What is it with Vets and Birds???

[NYREDS]

My children were like children to me. I took them to the Dr. I also taught them to have realistic attitudes about the role of livestock in their lives.

 

[mamaKate]

I did take two pullets for a $60 vet visit. Total waste. I still had to solve the problem myself. As for being like kids, my 18 yr old has never seen the inside of a (non veterinary) doctor's office.

 

[Penturner]

A large part of the problem is that simply Chickens and ducks are not worth the vet bills. when you can buy an entire flock for the same money as treating one sick bird. That may stink but opinions do not alter reality. This creates a situation that basically wastes the vets time when person after person realizes they are not going to pay for the care of the bird in the first place. that is by far the more common scenario and the vet is not doing any searching for that rare person that is willing to pay.

Second it is very true that birds do not show symptoms well and even when they do they do not indicate anything specific. The vet is left pretty much in a position of making his best guess. some are easier than others but not often. To top it off in many cases birds show no outward sign they are ailing until they are past the point of no return. this is so common that it is standard practice to simply and immediately destroy any birds that show sign of sickness. This also happens to be most birds natural solution as well. This basically amounts to a situation that the vet cannot win, the bird is going to die and all they will get out of it is bad mouthing such as you see here. It is a problem that most vets will avoid simply by refusing to see birds at all. even if they make a correct diagnosis and treat the ailment effectively the bird is still likely to die. they are left with a reputation that they do not know what they are doing. Of course he doesn't it couldn't possibly be that the back yard pet owner is clueless.

Finally I am sure that many of you can site instances that your bird had this or that and you fixed them. First I am in question of just how much your help had to do with the bird getting better and second I have already read a lot of them. I also read a lot more about birds that are dead before anyone knew anything was wrong. There are always exceptions, this does not alter the norm that drives what is and is not available or what is or is not doable as a rule. No vet will hang his hat on the peg of being able to get lucky and save a bird or two here and there. As chickens and Ducks become more common as pets. perhaps veterinary care for them will become more common. But given the other factors involved, I will not be getting my hopes up to high. I am not a vet, but I have had more than my fair share of treating my own birds. If I where to gain a reputation of being able to save such birds I would not take in others birds. Simply for the reasons stated above. I would be blamed for every single lost bird which is a fast flowing river to a bad reputation. far to fast flowing to overcome with even the best levels of success. The very posts in this thread are examples of exactly what I mean. I am not criticizing it just pointing out what the real playing field is.
It brought to mind a quote fromt eh televison show M*A*S*H*
"There are two rules about war, 1. young men die and 2. Doctors do not have the power to change rule number 1."

 

[Duck_feeder]

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Just to clarify, the new birds are going to the vet for a standard wellness check, not to deal with illnesses.

*****

As far as weighing the decision to take a duck to the vet or just replace it, it all comes down to what the duck's role is in your life.

If I just wanted a duck for meat or eggs, the loss of a single duck wouldn't phase me any more than the loss of an expensive light bulb. But our ducks are pets. We are just as bonded to them as they are to us and think of them as part of the family. Vet bills for a dog or cat costs more than the adoption fee from a rescue/pound (or even free if you're lucky) but most people don't think it's odd to spend several times more on vet bills than they paid for the animal.

I think a lot of people don't think that ducks, chickens, or other cheap pets (parakeets, hamsters, etc.) are worth the vet bills due to a cultural bias towards cats and dogs. Most people in western culture are appalled that dogs are considered food in other cultures (historically dogs were considered food in most regions other than Europe), because "dogs are pets and have personality." But the same people don't flinch when biting into a piece of fried chicken even if they know others keep chickens as pets. It's all just cultural.

For those that adhere to the "they're cheap so don't waste your money" belief. Dogs and cats can easily be replaced for free. For people that would rather just replace a duck, do you have the same disposition towards cats and dogs? If not, why the disparity? (not trying to pick a fight, I just want to understand different viewpoints).

*****


But back to the original topic - because there are people that would waste a vet's time and end up not wanting to pay, it's perfectly reasonably in my book for the vet to protect themselves from wish-washy duck owners.

 

[Trenary Ducks]

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When a person only has a few ducks, high veterinary bills are not badges of honor. It indicates an underlying problem, such as an unhygenic and unsafe environment.

 

[Trenary Ducks]

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Are you these people?

http://www.poultryconnection.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1027

 

[Duck_feeder]

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When a person only has a few ducks, high veterinary bills are not badges of honor. It indicates an underlying problem, such as an unhygenic and unsafe environment.

Or exceptionally bad luck in our case. The reason our vet bills were so high:
1. One duck (Ming Mei) had bumblefoot the previous year. Ducks that recover from bumblefoot are likely to get another infection due to the permanent swelling where the bumble was (as told to me by our vet). Mei Ming got bumblefoot again despite living in sanitary conditions due to being higher risk. The duck shoes were invented to help prevent another case of bumblefoot.

2. Another duck (Moxy) developed a lung infection. This was due to the duck having some food get stuck in her throat (yes, she has 24/7 access to deep and clean water) and got some in her lungs. A freak accident.

3. Another duck (Norie) caught the lung infection from Moxy. Not surprising as they bonded to each other and spend most of their time together. Considering that we were able to prevent it from spreading to the other ducks, I'd say that's evidence we are doing things right.

4. The other vet bills were related to our budgies (parakeets). A couple days after we bought them, one of them (Stormy) had an inflamed vent. We took him to the vet to see if he was sick and brought his cage-mate (Sunny) in for a regular checkup. Tests showed that Stormy was okay but we paid for the tests. The vet noticed Sunny was ill and tests showed that she had a liver infection. These illnesses were due to living in a pet store - their quality of living has improved vastly (Sunny put on healthy weight once the infection cleared).


I always hear people say things along the lines of "I've raised ducks for years and never had a case of bumblefoot" but when asked if they regularly inspected their ducks feet, processed them for meat at a young age, or bothered to determine the cause of death for their ducks I never get an answer...

I get the feeling that people see the correlation between pet ducks and bumblefoot and assume it is a causal relationship. I propose a different hypothesis - people with pet ducks are more likely to detect minor cases or bumblefoot because they are attuned to the normal behavior of individual ducks.

 

[Duck_feeder]

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Are you these people?

http://www.poultryconnection.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1027

That's us. Not surprising that much of the comments about us are either totally inaccurate or pointlessly vicious... that's internet forums for you - react without getting any facts straight. yeah, we're incompetent because Victor is a girl and we didn't change "his" name...

 

[Trenary Ducks]

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Well, best of luck with the investigation. By the time they get through with you, your legal fees may far surpass your vet bills.

 

[Duck_feeder]

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Well, best of luck with the investigation. By the time they get through with you, your legal fees may far surpass your vet bills.

Seeing as how those two organizations they suggested should investigate us have no legal authority to conduct any investigations, I'm not worried at all.