MONTHLY Swap meet JACKSONVILLE, FLA-----INFO HERE!

[fledgling]

I can do better than that!

Here's their link:

http://www.flemingislandpetclinic.com/Templates/exotic.aspx

 

[featherbaby]

There are only 2 avian vets in Jax/OP area. Dr. Michelle Curtis at Fleming Island clinic is my preference. I've had good experiences with her and will continue to use her clinic. The other one is Dr. Rhoda Steverson in the Old St.Augustine Road area. I used her for years with my exotic cockatoos but do not recommend her any longer. Since she built her new building, her focus has been more about the money and less about the animals in my observation. Her prices are considerably higher and if you go after hours or have an emergency, the price almost doubles. Her techs are not always well trained and I am picky about who handles my birds and how they hold them. Had a couple of bad experiences there.

With as many birds/chickens as I have, I've had to learn what to do myself and collect a medicine chest to combat the usual things. Simple economics. And I can treat immediately, not wait for a vet appointment. Obviously a broken bone, injections or serious ailments would be taken to the vet.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
I will second this . .. . I had a fowl pox outbreak in my flock this past winter. . . .
I took one of the chickens in and he was put on very expensive antibiotics , over $100 for antibiotics and it was only enough for one bird for 14 days.

In order to get treatment for the rest of the flock, I would have to bring them in and have an office visit for each bird. . . .
Plus over $100 per bird for antibiotics. She was also unfamiliar with the fowl pox vaccine.

My chickens are LIVE STOCK and the treatment must be geared towards a live stock mentality.
I treated the rest of the flock with antibiotics from the feed store. I researched and order the fowl pox vaccine myself.
Dh and I treated the rest of the birds that had not been exposed directly to the fowl pox ( the vaccine can not be given to birds that already have it).

The follow up service was good. There just seem to be a disconnect between understanding a owner of pet bird and an owner of a flock of 40 plus birds. . . .

 

[flgardengirl]

Thanks for posting that info about the avian vets here. That is good to know. I had a good vet for my birds before I moved out here. Luckily I haven't had any issues with my parrots since moving but good to know who is out there just in case. I have had to handle chicken issues myself, including suturing and luckily nothing worse has happened but would take them in if I had to.

I don't know if I can make the swap or not. I hope it won't be too hot. It has just been horrible lately. I have stuff I need to sell but don't wanna sit in the heat or the rain lol.

kiki I have pure blue ameraucanas but don't have them in breeding pens right now. I am thinking of breeding them again because I need some more girls lol. Plus, they are the sweetest things. Out of all my chickens, they are the most affectionate - meaning you have to pry them off of you when you leave thier pens LOL! The girls jump up on me and like you to scratch thier beards and necks. Even the roosters are super sweet. On my byc page there is a pic of them when they were babies. They are the cutest chicks, they look like baby owls. With ameraucanas it takes a while to figure out if you have boys or girls unless you are hatching wheatens. Peachick on byc has blue wheaten ameraucanas but don't know if she ships chicks or not.
I got 4 males and 2 girls out of that bunch. I was originally just using them for my Olive egger project (Ameraucana x black copper marans) but fell in love with them so am gonna breed them further. The girls lay nice blue eggs.

 

[dgecko]

Will be at the swap Sunday, I will have the following chicks/chickens
R I R full grown-laying
R I R chicks
Silkie chicks
Pekin Ducks-Full Grown
Goslings
Black Sumatra Chickens-laying
Guineas-Full Grown
Rabbits
I will also have other breeds of chicks-different ages

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Most people who have chickens, have had birds with fowl pox. I have closed flocks and my birds have had fowl pox. I have no idea how they got it. I have a friend who is a vet and she told me that yes it is contagious but not serious and not economically feasible to treat it, and it usually only lasts for a couple of weeks. Sure enough she was right.

I do research and have some good books:
"The Chicken Health Handbook", by Gail Damerow, "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens: Care / Feeding / Facilities", by Gail Damerow, "Raising Chickens For Dummies", by Kimberley Willis and Rob Ludlow. Also the internet.

 

[flgardengirl]

Fowl pox is very contagious and is spread by mosquitos. It shows up often in the fall when the mosquitos are seeking warmth in the coops at night and bite the chickens. If you have mosquitos like we all do in FL it is pretty much unavoidable. I even had screen on my coops but the just fly in the door during the day and hide inside and wait till night to feed on the chickens. The only thing you can really do is vaccinate. It is only worth giving to the new chicks who haven't been exposed.
Once they have Fowl Pox, they are immune. There is really no treatment except to treat symptoms like wet pox you can water down thier food or you may give antibiotics as a preventative to treat sores in the mouth or other places from getting infected etc. I gave mine some antibiotics and it seemed to help some. The danger of fowl pox is really with very young chicks who get sores in thier mouths (wet pox) and it can go into thier tiny airways and block them or even prevent them from swallowing thier food. This is why some people vaccinate. If you are raising alot of chicks then it is probably worth it.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Forl pox is spread from mosquito bites or from infected bird to infected bird.
It comes in two forms - - wet and dry.
The dry form is on the outside of the body and the birds have a high chance of survival without any assistance.
The wet form is on the inside of the body and leads to secondary infections - - respiratory problems. It is very hard for a bird to recover from the wet form.

My birds had BOTH - - wet and dry . .. . It was rough! It is a SLOW KILLER. . . . Takes one bird out after another.

As long as the birds have SCABS they are contagious carriers of the disease.

In my case, It effected my 8 - 12 week old chicks. . . It does not matter if your flock is closed or not since it is spread by mosquitos.
NOW, every new hatch of chicks at my house gets a vaccine BEFORE I expose them to the outdoors. The vaccine is a LIVE vaccine. It allows the chicks to develop their own immunity without getting a full blown case of fowl pox.

 

[Kikiriki]

Quote:
I am so disappointed that I can't make it after all. My mom has to go early to help my sis who has breast cancer ( I just got home from there last week). I want to see mom before she flies out. Next month, I hope to go. I did order chicks today, but I do still want a couple of hens that are laying now, even if they are not purebred. Are you or anyone you know in the vicinity of Orlando or within a couple hour drive culling the flock?

 

[Kikiriki]

Quote:
The store is normally closed on Sundays. They open is especially for us once a month.

Hens don't really make any noise so I don't understand zoning's issue. Are people only allowed one dog in your county too?

CRAZY ZONING! Do they think Hens CROW ? ? ?

It was intended, I think, to ensure anyone could keep at least one chicken. I'd be curious how each city and homeowners associations deal with it, but I live in the county. Perhaps it is about sanitation?

Very few rules on dogs. My neighbors have quite a few hunting dogs who are quite vocal. They have a new one who sings the blues--he sounds so mournful it makes me want to cry

I've only seen a couple of people from my county at BYC so it may not be worth going for an ordinance change. A locality was going to try to ban baggy pants, so you can see the way the wind is blowing here...