# of post w/out replies. Concerned about emergency/hatching posts.

[mountaintopchicken]

Honestly, I can't imagine anybody who does vet work full time would want to spend countless hours answering questions online... but hey, it is a dream... so while we're at it...

Most vets wouldn't. But we are talking about finding a vet who loves chickens, and chicken people are.... a little different, right? Uh, maybe they could be rewarded with one free silkie for every month of BYC labor?

Seriously, though... look at some of the scary-smart genetics people who pop into forums to answer questions (conversations which I read and try to understand as my brain melts out of my ears) , even though I'm sure they have professional lives, too.

An avian vet sounds like an interesting idea. However, even if it would be financially feasible I think it goes back to what greyfields wrote - it would be almost impossible to diagnose something without seeing the conditions of the area, the bird, etc. People report one thing but sometimes their perspective might be different than another's observations.

I know, it can be almost impossible sometimes. Nevertheless, the emergencies section is here on BYC and gets used because people often don't have a choice. In many areas you can not find a vet who will see your chickens. It's far from ideal, but it's better than having nothing at all. When my favorite rooster was sick, I was calling vets in tears and none would see him. I posted on BYC not because I was necessarily hoping for a miracle cure, but because I wanted to at least have the support of working through the sickness with people who care about chickens. And people do get responses in the emergency section, but the responses are literally not vetted

in any way. So some responses are incredibly helpful, but some may not be correct. Also, because there are a lot of different aged people on this forum, some of this advice might be going to kids who aren't as practiced at delving into the research end of things.

Then of course there is Diana.

Is that dlhunicorn? I agree... maybe she wants to moderate chicken medical emergencies for the stipend of one silkie/month

?

I wonder how much a really good avian vet costs per hour? What if we found a REALLY REALLY REALLY good avian vet and paid them for an hour or two a week to be in chat and/or answer questions on the forum? Probably more expensive than I want to know, but my brain is always thinking of crazy ideas like that.

Now I'm getting exited. There must be some crazy, chicken loving avian vet out there who would jump at the chance...​

 

[jvls1942]

maybe instead of wishing for a vet we could just be practicle and answer each others questions..many of us have been there, done that.. most of the time that is the type of answers we were looking for.. and in my recent case with the turkey with the club foot, it would have been nice to at least have been read..

 

[dlhunicorn]

Forget the vet... they can lose their license for "treating" without actually seeing it (and giving specific info especially on meds etc will fall into that category)
This is why I have my library (and I am sure if my location was in the USA the Feds would have closed me down). I know it can seem overwhelming and outside the specific Emergency and Practical matters and Poo-ology sections (far from complete as I have not had time to work on the library for at least a year at ALL) and even though "categorized" somewhat (Disease, Parasites, etc. etc.) the "general" (like info from Mississipi state for chicken owners) is in between specific articles from vets written for other vets. I have only managed a halfhearted attempt to make the med/RX easier to find specific info in....
... sigh I just havent had the time due to RL issues that have got out of hand instead of resolving. The info IS there though and I hope to have the time soon to finish what I started.
A vet will not and CAN not give the help on a forum... the law states they have to personally SEE the animal... and noone is going to put their career on the line. So there is nothing left but the articles and some recquire a bit of knowledge to find the relevant info or put it in a simpler form to be understood.