• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

New Cockatiel Has Pink Eye

AmyJas

Walking the driveway
Joined
4/4/19
Messages
267
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Real Name
Amy
Hello all,

I'm new to the forum. I have owned budgies for years, but just got my first cockatiel, Lilo about a week ago from a bird store. She is being quarantined from my two current budgies. Today I noticed she has what looks like pink eye in one eye. I can only assume it’s from the stress of moving to a new home and being exposed to a new environment that has affected her immune system. Otherwise she seems to have been adjusting well.

I’ve attached a picture of the affected eye and a picture of her looking happy and healthy the other day.

She’s very friendly and doesn’t mind being handled, so I was planning to order Terramycin antibiotic ointment for birds online, rather than an oral antibiotic, which could have more side effects.

Any other ideas for treatment? I hesitate to take her to the vet for a simple eye infection, but I will consider doing so if it doesn’t improve over the weekend.

Thanks,
Amy
 

Attachments

BeanieofJustice

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
4/6/13
Messages
4,463
Location
Trenton, Florida
Real Name
Steph
Seeing the vet would be your best bet at finding a solution for your new feathered friend. I hope she gets better soon.
 

AmyJas

Walking the driveway
Joined
4/4/19
Messages
267
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Real Name
Amy
Thanks Steph! So I called the store, and I guess they have an avian vet on call, so they were able to quickly obtain some medicine before I even arrived. They are keeping her for a few days to give her the medicine and make sure she is okay. One of the workers said they were going to keep an eye on her in an office. Hopefully all goes well, and I get my girl back soon! But at least I know she's getting quick treatment.
 

BeanieofJustice

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
4/6/13
Messages
4,463
Location
Trenton, Florida
Real Name
Steph
That's great! :) I'm glad to hear it! I hope she feels better soon.
 

enigma731

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/23/13
Messages
3,066
I personally would still get an independent vet check. Eye irritation like that can be a symptom of psittacosis, which the pet store would love to avoid having on record. Not something to mess around with.
 

AmyJas

Walking the driveway
Joined
4/4/19
Messages
267
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Real Name
Amy
I personally would still get an independent vet check. Eye irritation like that can be a symptom of psittacosis, which the pet store would love to avoid having on record. Not something to mess around with.
Thank you for your insight. All the birds at this store are already tested for these diseases. (Although I don't know how accurate their testing methods are.)

I found out upon buying my bird that this store is super against budgies because they are common carriers of psittacosis. I have two apparently healthy budgies in a separate room while the cockatiel is quarantined, but there's always a chance that something that was formally placed in that room could have been contaminated with a small amount of the pathogen. I was more concerned with infection going the opposite direction obviously, from the new bird to my budgies. I really hope that is not the case. I was hoping for my budgies and cockatiel to be introduced for out-of-cage playtime after quarantine. I've had my other birds for six years with no issues.
 

enigma731

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/23/13
Messages
3,066
It's good that they test, though I'd want to see like...proof from an independent lab or something, like you said. It's just such a high stakes thing that I personally would want to be sure. On the other hand, I'm admittedly biased since I just went through a scare where we thought there might be a case of psittacosis in my flock, which would have put a lot of birds at risk.
 

Kodigirl210

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/13/18
Messages
1,403
Location
Cali
I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to want to see the actual test results on paper. Any good breeder or pet store should be willing to produce those if the birds were truly tested. Otherwise it’s just a case of they said they said. Well honestly anyone can say anything whether it’s true or not. It just depends on how willing the audience is to believe it. With the Tiel having such a swollen eye area, having to fids at home, I’d want a paper that identifies the bird beyond doubt (such as a ring id) and a lab that has contact information on the results. Call me cynical but I’ve seen too much bs since I seriously started looking for my birbs and since I’ve gotten them. I really shouldn’t be surprised but unfortunately the human element doesn’t tend to be as scrupulous as the animal element. :(
 
Top