Keeps eyes closed

Question
I have an 18 month old Green Cheek conure who was to the vet less than 6 months ago and tested for mites, diseases etc.  She has a clean bill of health.  A week ago she started keeping her left eye closed but when I examined it under a magnifying lamp there is no swelling, cuts, inflamation or discharge.  Everything looks totally healthy she just keeps it shut.  Then last night she started keeping the right eye closed too!  She kept swinging her head around as if she was blind.  She isn't cause when she opens her eyes, which she does when she wants to climb around or eat etc. it is obvious she can see perfectly well.  She also curled up into my neck and tucked her head on her back and went to sleep for a while.  Something she NEVER does when we're together.  She's usually hyper.  NOT to say she was lethargic in any way.  Other than the crazy blind craning she's fine.  I can't figure this out.  Anyone have any ideas?


Answer
Hi, Lori,

The expert you sent your original post to could not answer for some reason.  I picked your post up from the question pool this morning.

Was the vet you took your bird to a certified avian vet?  A regular cat/dog vet isn't trained in dealing with aves.  Your bird could have developed some medical condition after taking her to the vet.  The worst place you can take a healthy bird is to the vet's office, which is full of germs/sick animals.  Therefore, your bird could have picked something up from just visiting the vet.  Sometimes when a bird is dehydrated, they will close their eyes.  Is your bird drinking enough water?  What type of light is your bird exposed to?  What type of diet is your bird on?  Sometimes a bird will swing it's head like you describe if there is something in the eye and the bird does the swinging motion to try and dislodge whatever might be in the eye.  

I recommend you take your bird back to your certified avian vet for a checkup.  There are quite a few problems your bird could be having and it's best to let the avian vet figure this out (since I can't actually see what's going on with your bird).  This time, leave your bird in your vehicle until you are called in the room for the examination, then immediately afterward, take your bird back to your vehicle.  The point is to only keep your bird in the vet's office for minimum time required for the examination.  You can come back in the office to settle your bill after you have your bird secured in your vehicle.  Customers like to show off their birds in the waiting room not realizing this can be detrimental to their bird's health.

When you send your post to AllExperts, you are sending your post to only one individual, the person you selected to send your post to.  If this person cannot answer, they either don't answer at all or send the post to the question pool.  A question can sit in the question pool until another Expert picks it up.

Thanks.

Chrys