What About The Vet

[thaiturkey]

It's great to be able to ask for advice here and I have had a good deal of help myself in the short time that I have been a member. However, I have rarely is ever noticed a poster write something like 'I'm asking for advice while I wait for the vet to call'.

What's the norm amongst turkey keepers? Do most deal with a possibly serious health problem from their own knowledge and what others tell them or do many also get the local vet's advice? Are vets reluctant to care for turkeys' health?

 

[AVizcaya]

Most vets in the U.S. refuse to work with poultry. I always love to read your posts on how your vets makes house calls, charges so cheaply and is quite informative. We just aren't as lucky here I guess.

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
I know little about turkey health and don't want our birds to suffer through lack of experienced support. Things are a little different here, mainly because of the climate, so if what I read on BYC or in my books seems not quite applicable to our situation my wife calls the great man and he visits after his surgery is closed. When a newly acquired hen was attacked by dogs after she wandered through the fence, he was over pdq - and she survived and is now quietly sitting on eggs, albeit with many tail and back feathers missing. I had taken vet's visits to be a universal norm having seen how willing these experts are to whip their arms up the back end of cows back in England.

We shall probably call for the vet less often as we gain experience and my wife is already talking about keeping our own stock of the most commonly needed medication. In the meantime, it's good to know that he's there for us.

I understand now the frequent pleas for advice on BYC. It is presumably the case that owners buy their own medications from specialist poultry equipment suppliers and act as their own medics.

As a matter of interest, why do vets in the US refuse to work with poultry?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I think alot of vets here just aren't experienced with birds. I'm sure the cost figures in as well, a trip to the vet starts about 50 to 100 dollars and not many people will pay that.

Steve

 

[OmaBird]

Vets here for any farm animal is a luxury. We went years without one for our horses. Just recently one is starting to come in our area one day a week for horses only. If it is a emergency your screwed. I learned to do so many things myself. Many of our friends are small animal vets. I have had them come to the house for our dogs. My daughter is a vet tech too. Nobody knows anything about poulty. The most they will do is put one down.

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
Oh boy, neither would I! I would get a vet's. course rather than pay bills of that magnitude!

I would not want to see any animal suffer, especially one that is in my care. I suppose that it's different with a battery farm where laws and regulations determine what has to happen in the case of disease. It's rather sad, though, if an injured animal has to die or suffer because of the economics but I can understand. As for taking our turkeys to the vet., it's not an option. A sick or injured bird is already distressed and I would avoid putting it into a waiting room next to, say, a German Shepherd.

Perhaps we are fortunate. I know that many back yard poultry keepers here wouldn't use a vet. but that is, in part, down to their own economics and I understand that too. Not everything is cheaper here at the moment but, fortunately, the vet. is so that's the way we go.

Thanks for the insight. Now I understand more clearly the way it is.

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
I have never owned a horse but friends in England have. They used to say quite often something along the lines that one of the horses seemed to have a problem so they had called out the vet. I have assumed that to be the norm everywhere. I would struggle with the situation that you describe.

 

[OmaBird]

Quote:
I have never owned a horse but friends in England have. They used to say quite often something along the lines that one of the horses seemed to have a problem so they had called out the vet. I have assumed that to be the norm everywhere. I would struggle with the situation that you describe.

When I first moved here we had two vets. I had 32 horses. Mostly broodmares in foal and stallions. The one vet retirered and the other one died within the first three months of living here. The whole area has alot of horses so the city tried hard to get someone to come up here. I have always been good with all animals. Have just about every kind all my life. I had to deliver a foal that was breech and upside down. Thats a hard one even for vets. Even if we had a vet they might not have got there in time. I glad I am not sitting around waiting and doing nothing. I had the same problem with my goats. Nobody treats them near by. You can take them to one of the cow vets that treat the dairy cows a hour a way. They won't come out this way. I have never needed to take them. I burn my own horns, and castrate the males. I had some complacted deliverys and lost some kids and saved the moms. I have had to put some down. Thats the hardest part for me. But I do what needs to be done.

I do live 45 minutes from one of the best bird vets in the country. He is expensive. I know one girl that did take a turkey to them. They mostly deal with parrots and rare birds. I am sure they would rather our germy turkeys stay away from their expensive birds.

There is a large bird farm here is So CA. I have been going there for 40 years. It's family owned. The same people still work there that I seen 40 years ago. They treat any kind of pet birds for free but not poultry. They know more than the vets do by far. I learned alot from them.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Oh boy, neither would I! I would get a vet's. course rather than pay bills of that magnitude!

I would not want to see any animal suffer, especially one that is in my care. I suppose that it's different with a battery farm where laws and regulations determine what has to happen in the case of disease. It's rather sad, though, if an injured animal has to die or suffer because of the economics but I can understand. As for taking our turkeys to the vet., it's not an option. A sick or injured bird is already distressed and I would avoid putting it into a waiting room next to, say, a German Shepherd.

Perhaps we are fortunate. I know that many back yard poultry keepers here wouldn't use a vet. but that is, in part, down to their own economics and I understand that too. Not everything is cheaper here at the moment but, fortunately, the vet. is so that's the way we go.

Thanks for the insight. Now I understand more clearly the way it is.

Most times for us we just cull any injured. In the past I have splinted a broken wing on a turkey hen and she healed very well and had pretty good use of the wing after.

Steve

 

[pdpatch]

Just as Human doctors specialize so do Veterinarians, they are categorized as farm or pet Vets. All poultry , is refereed to those who specialize in farm animals. Most farm vets around here don't know much about Poultry unless they happen to have worked with the Turkey or Chickens Plants in the area. The Clinic that we use for our Pets just happens to have a Vet who in the past did work with the local Turkey plant as an inspector so he has been helpful to us. But an inspectors job is to inspect for sick birds not cure them.

One of the main reason for vets not to specialize in poultry the cost to replace the animals is so much less then cost to have a vet look at them. So they would have very little to do.