Chicken poo....

[LoveChooks9000]

"Had the vet actually EXAMINED her and been honest with me about how sick she was, had he been more interested in my girl’s well-being than his pocket book, euthanasia would have been a more humane option."

Hi @micstrachan,
It's nice that you took your bird to a vet, but I would think the fact that he didn't examine her would have given you a heads up that he was either not a genuine avian vet, or was just a rip-off merchant and maybe not even a vet at all. Unfortunately, you can get that in all walks of life, but if people are genuinely interested in finding a good avian vet (and most are good), ask around re: who is good and who is not. And, as I've said in my other post, don't be slow to euthanize an animal yourself if you can't get it treated by a vet and it is suffering.

 

[Chullicken]

"If the OP had included the information that the bird was acting unwell rather than just the poop picture, then diagnosis/suggested course of action would have been different. We all try to help each other here but we can only be as good as the information provided, allows us."

People deceive themselves in the first place, thinking they can "diagnose" anything on here, except for things that are clearly visible such as mite infections and such. Whether the bird is acting unwell or not is irrelevant. As I said in the first post, birds hide their illnesses until they're on their deathbed, so any symptom needs to be taken as their "sign" of sickness. Many people on here think it's relevant that any bird LOOKS sick. This is not the case. If it LOOKS sick, it is nearly dead.

"If everyone who posted here was told to take a sick chicken to a vet then many people would not be part of the forum as lots join specifically because they need help/advice/support with a sick chicken."

True, and so what? The world doesn't revolve around this forum, and what they need is medical advice, not a bunch of people who suggest NOT taking it to a vet and want them to hang around here talking to them about whether it has this or that complaint which are all complete guesses. Meanwhile, the bird suffers on, and most times, the owner has no idea it's suffering because it doesn't "look sick". Oh, back to that again.

"This section is also a wonderful learning tool as reading the many threads about different illnesses...."

Not really. There is only so much you can "learn", esp. on a site like this, but anyone who has any education on the subject KNOWS that any bird that is very sick or very badly injured needs to be seen by an avian vet. I'm not talking about a tiny cut or a few mites. Yes, people can give advice about that here, but you will notice that the people who really don't know what they're talking about are the ones suggesting that chatting on here can fix their birds and that they shouldn't be taken to a vet. Even the sticky before this forum says that this forum is NOT a replacement for a vet, and that if the bird looks like it needs to be seen by a vet, then it should be.

"Would you really like to see this whole section replaced with a line that reads " If your chicken is sick, take it to a vet"?"

Yes, it's common sense to anyone who has any understanding of bird health, but as I've said in other posts, two things in fact, "If you can't afford a vet, don't have pets", and secondly, "If you have a pet that needs a vet and can't afford to go, or won't go for whatever reason, hit the animal on the head yourself and be done with it." Letting an animal suffer on and on is not right, nor is it legal or moral. This forum should only be used for basic first aid and minor problems, not for anything major.

"There are many that cannot afford veterinary treatment for their chickens. In such situations it would then be a case of let the chicken live or die perhaps suffering without treatment or euthanize it."

Exactly what I have said on other threads. If you can't afford it, don't have pets. If you can't afford a vet and you need one, euthanize the chicken yourself. People want it both ways. Too tight or can't afford to take the chicken to a vet, but won't euthanize it either. Come to this site, and get encouraged to prolong the suffering more and more.

"Yes there are a few avian vets but often they are hundreds of miles away, so telling people to go to a vet is often not practical."

It amazes me the lengths people go to to justify not seeking a vet's advice. I know for a fact you have a hell of a lot more avian vets in the US than we do in Aust per head of population, but it's funny how the people who want to find one can always manage to do so. There is nothing like a lack of will to make things seem impossible. It takes five seconds to find one on the net. And, I don't suggest taking birds to a normal vet, only avian vets. If none are nearby, at the very least be in touch with one for emergencies by phone.

Think you are just arguing to argue..and really digressing the point of the original question. This energy should be spent finding a solution, not trying to be validated via post. There are very few avian vets around, and I know a lot of people outside in the real world that know an exceptional amount of information about avian's. The OP is taking that first step using the vast knowledge base available here to be able to intelligently take the next responsible step. If people took their birds to the 'vet' every time a chicken had an odd looking poop, non of us could afford internet. Chickens have no less than 10 different kinds of fecal matter. This isn't a cure all forum or group, this is a responsibility forum as a first step to treating an issue.

 

[LoveChooks9000]

Think you are just arguing to argue..and really digressing the point of the original question. This energy should be spent finding a solution, not trying to be validated via post. There are very few avian vets around, and I know a lot of people outside in the real world that know an exceptional amount of information about avian's. The OP is taking that first step using the vast knowledge base available here to be able to intelligently take the next responsible step. If people took their birds to the 'vet' every time a chicken had an odd looking poop, non of us could afford internet. Chickens have no less than 10 different kinds of fecal matter. This isn't a cure all forum or group, this is a responsibility forum as a first step to treating an issue.

"Think you are just arguing to argue..."

That's your opinion. If you would genuinely care to know what my motivation is, it is that I care that this forum is causing a lot of animals to suffer a lot more than necessary.

"The OP is taking that first step using the vast knowledge base available here to be able to intelligently take the next responsible step."

When people come on here needing help with hatching chickens and that type of thing, I agree there are any number of great, knowledgeable folk who can genuinely help. Also, with things like a few mites, small cuts, etc., it's okay for uneducated people to help. Anything more serious will not be fixed by coming here, esp. as even if you go to an avian vet, he's not just going to look at the bird and take a guess as to what's wrong with it. It seems many don't realise that birds actually need tests to find out what's wrong with them. Looking at them, or reading about their illness on here, and guessing is not one of those tests.

 

[Chullicken]

Apparently we're all stupid and uneducated.

 

[DeepFriedBacon]

Lovechooks9000, the presence of this forum fostered better lives for countless animals everywhere...

The knowledge gathered here is amazing. One can learn quite a bit, and in that, provide better conditions for their birds.

You don't need a degree to own chickens, raise them, and through the years be able to look at a chicken turd and say, in my experience it was this, and so on and so forth.

Be happy people are willing to share their experiences in an effort to help one another. Geez.

 

[micstrachan]

"Had the vet actually EXAMINED her and been honest with me about how sick she was, had he been more interested in my girl’s well-being than his pocket book, euthanasia would have been a more humane option."

Hi @micstrachan,
It's nice that you took your bird to a vet, but I would think the fact that he didn't examine her would have given you a heads up that he was either not a genuine avian vet, or was just a rip-off merchant and maybe not even a vet at all.

In this case, he is indeed a well respected avian vet who graduated from the Iniversity of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. He is well respected and recommended. He treated her with the original EYP with draining, intravenous fluid and antibiotics, along with abdominal lavage, which bought her five months. He had seen her several times and we wee used to her overall well being going up and down. She had started squatting again and passed some strange material (at the time, I reported it to him as egg material, but later learned it was probably more like lash egg material). We knew she was due for an implant. We knew she would feel lousy from it. The appointment was strictly for the implant. He told me from the very beginning, when I first brought her in on the brink of death, that his prognosis was “guarded.”
I just wish he had listened to her breathing with a stethoscope before implanting the capsule.