Adult male Guinea with swollen head, no eye or nasal discharge, occasional sneezing. What could it be?

[BrushCreekFarm]

I have an adult maybe 4 year old guinea with a swollen head/sinuses. All around his eyes. It started about a month and a half ago. I had him on metronidazole for 2 weeks at the onset, and it seemed to get better but it quickly (like 2 days) came back after stopping the medication. I put him back on it for another week and few days but it didn't seem to help the second time. Now he's not been on anything for a couple weeks but his condition is not going away. He's in a separate area from my chickens with his mate as she was miserable away from him and being bullied by the hens. She is not sick despite being penned with him and sharing food and water. He's eating and drinking normally, poop looks normal. He's subdued but doesn't look fluffed up or depressed. He's not got any discharge from his nose or eyes. He was sneezing at the onset but now I don't hear him sneeze very often. Last night he seemed to be breathing harder than normal although I didn't hear any rasping or wheezing. My birds are in an old unheated horse barn in converted stalls with a concrete floor covered in pine shavings for bedding. He must be miserable and I'm stumped as to what to do for him. I'm in a rural area with no access to an avian vet or really any vet who treats poultry. Is there a different antibiotic I could try? Why is no one else sick? Could it be an allergic reaction? They're eating chicken pellets and scratch as they usually do. Nothing has changed with feed or environment. The guineas were in with the chickens until he became sick, then I separated him from the rest of the flock and moved her over with him a couple weeks later.

Thank you in advance!

 

[dawg53]

I've never owned Guinea's. I suspect your dealing with some type of bacterial respiratory infection or disease with your Guinea. Metronidazole wouldnt be effective in this instance.
It would be better to use Tylan injectable or Baytril.
I dont know the dosages for Guinea's, sorry.
Here's where you can order Tylan injectable:
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30E07914-7B6A-11D5-A192-00B0D0204AE5

Here's where you can buy Baytril:
https://allbirdproducts.com/collections/bird-medications/products/baytril-10

 

[BrushCreekFarm]

Thank you, dawg53!
I'll try the Baytril as trying to catch him to administer a shot of Tylan will be nearly impossible.
In that way my guineas are much different from my chickens. They're practically feral and really flighty where the chickens are tame and easy to handle.

Is it just dumb luck no one else out of 18 birds has gotten it?

 

[dawg53]

If in fact it's a respiratory disease, it'll spread to other birds eventually. Symptoms could be mild and hardly noticeable, or severe with birds on their deathbed.
Again, I'm not familiar with Guinea's. If it's bacterial, the Baytril will treat it. It's top of the line.
The Baytril bottle is small, but it may not take much to treat your Guinea, it's a potent antibiotic. Maybe you can use the search button and type "Baytril dosing for Guinea's" and see what pops up. Then you might get an idea if one bottle of Baytril can do the job for you.