Pet Chicken Feed Question

[Brooks_]

Not actually a course.

OK, I'm sure its a course somewhere. Here in Florida, UF has a decent reputation for turning out Vets. You can get your degree, and a Certificate in Food Animal Medicine, without a dedicated poultry class.

https://education.vetmed.ufl.edu/dvm-curriculum/certificates/food-animal-medicine/

Indead, they only offer two bird courses -
VEM 5311 Avian Health & Disease
VEM 5313 Poultry Diseases
(What can i say, Florida is a cattle state...)

Its different elsewhere. Texas A&M has a poutltry program, Ohio State, Mississipi State, UNC Raleigh, Wisconsin State. But there aren't a lot of colleges with much to offer on keeping chickens, and fewer still where it is part of required curriculum.

Thank you for taking me so literally. Yes, I made up that class. But it is not much different than a cardiologist suggesting to feed an overweight child bread and water. The cardiologist will still have basic MD knowledge.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you for taking me so literally. Yes, I made up that class. But it is not much different than a cardiologist suggesting to feed an overweight child bread and water. The cardiologist will still have basic MD knowledge.

It WAS an obvious oversight by the Vet, who really should have thought things thru and seemingly didn't. Its not clear to me that he/she understood the formulation differences between a "layer" feed, "scratch", or any other (grower, rooster maintenance, game bird, etc) in order to have had the necessary base knowledge to be able to correctly think it thru.

and I still think OP needs a new Vet, one who doesn't hold themselves out as qualified on species they clearly lack the knowledgebase to treat - but as my post should illustrate, its not only possible, but likely, that a certified vet even with some certificates for "livestock", may have 6 years of school or more without a single course on poultry nutrition, maybe not even a single class within a larger course.

 

[Brooks_]

may have 6 years of school or more without a single course on poultry nutrition,

I can concede that, but this is basic nutrition or physiology. I can't see one passing exams with this little understanding.

 

[Folly's place]

In the 'good old days', at Michigan state University, pre-vet students were required to take a poultry science class, and livestock nutrition. Before hand held computers, all arithmetic done by hand.
No idea what's required now!
My point is that it's better to admit not knowing, rather than making something up. And every species has different nutritional needs, so 'basic' depends on species, at least.
Mary

 

[Brooks_]

Let's re-read this

Dr. F told my boss that because the chickens at my job are just used for educational purposes and not egg laying purposes that the chickens should be on an all scratch grains diet. Dr. F stated that the chickens don’t need a layer diet because we don’t use or eat their eggs. Dr. F stated that a layer diet was for laying hens only and that even though our chickens were laying breeds that they still don’t need a layer diet. Dr. F stated that by not feeding them a layer diet, the laying chickens breeds will stop laying eggs altogether.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Let's re-read this

Yeah. Just as foolish on second read as it was the first.