Official BYC Poll: Time for the Vet?

[shawluvsbirds]

I am fairly certain there aren't any avian vets near me but I need to find out in case the time comes I would consider a vet. I love my birds and their life does have value to me . . however I'm uncertain how much $$$
I could justify spending when one vet bill would easily be way more than the monetary value of the bird
I guess it's one of those things I won't really know how I'm going to feel about it until the time comes.

 

[bobbi-j]

I voted no vet. Not because it's "just" a chicken. I do value their lives, but mine are livestock. Economically, it makes more sense to replace a chicken (should I choose to do so) than spend hundreds of dollars on one.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

I voted "no vet nearby".... although there may be. My chickens are livestock as well. I can't afford to spend the amount it would cost for vet services on chickens. I do all I can to treat and care for my chickens as best I can, but if I can't treat it myself, it will be culled. If it's not something more than an injured leg or such it will go to freezer camp. That it's what my birds are for in general. That and eggs.

 

[CCUK]

I think I'm quite lucky where I live as there is a poultry partnership only 2 minutes from where I live. They only charge £25 for a consultation + plus whatever meds you may need. They do fecal samples without consultation. Really friendly helpful people. They have helped me on numerous occasions. But the more problems you have with hens the more you learn to do yourself. But I can only get antibiotics or anything like that from the vet. I consider myself lucky in that respect.

 

[Chickassan]

I voted 2 checkups are every four months and they have been since i started my little flock. I'm not nutty, i just have access to an affordable vet that actually makes house calls. I don't run the man ragged, if i can diagnose and treat them myself i do.The regular blood and fecal tests are however quite the handy thing to have. I have taken monataraly worthless chickens to the vet though, totally guilty.

 

[happyhens1972]

With my previous flock, they lived at the school where I worked and one of the dads happened to be the local vet too so we got the birds looked at for free, advice for free, we only paid for meds generally but on the occasion of the broken hip, she required minor surgery and longer term meds so the bill went up accordingly. I don't even know if my vets here (changed location) would see chickens. I have two different vets...one for the domestics....rabbits and cats...and one for the 'livestock'...alpacas, goats and maybe chooks???? But none of my animals are livestock to me, they are all much loved pets but I would be lying if I didn't admit that there is a 'rank' to their emotional meaning to me and the chooks would be at the bottom....even though I still adore them. My cats are at the top of the ranks, followed jointly by the pacas and goats, then the buns, then the chooks and vet bills would be considered in similar rank.

One of my cats, Marcus, has just cost me £2250/$3200 for iodine therapy to cure his thyroid cancer. He is fourteen and a half years old and may only have a couple of years left but he was worth every penny to have him back to his old man version of fighting fit.

One of my goats, Teddy, originally cost me £60 from a pet farm...just a cross bred 'mutt' of no significant value. I spent £1000/$1420 and nine weeks of intensive hands-on care getting him back from the brink when he suffered from urinary calculi a few years back. Worth every penny.

I'd do the same for the 'pacas. Touch wood, I've not needed to yet!!!

The rabbits....I'd stop a lot sooner but not sure how much sooner. Had one cost me £350/$500 in dental work before Christmas, then she died a few days later of post-op pneumonia. Worth it? Maybe...if she'd lived....but I was pretty damn miffed at the financial loss, alongside being deeply saddened by the emotional loss.

Where would I stop with a chicken? I think maybe the £150/$210 I mentioned earlier would be a real exception and about as far as I'd be willing to go regardless of emotional worth.......I think....maybe......let's hope I don't have to find out!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Nope here also as their livestock something happens I can fix it or put them out of misery also

 

[lomine]

I selected "Depends...". I have taken my WH ducks to the vet. I am lucky that the vet office I take my dogs to also has an avian vet. The first time I took 3 ducks to the vet to be checked after one suddenly died. I paid for fecal tests and a necropsy to try to figure out why the one died and if the others were in danger. I think overall I paid about $150. The second time I took 1 duck that was limping badly with a very swollen leg. I tried a few different treatments for a couple days but nothing helped. It turned our to be a bunch of deeply embedded cacti needles that needed to be removed and she needed antibiotics and pain meds. I think that cost me about $70.

My original WH ducks are more like pets. My remaining chickens, ducks, and quail are more like livestock. I wouldn't take them to the vet. I would try to treat them first if I thought I could (something I have done) but ultimately I would cull any who were beyond my help. Though I also think that if any of my original ducks were severely injured/ill and required extensive treatment I would probably cull them instead of putting them through a long or very expensive treatment process.

 

[SW31]

Sorry my hens are definitely pets.

 

[Gray Farms]

I voted "no vet" its not cost effective to put $100 or more in a $25-$50 bird. They are livestock to me, not pets.