I took My chicken to the vet

[coyote826]

I have 5 healthy chickens thriving in the same coop (2Roos and 3Hens). 7/1/2011 I picked up a young hen at a local breeder. Thanks to this wonderful web site I knew to quarantine her. I noticed she had a runny stinky nose so I treated her with 2 different antibiotics. Duramycin for 1 week and sol-met for 3 days. She did not improve. Knowing that I will probably always have chickens I took the plunge and brought her to a local vet that is willing to treat chickens in Deland, FL. They took a swab of her nares and narrowed her strain of bacterial infection down so we started her on Doxy. To pin point the exact bug the testing would have costed $400 which I am not prepared to spend. I am hoping she responds to the Doxy and can live a happy healthy life. She will have several more weeks of being in quarantine. The vet was wonderful the bill wasnt too bad and I left with peace of mind. Just wanted to share my experience.
Thanks!!

 

[Imp]

A good vet, for any animal, is worth their weight in gold.

Imp

btw- hope your chicken is OK.

 

[jjthink]

Ditto above.

Hope she'll be okay!

JJ

 

[ECBW]

Quote:
Would you mind sharing how much was the vet bill? Just curious and for reference.

 

[Tina D]

I hope your chicken recovers!

I took my 5 year old BO hen to the vet last week, too. She had a bubbly eye and puffy face. She is being treated for a respiratory infection. It turns out the poor thing had several things going on. I have only had her 2.5 months, and the vet said her issues have been brewing for much longer than that. That made me feel a little better, since I was afraid I was doing a terrible job taking care of her (I am a chicken newbie). She has arthritis, which I knew. She also had a lot of lice/mites.

ECBW, this is how my bill broke down. I know, it's a small fortune. But it was a huge learning experience...
- Emergency visit $132
- Throat culture $110
- Metacam oral medication $17
- Tylosin oral medication $33
- Ivermectin oral medication $16
- Sinuses flushed out $55
- Tylosin 1 dose injected $33

So, the bill was nearly $400. But, my hen is doing well!

Her comb, face and waddles are bright red again. She is still a bit congested, though. I'm planning to give her some injected doses of Tylan once I get it in the mail. The metacam is helping her arthritis tremendously! I had no idea she'd be able to move as well as she is now. I haven't gotten the results from the throat culture yet. And I did order some Tylan and syringes online. I want to be prepared for next time. Hopefully, I'll be able to avoid any more costly vet visits! I only have 4 chickens, so I'd really like to keep them as long as possible.

 

[coyote826]

Other than being lonely in isolation she seems to be doing well.
My vet bill came to $132.90
$54 exam
$40 cytology in house
$24.70 intestinal parasite exam
$14.20 Doxycycline
I am comforted in knowing others take their chicks to the vet too.
Thanks everyone for responding.

 

[tellynpeep]

I don't see a charge for a culture on that invoice. If they didn't culture the sample, there is no way of knowing what is the appropriate antibiotic, and they are just guessing. And a culture does not cost $400!! Around here a culture with sensitivity testing is about $125.
I'm just sayin.....

 

[tmasker]

I would be very interested to know the name of the vet in Deland...Have had to deal with a sick Polish Chicken, who thankfully recovered!

Best of luck with the recovery of your chicken!

 

[ChicKat]

Thanks for posting.

It is hard to find a vet who will work on chickens (around here). Like you, I paid more in vet bills and medications than I paid for the chickens, but I also think it was worth it. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that most people 'DIY' chicken treatment.

Hope that your birds continue to recover.

 

[sharol]

Not trying to be a killjoy, but I have read on BYC that some respiratory infections will heal in the bird, but the bird can become a carrier and infect the others in the flock when she is introduced to them. I think I would introduce her to one other chicken for a couple of weeks before adding her to the whole flock. It sounds awful, but it would be better to lose one chicken than all of them if she does become a carrier of some awful disease. I think it was CRD or something like that (it was initials). Maybe someone can chime in with better info.