BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bramblefir]

My husband gets phone calls to see if he is willing to see chickens, but very few people are willing to pay for a vet to see their chicken.

There was a gal on the local FB poultry group who had a "sick" chicken that she asked the group for advice on. Not receiving the asked-for advice as quickly as she would like she took her hen into a vet. $300 or so later, her hen was diagnosed with an "unknown issue of the reproductive tract". The hen's symptoms were: staying in the nest box, elevated temperature, passing large foul stools when removed from the nest, not laying, and missing feathers on the breast. The general consensus among the knowledgeable chicken owners was that $300 is a lot of money to pay for a perfectly healthy broody hen.

 

[Beekissed]

There was a gal on the local FB poultry group who had a "sick" chicken that she asked the group for advice on. Not receiving the asked-for advice as quickly as she would like she took her hen into a vet. $300 or so later, her hen was diagnosed with an "unknown issue of the reproductive tract". The hen's symptoms were: staying in the nest box, elevated temperature, passing large foul stools when removed from the nest, not laying, and missing feathers on the breast. The general consensus among the knowledgeable chicken owners was that $300 is a lot of money to pay for a perfectly healthy broody hen.

Well...you know what they say. A good broody hen is worth her weight in gold! At least the vet seems to think so..... he's laughing all the way to the bank on that one!

 

[bramblefir]

Well...you know what they say. A good broody hen is worth her weight in gold! At least the vet seems to think so..... he's laughing all the way to the bank on that one!

Indeed! I don't think we've ever had to pay that much for one of the large animals with an actual illness or injury.

We get a kick out of the new chicken owners and their panic over normal chicken behaviors. Lately there's been lot's of the usual: "What is this growth/tumor/swelling on the right-side of my chick's chest?!" and "What's wrong with my chickens? They fall over with their wing out whenever I l let them out in the sunshine!". In about 5 months the constant "I thought this was a hen, but her comb is turning red. Is she really a roo?" will start up.

 

[DesertChic]

What surprises me is the FACT that most vet schools don't even teach their students how to recognize the various eggs of the parasites that invade poultry yards. They simply can not recognize what they are seeing on the smear.

This is not a joke...I made a point to call around several Vet. offices and not one said they could make the correct identification.

Oh, I called Vets in WV, VA, and PA..

Our good friend and neighbor is a vet. When we told him we were now raising chickens he became very quiet and stoic and said very pointedly, "Don't bring them to me. If something goes wrong just kill the bird." Okay then! I actually hadn't even considered taking my birds to him or any other vet, but his reaction was positively astounding. Then he asked when we're hosting a BBQ.

 

[Beekissed]

Indeed! I don't think we've ever had to pay that much for one of the large animals with an actual illness or injury.

We get a kick out of the new chicken owners and their panic over normal chicken behaviors. Lately there's been lot's of the usual: "What is this growth/tumor/swelling on the right-side of my chick's chest?!" and "What's wrong with my chickens? They fall over with their wing out whenever I l let them out in the sunshine!". In about 5 months the constant "I thought this was a hen, but her comb is turning red. Is she really a roo?" will start up.

Just watched an episode of Dr. Pol last night on Amazon that had a lady bringing in her chicken for the growth on its chest that had hard, stone like things inside of it. That lady said she'd been farming for 40 years or more....I'm thinking she wasn't farming chickens in all that time.

 

[bnjrob]

There was a gal on the local FB poultry group who had a "sick" chicken that she asked the group for advice on. Not receiving the asked-for advice as quickly as she would like she took her hen into a vet. $300 or so later, her hen was diagnosed with an "unknown issue of the reproductive tract". The hen's symptoms were: staying in the nest box, elevated temperature, passing large foul stools when removed from the nest, not laying, and missing feathers on the breast. The general consensus among the knowledgeable chicken owners was that $300 is a lot of money to pay for a perfectly healthy broody hen.

There are just no words....

 

[bnjrob]

What surprises me is the FACT that most vet schools don't even teach their students how to recognize the various eggs of the parasites that invade poultry yards. They simply can not recognize what they are seeing on the smear.

This is not a joke...I made a point to call around several Vet. offices and not one said they could make the correct identification.

Oh, I called Vets in WV, VA, and PA..

I believe that. And it's a shame. They should at least have reference books to help them if they aren't very familiar with something, and there are a number of online information repositories that vets can pay for subscriptions so they can access info and get assistance from other vets.

 

[Beekissed]

I think the vets that are more interested in money are wising up to the fact that chickens are a brand new revenue stream. When you hear of $1500 surgeries on chickens, you know that someone is picking up on the possibilities for making good money on a new kind of "pet".

 

[bnjrob]

I think the vets that are more interested in money are wising up to the fact that chickens are a brand new revenue stream. When you hear of $1500 surgeries on chickens, you know that someone is picking up on the possibilities for making good money on a new kind of "pet".

Yep - there are some of those. Have gotten some ads from a vet, that works in the city no less, asking vets to refer chickens to her.

Even though the clinic my husband works for is a small animal, he'll see more exotic things just because so few vets will and he doesn't want to leave the animals without care if they really need it. It doesn't hurt that he has personal experience with a variety of animal/bird species. Some days I worry about what strange kind of animal we're going to end up with next because it needed a home and special care.

 

[Beer can]

With whole flocks of chickens and turkeys being wiped out I hope someone is starting to pay attention. One recent outbreak wasn't far from Frank Resse's poultry ranch, could you imagine if he lost his whole flock of heritage breeds?!!, or anyone else that has had lines going for generations?!!?.