is in the bowl. Hopefully he will come around!

[Jay3]

Originally Posted by CENA

Thank you for the info. He seems to be doing okay. He is a little weak though. Today he is not puffy. I have him by himself now. I don't think he is eating. Mouth and throat look fine. I will know tomorrow if he is eating because I looked at how the food is in the bowl. Hopefully he will come around!

Well, he can't be doing okay if he is not eating. One thing pigeons do........eat. He probably needs medication like the kind that Pidgey mentioned. The longer he goes without eating, the weaker he will become.

[Charis]

Originally Posted by CENA

Thank you for the info. He seems to be doing okay. He is a little weak though. Today he is not puffy. I have him by himself now. I don't think he is eating. Mouth and throat look fine. I will know tomorrow if he is eating because I looked at how the food is in the bowl. Hopefully he will come around!

I probably won't come around unless you intervene. A bird that doesn't eat won't survive for very long. You can tell if he's eating by the number of poops in the cage.

[CENA]

Originally Posted by Pidgey

Well, if all that was wrong with the bird was an eye infection, it probably wouldn't show the other symptoms that you're describing. As such, it's highly likely that he's really sick and needs something more than just an ophthalmic antibiotic ointment. Your best choice would be to go to a vet if possible. Otherwise, you're going to have to try and obtain some medications. I'd probably choose a Tetracycline that you could get at a feed store in a pinch.

Pidgey

Is there a certain amount of the Tetracycline I have to give him?

[Pidgey]

Certainly. Exactly what do you have?

Pidgey

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hello Cena,

Could have been in a fight with another bird and got pecked in the eye. This is often what is referred to as a "one eye" cold and where infection happens in one eye only.

Like a human that is sick, plenty of liquids (water) in this case is always good and food is secondary depending on the circumstance of the illness. Pigeons can survive many days quite easily without food. Not saying it's good, but they do manage fine this way whereas lack of food for a songbird would probably kill them in a day or two.

Keep the bird separated, warm and hydrated. Look at the droppings too and see how they are.

I'm not a huge fan of running to the medication cabinet over every little thing anymore but you do what you think is best and for your pigeon.

[CENA]

Hello, and thanks for the post. Got home from work this morning and he was dead. I can't believe he died so fast! Could this have been pox? I got a bird back 2 weeks ago that had flown astray (40 miles). He was sick it seemed also and died within two days of me getting him back. I wonder if he was in an infected coop or picked something up and spread it to this one. I have 16 birds and all have been very healthy. Coop was cleaned and disinfected today. Anything else I should do? Is there a vitamin I can add to the water to protect them?

[Charis]

Cena,
It is natural instinct for a bird to pretend it's ok even when it isn't because a bird that appears to be sick, in the wild, is one that is singled out by a predator. The point is, once you notice you have a sick bird...it is really sick and can't pretend any longer, the birds time is running short and you must take immediate action to save the bird.
Most of us practice preventative measures with our birds. For example,
every time the weather changes, such as from hot to cool or visa versa we hear of outbreaks of canker in pigeons. The theory is that the changing temperature is stressful for the pigeons and stress brings on a canker outbreak as most pigeons already have canker in their system and the best we can do is treat a couple of time a year to keep it at bay.
The other outbreak we hear about or experience is Salmonella caused by mice and rats that have moved into the loft and have contaminated the feed. There is a vaccine available for this, PMV and Pox.
I treat 2 times a year for round worms as well.
Most pigeon illnesses are preventable but it takes more than vitamins. The basics include good hygiene, adequate ventilation, a dry loft and you need to be prepared to treat the common illnesses that crop up.

[John_D]

Something you may need to be aware of... this comes off the web, so I can't personally vouch for it, but it ties in with other info from pigeon-related articles.

The most common complaint from which pigeons suffer is 'One-Eyed Cold'. This disease is extremely infectious and is passed from loft to loft in the race basket, when pigeons from different lofts are of necessity in close proximity to each other. It is always most prevalent during August when the fancier would be particularly alert for symptoms and seems mainly to affect Young Birds. The Young birds, during this month, are racing and moulting profusely at the same time. These two things taxing their energies simultaneously, seem to make them very susceptible to infection if there is an epidemic in the neighbourhood. some years this disease is very widespread and most fanciers have one or two birds affected. In other years, there is hardly a bird with the complaint.

One-Eyed Cold, as its name implies, affects only one eye. An affected bird, in the initial stages, continually closes one eye by raising the bottom lid. The eye waters and several small bubbles appear in the lower front corner. It also loses some of its colour and is paler than the other one. A bird suffering from this disease must be immediately isolated from the rest of the colony.

There is, to my knowledge, only one quick and certain cure for One-Eyed Cold, namely a 12.5% solution of Tiamutin added to the drinking water at the rate of 3ml per litre of water. This can only be obtained on a vet's prescription, but will cure all but the most severe cases in twenty-four hours and even very severe cases of the disease are cured in forty-eight hours. At the same time as treating the affected bird in this way, all the apparently healthy birds should be put on a ten-day course of Terramycin which is administered by putting it into the drinking water, one teaspoonful to a gallon of water. This treatment will quickly ensure that the infection does not spread. The prblem with this disease is that - like some children's ailments - the complaint is passed on to another pigeon before the affected bird itself develops the symptoms.

http://www.pigeonbasics.com/articles/article41.html

You might be advised to check that against other sources to see if it ties in with the problem you saw

John

[Pigeonpal2002]

Originally Posted by CENA

Hello, and thanks for the post. Got home from work this morning and he was dead. I can't believe he died so fast! Could this have been pox? I got a bird back 2 weeks ago that had flown astray (40 miles). He was sick it seemed also and died within two days of me getting him back. I wonder if he was in an infected coop or picked something up and spread it to this one. I have 16 birds and all have been very healthy. Coop was cleaned and disinfected today. Anything else I should do? Is there a vitamin I can add to the water to protect them?

Hi Cena,

I'm truly sorry to hear that the pigeon died and so suddenly. It's so very difficult for any of us to know for sure what could have gone wrong. Perhaps the eye thing was not the real issue at all. I doubt it was pox and there aren't too many things that kill a pigeon so swiftly. Going from "fine" one day to "dead" the next. If you can afford a necropsy, this might provide some much needed peace of mind and also protect your other birds.

I agree with Charis and birds that are sick don't show any symptoms or problems until they get really sick. They are masters at hiding their illnesses.

I did have a pigeon though and not too long ago that managed to brave her sickness and fight it for months before finally succumbing to her condition. Pigeons and doves really are much more hardy and resilient than many other species of birds.

Still, one just never knows what potentially lethal virus or bacterial infection will snuff them out suddenly.

Again, I'm very sorry.

[CENA]

Thanks everyone for the help. So far all the other birds are healthy. Hope this doesn't happen again. If it does, at least a may be able to treat it!