Aviary Veterinarians?

[Obiwan Henobi]

Three years ago, when we purchased our first 6 birds, no one told us how heartbreaking it would be when one of our hens gets sick and dies, develops a medical condition, or is injured by a predator, etc. Even worse, no one pointed out that when (not if) this happens, we would pretty much be on our own since our local vet would not likely be specialized in aviary veterinary medicine, or even willing to see chickens. We live in a rural part of northwestern Ohio and the only aviary veterinarians I can find are in or near large cities at least 2 hours away in any direction. And based on what little reading I have done on the topic; it seems that most aviary vets work for chicken hatcheries and poultry farms.

Given the growing popularity of backyard chicken flocks I am wondering if anyone has tried to organize local groups of poultry hobbyists to pool resources and retain an aviary specialist within a given area? I do not know if this is feasible, or even possible. Is anyone aware of this being attempted or discussed?

Out of our original six girls, only two remain. Two suffered from irreversible vent prolapse, and two from an unidentified illness. I had to euthanize three of them, one died on her own. I know that they are “just chickens” as some will say. But as many on this forum understand, we get attached. I enjoy raising chickens (much more than I had anticipated) and we are looking to replenish our flock this spring. But it just seems irresponsible to continue raising these wonderful creatures without having the proper veterinary support. Could pooling resources to retain a specialist be an option?

Your thoughts?

 

[Debbie292d]

This works with horses and cows to some extent, in that some have vets come to their farms rather than people having to drag their animals into a vet.

But a remote vet for chickens would have to be a personal choice of that particular vet. Therein lies the problem, the lack of poultry vets.

I and many are in your boat too. Yet, the farm across the street has a visiting vet for her horses and donkeys. He doesn't do chickens. That takes different training and if they don't have it, some are leary to touch poultry.

This is why BYC has this Emergency Forum, so we can try help others who can't get to or can't afford a vet. None of us are vets, but those who help have experience, knowledge, and compassion.

There are labs you can send in for tests when alive, or for necropsies when deceased.

This is one example of one lab that does testing for live birds:
https://www.vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird

 

[Mrs. K]

A lot of this is economics. Veterinary medicine works well financially if the animals have such monetary value, that medical care makes financial sense. When one talks of horses, cattle - many of those animals are worth thousands of dollars.

Pets are often times very lucrative too, as people will spend a great deal of money on a beloved part of the family. I think a vet that deals with dogs and cats - might be willing to look at a bird. But even then - dogs and cats are not free generally, and often cost quite a bit of money. Where as chicks cost less than $10 a huge amount of time.

For people with a great deal of sensibilities, I sometimes question if chickens are a good hobby for them. I keep a flock, with birds coming into and out of the flock. When a bird dies, as my granddaughter says, 'well that is tough, but now we can get chicks!' Without a doubt, even with veterinary care, nothing lives forever.

If you can't get medical care, focus on a good life, and a quick merciful end, the coup de grace. We should all be so lucky.

Mrs K

 

[Seaslug]

A lot of this is economics. Veterinary medicine works well financially if the animals have such monetary value, that medical care makes financial sense.

The main problem with veterinary work is that the work itself does not make sense financially to the people who decide to take it on.

If you had the choice to go to school for the same amount of time as a medical doctor in a field of study that is just as rigorous as human medicine and have every bit of debt that comes with earning a medical doctorate but receive none of the societal or monetary appreciation/recognition, and all of the stress of working with the truly voiceless, would you? It is a profession with a very high suicide rate.

So, obviously, you need to be a very special person to go into the field. But there are those of us who at least considered the profession as children because of our love/dedication to animals. So just imagination how rare those vets must be who dedicate their lives to keeping animals alive and healthy which are intended, ultimately, to be slaughtered.

And not everyone wants to be away from their family, out on the road each day, working. Or having to balance the cost of a practice along with doing farm/house calls.

I am not saying that there is not a desire for the type of vet service that you describe. But it is hard for me to imagine ever having the money it would likely take to afford such a practice's costs -- despite loving all of my animals. My family has gone to the same small animal practice for 50 years. It is in the same building and has brought in neither new young practitioners nor new or updated equipment (beyond digital x-rays) and the cost to have out dog (JRT) seen and an x-ray done after a fall was $360+ Sorry this got so wordy.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Agreed, it's all about economics. My SIL is a veterinary dermatologist and spent nearly 800k on her education. Pet chickens aren't going to make her degree worth it. One of her friends did become a poultry specialist but as you can guess, she's working for big agriculture. Although she said I can pass questions her way, I've always taken care of any chicken related medical issues myself.