involving the vet?

[Duck_life]

Ok, so a while ago I made a thread on my scovy duckling bella, what happened was the male scovy duckling picked on her so bad, she became bald and very bloody, as well as limping, so fast foawrd 3 weeks, shes doing much better, introduced her back to her sisters and "mate" (brother) today, sisters didn't like her but lucky stills loves her (he has also recently gotten a very bad sprain somehow when I was on vacation but that's being handled and he had no way of harming her) but she still wont grow and still has her baby voice! talking about taking her to the vet for a checkup as long as it wont cost much over $50 (for personal and financial reasons) any idea how much it would cost (I would call the avian vet but they are closed for today and tomorrow)

 

[casportpony]

Ok, so a while ago I made a thread on my scovy duckling bella, what happened was the male scovy duckling picked on her so bad, she became bald and very bloody, as well as limping, so fast foawrd 3 weeks, shes doing much better, introduced her back to her sisters and "mate" (brother) today, sisters didn't like her but lucky stills loves her (he has also recently gotten a very bad sprain somehow when I was on vacation but that's being handled and he had no way of harming her) but she still wont grow and still has her baby voice! talking about taking her to the vet for a checkup as long as it wont cost much over $50 (for personal and financial reasons) any idea how much it would cost (I would call the avian vet but they are closed for today and tomorrow)

An office visit and exam are usually $45 to $65.

 

[Duckworth]

You can call and ask the vet for the cost of the basic visit before you make an appointment. That will give you an idea about whether you can afford it. Some vets charge more when it’s a same day or “emergency” appointment. Ask about that so that you can schedule in a way that is most manageable for you financially.

I am not able to advise you about whether your duck needs a vet visit, but if you are concerned and can afford it, I wouldn’t discourage you from going.

I hope that having your duck in closer proximity to her flock will give her the boost she needs to move forward health- and growth-wise.

 

[gtaus]

Where I live, the vets don't know anything about poultry. So the advice you would get from our vets would be Wikipedia general. Better advice on BYC or YouTube from people who actually raise birds.

I discussed this issue with our local 4H poultry coordinator. He recommends that people do their own research and try to help their poultry themselves, or cull the animal. You can buy lots of healthy birds for the cost of one visit to the vet was his attitude. But again, our local vets are not trained on treating poultry.

I have 10 young pullets in my backyard flock, and had decided before I got them that there would be no vet visits. If I can't help the bird, then I'll cull it if necessary and try to learn from the experience. My chickens are not livestock, but they are not pets either. I bought ten day-old-chicks hoping to winter over at least 6 hens. So I have planned for loss already.

 

[Duckworth]

Where I live, the vets don't know anything about poultry. So the advice you would get from our vets would be Wikipedia general. Better advice on BYC or YouTube from people who actually raise birds.

I discussed this issue with our local 4H poultry coordinator. He recommends that people do their own research and try to help their poultry themselves, or cull the animal. You can buy lots of healthy birds for the cost of one visit to the vet was his attitude. But again, our local vets are not trained on treating poultry.

I have 10 young pullets in my backyard flock, and had decided before I got them that there would be no vet visits. If I can't help the bird, then I'll cull it if necessary and try to learn from the experience. My chickens are not livestock, but they are not pets either. I bought ten day-old-chicks hoping to winter over at least 6 hens. So I have planned for loss already.

My husband is allergic to chicken eggs (and a lot of other things) and our ducks’ eggs are a big protein source for him. They are not available locally with regularity. So we keep duck hens for eggs. But ducks aren’t readily available here, so the decision to cull would mean not having eggs.

We have an excellent avian vet less than a mile from our house. There’s another one two miles farther down the road. I come here to BYC first for advice, but in our particular situation, I’m very glad there are avian vets available to help us keep the eggs coming for my husband. It stinks to be allergic to so many very common foods and it’s worth it to us to utilize our avian vet when we need to to save our ducks’ lives. Our locale imposes limits on the number of ducks we can keep, so we aren’t in a position to get more than we think we need.

I don’t disagree at all with the choices you have made.

 

[gtaus]

My husband is allergic to chicken eggs (and a lot of other things) and our ducks’ eggs are a big protein source for him. They are not available locally with regularity. So we keep duck hens for eggs. But ducks aren’t readily available here, so the decision to cull would mean not having eggs.

I completely understand you are in a different situation than me. Food is medicine, and I can understand protecting your duck hen for the eggs she provides for your husband. You are fortunate to have poultry vets so close to you. And I bet your husband feels very fortunate to have you looking after him. I hope your duck hen gets better.

 

[Duckworth]

I completely understand you are in a different situation than me. Food is medicine, and I can understand protecting your duck hen for the eggs she provides for your husband. You are fortunate to have poultry vets so close to you. And I bet your husband feels very fortunate to have you looking after him. I hope your duck hen gets better.

Our ducks were attacked by a raccoon in late winter this year. That’s when we got to know the avian vet in the middle of the night in a heavy snowstorm. All of our ducks that survived the immediate attack did respond to care and recovered, though one of them hasn’t laid since. We ended up getting more ducks to join our survivors and armored our duck house and pen even further.

There’s a limit to what I would spend for vet care for a duck, but we are fortunate that an avian vet is even a choice for us. I always come here for advice first because there are some very giving and helpful people here who go to great lengths to share their experience.

 

[gtaus]

There’s a limit to what I would spend for vet care for a duck, but we are fortunate that an avian vet is even a choice for us.

Exactly, I don't even have that choice so I do it myself, or I just plan for loss and replacement. I find myself reading many threads on BYC, watching YouTube videos, reading poultry books, etc... just to make me smarter and more capable of managing my small backyard flock.

 

[Duck_life]

Thanks everyone, I found a vet near me who specializes in ducks (and other birds) I described the situation and the cost is cheap (for checkup and tips) if treatment is needed for bella it will cost extra but im guessing it isn't anything very uncommon.
I also do love coming here for tips but this situation I had with bella "not growing" know one actually knew so I just wanted to get her checked for any deformities.

 

[Duckworth]

I’m glad you found someone who can give you good, in-person advice.