Vet Costs

[laura949]

I have owned my chickens for a few months now and I have been lucky. They have been healthy and happy up until now. I have one chicken who is having a problem. I can't tell if she is injured or sick. She holds her left leg out to the side which makes me think she is injured but she had green diarrea whick makes me think she is sick. She could have a couple of things going on. I had to separate her from the other girls. They were attacking her.

I have called around to several vets and I have been shocked by the cost of care. It is alot more expensive than for dogs and cats. It seems to be blatant opportunism to charge more for a chicken simply because there are less chicken vets around. I feel that the vets are taking advantage of my feelings for my pets to overcharge. Brass tax.....it costs $72.50 for an office visit plus any perscribed trestment would be additional costs.

So Forum....what do other peoples vets charge for chicken care ?


PS. Any advice about my chicken's symptoms.

 

[HaulnFetch]

Goodness gracious. That is expensive. Mine charges around $25.00 for an office visit. We had a sick hen in about 4 weeks ago. They charged another $22.00 for a thorough examination. Drugs were a bit expensive, $40.00 for an antibiotic, a steroid and a drug for digestive system motility. Kinda silly for a chicken I guess but, I'm a softy.

As to your chicken's symptoms, I could not even begin to guess. Can you give more information or post a photo? I'm sure someone here can help.

 

[Imp]

Here's some info about chicken diseases:

http://www.welphatchery.com/poultry_health.asp

I haven't needed to use an avian vet yet, but those prices are in line with what it costs me to take in one of my cats.

Imp

 

[schellie69]

There are no vets around here that deal with chickens. Myself and DH have learned to do bumblefoot surgery ourselves. I choose to cull my one hen that was really sick could not afford the vet bills. but that was my choice.

 

[dawg53]

They usually start at $100 here and it goes up from there...no matter what you bring in to see the vet. ETA: I agree, it's too expensive.

 

[Rin]

No vets out here are willing to even see a chicken let alone treat it. Just cats and dogs and they overcharge for that too since they know they're the only ones out here. Can charge whatever they want >> Thankfully though we have low cost vaccination vets come out once every month as well as neuter commuter come out twice a year. They treat both cats and dogs so if I want any vaccinations for my birds I need to either order them that way or buy them at the feed store(or have them order something special for me) and do um myself.

Either way, if its out of your price range, people here are definitely good about helping to identify issues and self-treating when that is the choice. Make a post with more info on your hens issues as well as pictures if at all possible. Some people will help with resolutions until resolving is no longer an option and they will still be there for you even after it's not.

 

[laura949]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. I will post some photos later today.

PS. Vets near me charge $45.00 for a dog or cat visit.

 

[BrattishTaz]

The only vet here that will see a chicken is an afterhours hospital. $90 to walk in and it goes up from there. I paid $500 for them to give my cat antibiotics and an x-ray and then they told me to take her to a real vet asap for surgery.

 

[apbgv]

Here are some costs that go into running a vet clinic ok the Drs have to pay for their education, there is the clinic itself that needs the equipment to run like a hospital ie blood chem machines, radiology equipment, anesthetic machines, microscopes, surgery suite upkeep on all the equipment and supplies that all the equipment runs on that stuff does not come cheap. Lets see now we want the drs to be able to work on mult species guess what that takes CE not cheap either plus they have to have so much CE a year to maintain there license. Now we need some staff it is usually a bonus to have a technician on staff guess what we need CE also, we also need assistants and front staff. Oh we need to make a living also. Drugs don't come cheap plus to rx controlled substances takes a DEA license.

Actually for what one generally gets in a vet clinic is a pretty good deal. Look at what it cost in human medicine heck half the time you hardly get to talk to a dr or nurse. I have spent my evenings researching stuff for clients and barely get a thanks.
Today we spent 2hrs doing an intestinal resection on a dog cost around 1300, and no lunch for the vet or me. I think we earned it. JMHO>

and yes we have taken care of everything from goats to rats at the clinic and are happy to give it our best shot. Even as much as we love animals we can't do it for free and I am about ready to leave the field because it does not pay well and the hours are long and hard.

Sure there are bad clinics and good clinics but oh well what do I know.

 

[True Grit]

I took my young sick pullet in and the vet had a look, gave her a supplemental feeding and a shot of baytril and a prescription for baytril and the cost was $150. I got a refill on the baytril for another $20 or so. I could have left her in their care for $50 per day but didn't choose that option. I cared for her myself and administered the baytril for 3 weeks and she recovered. The vet was never able to diagnose her.