Tell me about your Avian vet situation!

[BudgiesRCute]

They seem to just leave them in the cage like fish in a tank.

Fish called easy to care for care less pet again... They get sick too you know! I have a few fish vet numbers if I have to use them...

[TheNzJessie]

we have a bird specislist on my road (5 min walk)

[lzver]

Jessie's going in for a wellness checkup this weekend. While I'm there I'll book one for Lucy in a few weeks.

I've been doing a lot of reading about pellet foods and I'd like to transition both birds over to Harrison's food and our vet office sells it.

So I want to discuss transitioning them to Harrison's and also get Jessie's beak checked. He's not a big chewer of wood like Lucy is and I'm a little concerned that his beak is getting long. Just want her to check it out and do some maintenance if necessary.

After reading some of the replies, I feel very fortunate to have an Avian vet 10 minutes from our home. We even had an Avian vet in the last town we used to live in and if all else failed, they are only 30 minutes away.

[notscaredtodance]

Im so so lucky when it comes to my vet.

One of them is about 10 minutes away, and although he is not avian board certified, his practice is only with birds, he's been practicing for upwards of 35 years I think, and the local parrot rescue (Central Ohio Friends of a Feather) just sings his praises. They won't use anyone else. And he lives so close to me!

There is another that is avian board certified who is further into Columbus, a half hour away. I've never actually seen her but I know she is the vet for Hartman Aviary, one of the hugest Aviaries in Ohio (they claim the world but idk about that lol)

So I've got some pretty qualified people on my side if anything happens :]

[Erithacus]

My birds have not been to a vet before. Avian vet is very rare in my country. The closest avian vet in my area is probably 20km away. And we don't send birds for check up in my country. That's why nobody wants to be an avian vet.

[Pola]

we live 1 hour away from the Avian vet

[Eskimozos]

I take my birds to a great avian vet in Bedford Hills, New York, Dr. Laurie Hess. Dr. Hess is a board certified avian veterinarian with over 15 years experience who treats only birds and exotic pets, no cats or dogs. Dr. Hess is the former head of the avian and exotics department at the Animal Medical Center in New York City and the former President of the international Association of Avian Veterinarians. Dr. Hess now owns a state of the art animal hospital, the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics, 709 Bedford Road, Bedford Hills, NY 10507; (914) 864-1414; www.avianexoticsvet.com. The care provided by Dr. Hess and her staff are unmatched. I would recommend her highly to anyone who lives in Westchester County or for that matter, anyone who lives within an hour or 2 drive--she's well worth the trip!

[birdvet]

OUr avian vets in NZ are all at Massey University in Palmerston North/ wellington ( about an 8 hour drive from here)

We use an exotic vet who is about 45 mins from home instead

we have a bird specislist on my road (5 min walk) 1 of 2 in New Zealand the other one is in the south island... im very lucky to have him close he always is very friendly and shows an genuine care for the birds he gets given to treat but his prices are WAY up there. when i got my lorikeet and he started flying into walls and really hurting him self i decided to get his wings clipped...the guy charged me $30 just for the wing clipping and $15 for his time.... but at that time i had only ever clipped budgies and cockatiel at the petsho i worked at when people brought them and wanted them clipped, but after he showed me next time i went in and he watched me do it and said i was fine to do it

so if u ahve a avian vet with you the prices are up there!!! but thats one of the responsibility of owning any pet is putting money aside for the emergencies because u never know when they are going to come.... i personally have a money tin that has at least $70 in it for my bird...never know whats going to happen..his cage could break he could break a wing or foot.....(unlikley) his food got moths in it....you get the point

Avian Vets in NZ = 6 of us at Massey University in Palmerston North, 4 of us are Members of the Australian college of Veterinary Science in Avian Health, Kevin Turner in Auckland (he's not a specialist though but super good with birds. You don't need to be a board certified specialist to be good with a species), Berend Westera in Auckland, also not a specialist but very good with birds, Clare Green in Christchurch who is a past resident from Massey Uni and also a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Science in Avian Health. Danielle Sjibranda in Hamilton is very good with birds, also not a specialist though. Linda Hayes in Napier sees heaps of birds but also not a specialist. At Massey we are happy to talk to any NZ veterinarian if they have bird questions so if you're in NZ and you take your bird to a vet they're welcome to give us a call for advice. We don't charge for the phone consult!!!

The best way to suss out bird vets (not necessarily board certified specialists, like a said, many a brilliant bird vet is not a board certified specialist) is to check the AAV.org webpage which lists American and Canadian bird vets (as well as a bunch of other countries...this is the parent organisation for avian vets), the AAVAC.org webpage list Aussie and New Zealand Bird Vets, the EAAV.org list the European bird vets and I think the Royal Veterinary College in the UK lists British bird vets??

[TheNzJessie]

kevin turner thats his name!!!!

[Brittanyv326]

When I first got Sadie, the vet recommended me to go to an avian vet she's gone to for years & years. Went home, did my research, found he had great reviews too, but was an hour and a $2.50 toll away. So that's where we had our first visit, and honestly I wasn't impressed. He said "she looks great, don't need to do anything other than look at her" and I wanted a full exam to KNOW the bird I was adopting was in great health. And on top of that, he felt her belly and said "it's a girl, no need for a DNA test", and now that I've read more online about methods, I see that feeling the hips is probably pretty inaccurate.

Anyways, a couple months later, my over reacting self got pretty concerned over runny poop & sneezing. Called a new vet that had good reviews for other types of exotic animals, and set up my first appointment with them. And man was I impressed! Not only did they do a thorough exam without traumatizing my baby bird, but they called 2ce to check & see if she was doing okay over the next couple of weeks. Then they sent a letter too! Never have I had a vet be so helpful and concerned! Turns out it was a simple fix, we had just moved her into our spare bedroom, where no one ever hangs out & there was dust in the vents that was causing her sneezing. Her poop was runny because I was giving her lots of fruit. Duh! They were expensive, but well worth the money, they really knew what they were doing.

There are no emergency vets here for birds. Cannot find a single one that is 24/7. I don't live in a huge city, but I live close (30-45 minutes) to one, so I figured there'd be one there. Can't find any! This is reminding me though, I need to call this vet back & see if they know of one. Thanks for the reminder!