do you have to take your chicks/ chickens to the vet ???

[TwitchysChicks]

Since I work for a vet and an avain vet at that, they get to go to the vet.

We did have one chicken that pecked anothers eye and it was knarly looking got some meds and she looks get now.

Another member of the board had a case beyond sore coup and ended up with $400 surgery to save her bird. It was an inpacted crop full of sand and assorted other things that weighted in at almost a pound

Do you have any advice on this? Should I cull? Or do something else?

 

[featherhead007]

Most chicken-keepers take care of their own birds. Usually, a vet knows nothing about chickens, but sometimes will fake it or treat blindly, and charge you a big fee anyway. I wont be taking a chicken to the vet. If it's respiratory, I would cull the bird. Too many diseases make them carriers for life.

Would you kill your best friend, just because she caught a sniffle?

 

[speckledhen]

Would you kill your best friend, just because she caught a sniffle?

Chickens DO NOT GET SNIFFLES. I'm not yelling, I'm emphasizing. They do not get colds. Most diseases they get are contagious and make them carriers for life. They are like herpes or HIV.
You need to stop thinking of avians as human beings. Most chicken diseases are like herpes viruses and stay with the chicken FOREVER, infecting others even if they are asymptomatic. They are animals and if you keep a contagious chicken, you are endangering all your other "friends", not being responsible. It's your choice to do that, but you will always have to be on guard, disinfecting your shoes and clothing whenever you leave the infected birds, never allowing a bird, even a chick, to leave your property if you keep an infected flock. If you do, you are hurting other people by endangering their flocks. There is more to this than "killing your best friend". Chicken keeping contains some harsh realities.

 

[3KillerBs]

Would you kill your best friend, just because she caught a sniffle?

Chickens are livestock, not people.

 

[featherhead007]

Chickens DO NOT GET SNIFFLES. They do not get colds. Most diseases they get are contagious and make them carriers for life. They are like herpes or HIV.
You need to stop thinking of avians as human beings. Chicken diseases are like herpes viruses and stay with the chicken FOREVER, infecting others even if they are asymptomatic. They are animals and if you keep a contagious chicken, you are endangering all your other "friends", not being responsible. It's your choice to do that, but you will always have to be on guard, disinfecting your shoes and clothing whenever you leave the infected birds, never allowing a bird, even a chick, to leave your property if you keep an infected flock. If you do, you are hurting other people by endangering their flocks. There is more to this than "killing your best friend". Chicken keeping contains some harsh realities.

I will thank you for that. It's just hard for me to think anything other than my precious birds would not be as human as "some of us" are!

I'm very careful now about bio-security














'

 

[featherhead007]

Chickens are livestock, not people.

To you maybe!

 

[speckledhen]

I will thank you for that. It's just hard for me to think anything other than my precious birds would not be as human as "some of us" are!

I'm very careful now about bio-security

That is the best you can do, strict biosecurity and not buying from just anybody. Most on BYC know how much I am attached to my birds. Most of mine live to around 10+ years old and I currently have a couple of 12 year olds, lost a few this past year to old age, one was 13. So, I am not a "chickens are strictly livestock" kind of person, just so you know. They're pets to me at that age, however, I would still euthanize a contagious bird in an effort to protect my others. I never, ever buy birds, not even chicks, from anyone. Every one is hatched here. If I need new blood, I only buy hatching eggs from very reputable breeders who have similar views about disease to mine, though I have ceased to add to my stock now. So, I want you to understand my perspective, that I am very, very attached to my chickens and give them the very best life that I can, which would include culling a hen that I knew or felt was endangering others in the flocks, though it would be through tears, I admit. Having owned chickens for over 14 years, I have never had contagious disease here, so biosecurity goes a long way toward protecting your flock.

 

[Feather Fluff]

They don't need scheduled vet care. But eventually you will end up with a sick or injured bird and you'll need to make a decision. Most people (understandably) won't take sick/injured chickens to the vet, and if you are new at this, it can be an especially difficult decision.

I am in the minority, I do take my girls to the vet when they are sick. I luckily found a vet who charges me very little to take care of the chickens, he has taught me to tube feed sick birds, administer injections, and he's given me homeopathic remedies. For example, my one-legged chicken (Special Edna) sometimes has a sore leg. Not good for a one legged chicken. We've been giving her fish oil for it, which is a natural anti inflammatory, and it works! . This vet is a very rare find.

Best bet is to learn as much as you can about taking care of sick birds on your own; make friends with others who have this kind of knowledge who can help you; make contacts with a vet who takes care of farm animals - they charge less and will allow you to treat the animals yourself more than a companion animal vet, saving even more money. Get your chickens used to being handled so you can find problems early; read about how to spot problems early to avoid bigger problems later. And get mentally prepared for the day when you have to decide between spending $$$ or letting (or helping) a chicken die.

Good luck
Colleen

I need to know more about your one legged chichen. I'm on the verge of having my own one legged chicken. She has a potential broken hip (refused sling, did poorly indoors in isolation, Happy with flock, built a ramp for her)