Discharge from eye and respiratory distress

by Holly Miller
(Sanbornton, NH)

Marty's Infected Eye

I have 4.5yr old male yellow and green parakeet named Marty. Marty has been sick since October and my avian vet does not know what is wrong with him. I am worried that we will not find a cure. His eye is secreting some kind of clear liquid causing his feathers to become wet around his left eye, matting them down. Also the skin around his eye appears to be swollen like something is blocking the pathway in his airway around his eye.

The vet prescribed Doxcycline 100mg capsules mixed with water at first which seemed to alleviate the "swelling" initially but when the two weeks of medicine was finished, his symptoms returned. Then we tried a .05mL Baytril solution that was given 2x day orally for ten days. Same results. Finally we tried a Tetracycline ointment that was applied to the left eye 3x day for ten days. The results were not as good as the first two medicines but the swelling did seem to be alleviated.

I also had blood work done and the results were not great but inconclusive. His calcium is 6.9 out of 10. He also has %8 eosinophils. The dr. actually told me he has no idea why the bird has the symptoms he does with the results he has.
My next step with the dr. is an endoscopy to see inside his esophagus to see if we can see anything. Please if you know anything don't hesitate to share :)
Sincerely,
Holly Miller
New Hampshire