Pet parrot peeve

[Wolf]

I paid over $400.00 USD for a DNA sex test, fecal, standard CBC panel and a bile acids test on a parrotlet.

[Navre]

I paid $84 for sexing
$109 for Avian Abaxis panel,with CBC
$105 for Avian exam fee
$123 for Protien Electrophoresis
$80 for Avian mycobacterium PCR (VMD)

These were done on different birds at different times, so there may be some overlap. I can't find a bill with the bile acids on it.

Exam at the other vet had been $60, but she was not an avian vet and did not take any blood or do any tests. I think the animal hospital that is staffed 24x7 is charging more than the vet down the street.

It's good to compare prices if you have options. When I was a kid we had major medical insurance. Small things were paid out of pocket. This resulted in my parents, and many parents, being aware of price. Once people began to get insurance that covered everything with just a co-pay, or were on some type of assistance on which they did not pay at all, prices started to skyrocket for everything. If my visit costs me $5 no matter where I go, why would I shop around for price, and why would doctors try to set competitive prices?

We always need to know the total of what is being paid, and the more options we have, the better we can do on price. If you live in the woods and there is only one vet, you're kind of at his mercy.

[Wolf]

That is for sure, the closest avian vet to me is a solid 2 hours away if I get lucky with traffic.

[marie83]

I have never heard of Dr's getting free samples. They just get whatever the health service says they can afford. Perhaps vets get samples but they are just that- samples.

You can't really do much with samples. My vet gave me a free sample of disinfectant when we were treating for potential giardia but I'm pretty sure they can't give everyone a free sample.
Perhaps I should have said "no give it to someone who can't afford to buy their own or to a charity" but I was that desperate to get my birds better that I wasn't thinking that way.

Food yes they probably get free samples of food too but tbh I wouldn't give a rescue animal the type of rubbish that is sold to vets. There are much better foods for far less money. I have never seen samples sold on, trial packs which are already priced but not free samples.

[Wolf]

Pharmaceuticals give away huge amounts of free samples on a regular basis. Here in the US, you will not be able the successfully sell pharmaceuticals without giving them out to doctors, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and that is just at the human level. With the vet, I know that they get them, but it is probably a smaller amount as in most places here the vet supplies the drugs, or you go to the farm store or sometimes to a pharmacy, but mostly the vet's office. While they give away a lot of free samples it is one of the least expensive things they do to increase their business.

[Navre]

More prices for reference:

Exam, Avian/Exotic Recheck $90
Cholesterol Check $20.56
Cholesterol Meds $10.50
Glucose check $16.75
Avian CBC $62.11
Amphotericin (Yeast drug) $42.65

[Wolf]

I will have to look up how they check a birds cholesterol because with humans you are not supposed to have eaten and they can't do that with a bird.

[Pajarita]

John, I hope your vet is EXCELLENT because it's VERY expensive! I don't pay that much for any of the services you mentioned! The exam is $60, the CBC is $40 and both the bile acids and the avian panel are $80. I haven't done cholesterol for a while now so I don't remember how much I paid and I haven't gotten any antifungal in age and them it was for a canary so the total amount was much smaller.

[Navre]

I take them to Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston. My vet there is Elisabeth Simone-Freilicher. The only other avian vets in the area are either there at that facility (Dr Noonan, I believe), or one in Salem, quite near me. That's not a 24 hour facility. I'd prefer to have my birds followed at a 24 hour facility that's always staffed with vets.

I know I'm probably paying more at Angell.

[Pajarita]

The one I go to is also a 24/7/365 vet clinic but as there is only one avian vet, she is not always there if an emergency happens in the middle of the night BUT the fact that she works there is, in a way, a help because if something did happen and the only vet there was a 'regular' one, he/she could always call the avian one and get instructions from her. My regular vets (I go to two different clinics) are not 24 hour ones so I also use this clinic for their emergencies (not the regular checkups and such because they are more expensive - I have so many that I try to keep expenses down as much as I can).