Quail has swollen eyes: causes of conjunctivitis and the best way to treat the disease

Quail breeding has recently become a very popular pastime. Ease of keeping, tasty meat and eggs - all these are the advantages of breeding birds. However, severe overcrowding of livestock can cause various infectious diseases. What to do if the quail's eyes are swollen, why this can happen, how to solve the problem - this is what today's conversation is about.

Causes of conjunctivitis in quails

Problems with the eyes of birds can occur due to errors in the maintenance of the livestock, with malnutrition of quails, or be of an infectious nature.The disease is contagious, it must be treated immediately after detection, otherwise all birds will suffer, especially if it is of a viral or bacterial nature.

Poorly cleaned cage, droppings and food residues stuck to the paws or feathers, and then getting into the eyes, are common causes of inflammation. Eye problems in a dirty, uncleaned cage are caused by ammonia fumes from urine and fresh bird droppings. Keeping in a cold, damp environment also causes conjunctivitis.

Quails are active and nimble birds. Mechanical injury to the eye, the ingress of dust or litter into it lead to inflammation. The source of infection with infectious conjunctivitis can be the droppings of sick individuals or contaminated poor-quality food. Young animals up to 2 months of age are more likely to suffer from infections.

Vitamin A deficiency is another cause of conjunctivitis. A systematic lack of retinol in the diet of birds causes inflammation of the eyes and blindness of quails.

Symptoms of disease

They occur shortly after infection and are visible to the naked eye. Conjunctivitis is characterized by:

purulent or mucous discharge from one or both eyes of a bird;
feathers stuck together around the eyes;
eyelid tumor.

Quails suffering from conjunctivitis become less mobile and lose their appetite. If these signs are found, sick birds are isolated from the rest of the population.

Diagnostic rules

Since inflammation of the eyes can be a symptom of dangerous infections, a doctor should make a diagnosis of a sick bird.

Important: it is necessary to exclude infection with salmonellosis, mycoplasmosis, ornithosis, especially if there are several sick birds.

Conjunctivitis is diagnosed based on the clinical manifestations of the disease, in difficult cases, laboratory tests are prescribed, and after them - a course of antibiotics.

How to treat swollen eyes in a bird

The cage with sick quail is placed in a dry, clean, warm and well-ventilated room. It must be slightly shaded so that the bright light does not irritate the bird. She needs vitamin A (using the oil form of the drug), the dosage is set by the veterinarian. The eyes are washed with a solution of furacilin (½ tablet per 100 milliliters of water) or a solution of boric acid (2 grams of the drug per 120 milliliters of water). Treated with an antibacterial agent and feathers around the quail's eyes.

After washing behind the eyelid, apply tetracycline eye ointment or instill antibiotic eye drops in children's dosage. The procedure is carried out 2 times a day, in the morning and in the evening.After the complete disappearance of the symptoms of the disease, treatment is continued for another 3 days, for the complete recovery of the bird. It is necessary to balance the diet of birds, to prevent a lack of vitamins and trace elements.

Prevention

In order for the quail not to get sick, it is necessary to keep the cages clean, remove the droppings, change the bedding. For the preparation of grain mixtures, high-quality grain without traces of mold is used. There should be a container with a shell rock in the cage; quails need s alt. Large crowding of birds should not be allowed.

Birds should always have fresh water, quails are given chalk, finely ground eggshells, grated vegetables (carrots, zucchini), fodder yeast, bone meal. Vegetables should be washed and grated. They should not be rotten or frozen.

Drinkers, feeders and trays under the cages should be systematically washed with hot water with the addition of 2% soda solution.The room where the birds are kept should not be damp and cold, it should be well ventilated. Weaker birds should be kept separate from strong individuals until weakened quails get stronger in order to prevent fights. When buying new quails, they are kept in quarantine for several days, only after that they are combined with the rest of the birds.

Good living conditions and a balanced diet, as well as regular veterinary examinations, will allow you to grow he althy livestock and get quality products. Quails are unpretentious in care and naturally have strong immunity, so even novice poultry farmers can quickly gain experience and quickly increase the number of birds in their backyard.