Official BYC Poll: Time for the Vet?

[lena_]

I am blessed to have an amazing avian vet within driving distance, but it does depend on the bird.
If a bird I'm not attached too gets sick it gets at home treatment, dressed wounds (or whatever treatment it needs) and inside for a few days to recover.

If it's one of my parrots or a bird that I'm particularly attached to I'll take it to the vet.

 

[Will the chicken guy]

I'm curious as to folks thoughts on veterinarians for our backyard birds. Please vote!


(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

Only circumstance is if they have a disease if the could kill the rest of my flock

 

[casportpony]

@WVduckchick, congrats on having your thread featured on the homepage!

 

[Shezadandy]

I've got a friend who will take her special chickens to an avian vet, but she's never gotten out of there for less than $300 - one time for an antibiotics prescription, another for an x-ray and "keep her confined for 3 weeks". So, no vet for us, it's a do-it yourself with a well stocked "chicken room" in our case, with DH willing to hold them for whatever needs doing. I don't think I would have ventured into chickens without BYC as an excellent resource along with some wonderful posters on youtube.

 

[woodworm]

Always for any reason but it makes it easier that I'm married to my vet

 

[HappyClucker7]

Always for any reason but it makes it easier that I'm married to my vet

That's very convenient, isn't it? You never have to worry about vet bills!

 

[MissE]

I am more willing to treat an injury over an illness. Birds that do not thrive will be culled. I want them to be happy and healthy, but they are livestock not pets. If there is an easily treated illness that could affect the entire flock, I will look at treatment options unless it is likely to be reoccurring. Reproductive issues or bad genetics will be culled out. This is the same way I've treated all livestock I've had. Sick or weak animals don't better the species. They deserve a healthy, stress free life. Constant medical is the opposite of healthy and stress free.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

I have 2 avian specialists about 45 km away, trip can take up to 2 hrs cos of traffic, the longer I keep chicken, the more experienced I get about what is wrong with them ( among others by reading in BYC) and how to treat them , so I need to go less to the vet (I am a nurse) . They are pets with benefits, but I also have a kind of „ranking“ among the chickens, roosters I put into the freezer, hens get put to sleep by a vet ( don’t need a specialist for that!) , but just treating the chickens can get expensive but they are worth it, to me! My oldest hen is 9, and last year she was still laying eggs, her daughter is from 2013 and also laid eggs last year, so, if I decide to go to a vet, my chickens live long enough for it to be worth it anyways, here in Germany we have 2 kinds of deworming medicine, one you cannot use either meat or eggs ( Concurat) and another one which has no wait time on eggs and I think 4 days for meat ( Flubenol or Solubenol) which is used to deworm pigs, but can be used off label for chickens

 

[WingsysRoost]

I am lucky to have a vet relatively near. I still try not to take them if I don't have to, since they do get very stressed.

Anything on the more serious side (which to me includes anything that warrants a course of antibiotics) is a trip to the vet. I will attempt to treat less serious issues at home, but I will take them in if the issue isn't getting better or if it is getting worse.