one eye cold???

[texasmk4]

this morning i found out one of my female pigeon had her 1 eye closed she could'nt get it opened i gave her bath and cleaned her eye she did open it for a while then closed it again does anyone know what precaution i have to take for that????

[Reti]

First you have to make sure there is no foreign body in her eye. Someone needs to hold the bird and you could look with a magnifying glass.
If you have sterile normal saline you can wash the eye carefully and watch her to see how the eye is after that.
Have you noticed if the eye is red, if it has swollen eyelids, does the bird have any other symptoms?
It could also be an infection.
Could you post a pic?

Reti

[texasmk4]

sure redi, i'll post the pic as soon as i get home i am at work. it was a little bloody on the side of her eye. you think it could be another bird tried to hit her on her eye?

[Pidgey]

That sounds more like trauma than disease.

Pidgey

[Reti]

Originally Posted by texasmk4

sure redi, i'll post the pic as soon as i get home i am at work. it was a little bloody on the side of her eye. you think it could be another bird tried to hit her on her eye?

Yeah, sure could be so. The blood indicates as to some kind of trauma.
You will have to take a close look and see if there are any scapes or lacerations.

Reti

[texasmk4]

what are the symptoms of one eye cold?

[Pidgey]

A "one-eyed cold" is an old term for actually quite a few different things ranging from a bad one like Chlamydophila (Ornithosis; Psittacosis, Chlamydiosis) that require a tetracycline (preferably Doxycycline) to something a whole lot less bad like a Mycoplasma infection. Those don't usually cause primary illness other than the localized smaller problems like the conjunctivitis (tissue around the eye swollen and inflamed).

There could be an infection with a simpler bacteria that would respond to an ophthalmic ointment (topical antibiotic ointment like Terramycin or Neo-Poly-Bac that's especially for putting in eyes... usually available at a good pet store).

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

I guess I didn't quite answer your question, did I? Well, a "one-eyed cold" is usually a swelling of the tissue around one eye, often with a discharge. This thread has one example of what some would refer to as that:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=20549

Pidgey

[texasmk4]

Thank you guys the bird is fine now. I am concerned about he fleas and mites that are bothering my birds

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by texasmk4

Thank you guys the bird is fine now. I am concerned about he fleas and mites that are bothering my birds

Most pet stores carry a product called Scalex or a Pyrethrins-based procuct for
spraying onto feathers. Cut the toe half off of an old sock and use it for a hood then spray the bird's rump, under the wings, flip and get the 'topside'.

You'll also need to spray their living quarters and allow to air and dry before
letting the birds back in.

fp