Ok, I need to vent.

[hcammack]

Ok how about people who are trying to do the best by there chicken even though they aren't a pet and can't go to the vet? I know that I am not going to spend $$$$$$$ on saving a chicken that will die anyway because the vet does not know *&^% about chickens! I am going to go visit dangerous chicken (if I had a sick chicken I wouldn't actually visit her) and barrow her meat cleaver. allot of people on here know more about chicken then most vets do. BIO security probably does need to be emphasized more and quarantine when buying new birds should be stressed more often. Just my personal opinion.

Henry

 

[dangerouschicken]

Awww I wouldn't cleaver a sick chicken. I'd only cleaver a soon-to-be tasty chicken

Actually, taking a chicken to a vet isn't always a good idea. As mentioned here before, LOTS of vets don't know a thing about poultry, anyway. Most rural folks who spend a couple bucks per bird can't justify driving way out to find a poultry doc, then having to pay a big vet bill, to boot. There are children in third world countries who get less medicine and medical care in general than the chickens on this board

My rule: If a chicken is really hurt, and you feel pity for it, isn't it best to put it down? Being humane about it is the key.

 

[hcammack]

I wasn't going to eat I was just going to barrow your clever to put it down if it was sick. But I guess there are other ways to do that no blood nesaccery. and I agree with everything you just said.

Henry

 

[dangerouschicken]

Yeah, you know I had a real sick chick this year, and she just wouldn't recover. I was so distraught because I had already lost 3 others, and this was the last sick one who just kept holding on and holding on. I consulted people on this board what to do. One person said dry ice in a cooler with the chick inside would work humanely. I was going to do that, but she died that same day.

You just try to do what you can, you know?

 

[hcammack]

yup at camp we had old layer hens (old for large scale production) saved from slaughter after living in a confinement operation. Some of them began having strokes from stress so that is where I learned how to kill a chicken the old traditional way be breaking the neck. It was not fun but it was nesacery the hens could not walk.

 

[chiknlittle]

Or better yet, maybe she doesn't see the birds as being sick enough to go to a vet. I'm asking for (and not getting) help on the baby chick forum because that's where I thought I should post. I am new to chickens, but I'm doing all that I know to do to keep these chicks safe and healthy. I believe that she came to this website for like minded reasons, those being that I hope somebody hear may see something in my posts / pictures that will give me an idea on how to help these babies. If that advice is going to the vet then so be it. About 2 years ago my dog Spaz came in from the fenced in back yard with a really bad limp. His leg looked a bit swollen and there was no way he was letting us touch it. So we scooped him up and rushed him to a vet hospital. Several hundred dollars, tests and x-rays later we found out that he had probably been stung by a wasp. So even though things may seem drastic, it's not always cause for a vet visit yet. I believe in using your best judgement, and asking for help when you feel like you need it. And I also believe in biosecurity. You wouldn't leave a human baby in poopie diaper, so why would a person allow their birds to sit in their own poop. Cleaning up after them and using hand sanitizer when entering and leaving their area is just common sense to me. But then, what do I know?

 

[tiffanyh]

How about not judging others for deciding what to do with their pets. I am a certified vet tech and spent many years working directly with people and their pets at a very large 14 doctor emergency hospital~ bird, goats, sheep, dog, cats, reptiles, etc....

One thing I learned is that we cant judge how others feel about their pets. Most people do what they feel is best with what they have. And that is their choice, not yours. I dont agree with killing predators, I believe in securing my coop, but I dont go on the pest/predator thread blasting everyone who does something I dont agree with! I repect there right to do so and so as they feel best in their situation.

Respect that others feel differently and leave it at that, no need to blast anyone for not taking a 8 year old chicken to the vets for $200 when most vets know very little about treating chickens--even avian vets.

 

[chickenzoo]

I know I took one of my favorite Amerucana Roos to the avian Vet because he seemed really sick and I did not want to lose him. $170 later for a stool same and some test they sent out and to tell me to treat him with the same treatment I had been, they could still not tell me what had been wrong with him. He recovered a few days later and is just fine. I take them if I need medicine for them or they are really bad off(since I found a cheaper vet), but if I did that every time one looked sick, I'd be broke and divorced! LOL A lot of people have helped me here, saved me $$$$ since most know more than most Vets about chickens. I have learned a lot from others problems and suggestions and what to do in the future. There will always be people who are ignorant and do what they want anyway, that is out of our control. We just have to give the best advice we can and hope for the best.

 

[angelmarie]

i guess for those who can take their animal to the vet go asap! but for those whos animals get sick or hurt after buisness hours or on the weekend, just do the best you can. some times its hard to make the decision of taking them, because maybe you don't want to know how bad it is, or maybe it'll just be a cold then you'll have a $500 bill. I know not everyone can afford that so just do the very best you possibly can in your limits. And its really good hearing all the advice because then i learn more and maybe can prevent stuff from happening in the future

 

[arlee453]

I have to agree that it's awfully hard to justify a $100 and up vet bill. Even for my favorite pet chicken.

Just showing up at the door is $45-60 here, add on a couple of tests and you are easily up over $100.

I can't fault anyone here for trying to treat on their own.

Where I do take exception is where people treat with antibiotics for everything without even knowing what the true problem is. I also have major issues with people that let their obviously dying animal linger and suffer for days with no improvement when a quick hatchet blow would end their suffering instantly.

And yes, I've heard the 'if you don't have enough $$ to take the chicken to the vet and spend everything you have on heroic effots to keep the bird alive despite the cost you shouldn't have any animals' argument.

The point of many of us having chickens is to make our $$ stretch further through eggs and meat. It's not because we are gazillionares.

Personally, I will not spend $500 on a vet bill for a chicken when I have children that need new shoes and food on the table. I will do what I can to make them comfortable and treat on my own, and if that is not working, I will not hesitate to end their suffering myself in a humane fashion.