No veterinarian available

[Smiller1090]

My chickens are currently healthy, but I expect sometime they may need some care. I have checked with local veterinarians for chicken care. What I have found is that chickens fall through the cracks. They aren’t looked upon as pets and aren’t looked upon as livestock unless it’s a poultry farm. With only 3 chickens to raise, what suggestions does anyone have to treat my chickens if they become ill with worms, respiratory issues, injuries, etc. for over the counter or home remedies ?
I do see where local feed stores sell some of these items. Are these items worth using or should it be left to veterinarian care?

Same boat here. No vets will see my ducks. One of my ducks got two large masses and I had to put him down today

 

[CluckerFamily]

Same boat here. No vets will see my ducks. One of my ducks got two large masses and I had to put him down today

I am so sorry for you loss.

 

[592784]

Vets in my area aren't experts on poultry. We come from a farming state and poultry aren't always pets (they are in some owners eyes). I would rather treat myself with the aid of BYC than to try to find a vet that isn't an expert and end up with no answers or solutions. We have many many experienced poultry parents from all over the world here! Welcome to the Family!

Thank you for your response !!

 

[592784]

Same boat here. No vets will see my ducks. One of my ducks got two large masses and I had to put him down today

Oh so sorry to hear that. So sad

 

[Goosebaby]

#1 You’re best option is to find an avian vet and try to convince them to look at your birds if they refuse. Even if they’re only used to seeing parrots it’s better than nothing. If you do find a vet that will see them, question everything. I’ve learned the hard way that not all of them know what the h*** they’re doing even if they act like they do.

#2 read as much about chicken health and ailments as you can find.

#3 Reaching out to other chicken/poultry owners is a wonderful source of information and in many cases is your best bet, but take everything with a grain of salt, research everything and make an educated decision based on what you think is right, there’s great expierienced owners that know what they’re doing “especially on this site,” and then there’s those that act like they know what they’re doing but come up with the worst advice “I’ve seen a lot of those on Facebook.”

#4 Reaching out to parrot owners or reading through parrot health articles and forums. It might sound insane but more resources go to researching and treating parrots because they are expensive exotics than “poultry.” There are obvious physiological differences between species and types of birds but reading through parrot health articles and forums has filled in some major gaps. Learning more about avian health on your own will show you what’s similar and what isn’t in species and can give you a better grasp of what’s going on with your bird.

Sadly I’ve expierienced how difficult it is to find a vet that will see my birds “geese & ducks.” So many that see exotics are mostly inexperienced with poultry or won’t even see them I’ve found, and because of the inability of many of them to think outside the box they don’t always see that some things that they know would work for a parrot would also work for a chicken, or they don’t see that your bird is a loved family member deserving of proper care because it’s poultry and not a $$$$ macaw. From what I’ve seen the sun is setting on the age of the amazing farm vets that practically knew all and treated all and vetrinary medicine and knowledge is suffering as a result.

#5 researching various ailments ahead can help you spot and possibly treat an issue before it gets too bad. I use this site as a way of narrowing down an issue and also learning about different health issues
http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php

http://www.duckdvm.com/view/symptoms.php

#6 good management, keeping them clean, dry, and well ventilated. Making sure they’re getting proper nutrition.

#7 You can stock up on basic care items, tools, and supplements. Some good things to have around are...

Vitamins: Durvet B complex “it says injectible but it works orally,” Poultry nutri-drench.

Supplements and herbs: prebiotics and probiotics, moringa powder, turmeric, oregano, thyme, dandelion greens, apple cider vinegar with the “mother,” rooster booster or some other nutrient/vitamin mix like this https://www.jefferspet.com/products/vitamin-electrolytes-plus?via=533884ad9fa2600f00000476/533884af9fa2600f00000499/533884b09fa2600f000004ae

Treatments: Lily of the Desert aloe detox, activated charcoal, poultry RX, Corid,

Tools: a dog crate for transport or as an area you can use to keep a sick bird quarantined and comfortable. Latex gloves should you need them, rubber boots that are easy to disinfect, disinfectant, a scale, thermometer, A first aid kit/ wound spray and wound disinfectant, vet wrap, syringes like these for if you need to administer b vitamins orally for example https://www.jefferspet.com/products/luer-lock-syringes?via=533884be9fa2600f000005da/533884c49fa2600f00000651/533884c49fa2600f00000660

 

[592784]

#1 You’re best option is to find an avian vet and try to convince them to look at your birds if they refuse. Even if they’re only used to seeing parrots it’s better than nothing. If you do find a vet that will see them, question everything. I’ve learned the hard way that not all of them know what the h*** they’re doing even if they act like they do.

#2 read as much about chicken health and ailments as you can find.

#3 Reaching out to other chicken/poultry owners is a wonderful source of information and in many cases is your best bet, but take everything with a grain of salt, research everything and make an educated decision based on what you think is right, there’s great expierienced owners that know what they’re doing “especially on this site,” and then there’s those that act like they know what they’re doing but come up with the worst advice “I’ve seen a lot of those on Facebook.”

#4 Reaching out to parrot owners or reading through parrot health articles and forums. It might sound insane but more resources go to researching and treating parrots because they are expensive exotics than “poultry.” There are obvious physiological differences between species and types of birds but reading through parrot health articles and forums has filled in some major gaps. Learning more about avian health on your own will show you what’s similar and what isn’t in species and can give you a better grasp of what’s going on with your bird.

Sadly I’ve expierienced how difficult it is to find a vet that will see my birds “geese & ducks.” So many that see exotics are mostly inexperienced with poultry or won’t even see them I’ve found, and because of the inability of many of them to think outside the box they don’t always see that some things that they know would work for a parrot would also work for a chicken, or they don’t see that your bird is a loved family member deserving of proper care because it’s poultry and not a $$$$ macaw. From what I’ve seen the sun is setting on the age of the amazing farm vets that practically knew all and treated all and vetrinary medicine and knowledge is suffering as a result.

#5 researching various ailments ahead can help you spot and possibly treat an issue before it gets too bad. I use this site as a way of narrowing down an issue and also learning about different health issues
http://www.poultrydvm.com/views/symptoms.php

http://www.duckdvm.com/view/symptoms.php

#6 good management, keeping them clean, dry, and well ventilated. Making sure they’re getting proper nutrition.

#7 You can stock up on basic care items, tools, and supplements. Some good things to have around are...

Vitamins: Durvet B complex “it says injectible but it works orally,” Poultry nutri-drench.

Supplements and herbs: prebiotics and probiotics, moringa powder, turmeric, oregano, thyme, dandelion greens, apple cider vinegar with the “mother,” rooster booster or some other nutrient/vitamin mix like this https://www.jefferspet.com/products/vitamin-electrolytes-plus?via=533884ad9fa2600f00000476/533884af9fa2600f00000499/533884b09fa2600f000004ae

Treatments: Lily of the Desert aloe detox, activated charcoal, poultry RX, Corid,

Tools: a dog crate for transport or as an area you can use to keep a sick bird quarantined and comfortable. Latex gloves should you need them, rubber boots that are easy to disinfect, disinfectant, a scale, thermometer, A first aid kit/ wound spray and wound disinfectant, vet wrap, syringes like these for if you need to administer b vitamins orally for example https://www.jefferspet.com/products/luer-lock-syringes?via=533884be9fa2600f000005da/533884c49fa2600f00000651/533884c49fa2600f00000660

Thank you for the great information. This is why I joined so I can get valuable information from people with way more experience than me!!!!

 

[Goosebaby]

Thank you for the great information. This is why I joined so I can get valuable information from people with way more experience than me!!!!

Just glad to help