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STILL More Money…
So bird vets have to do more testing than dog and cat vets. And these tests done on birds are often MORE expensive than the equivalent test done on a dog or cat. But why is that? Again, because birds are different from mammals. Not only is the handling of the patient different, the collection, handling and running of the samples themselves is often different, too. Trust me on this -- working with birds in vet medicine is considerably more difficult than working with dogs and cats -- physically as well as psychologically (and that's a future article by itself). Avian samples are usually sent to special labs, again because they are different. For example, being experienced doing lab work with mammalian blood samples does NOT mean one is also competent to deal with avian blood. Because of this, many avian vets use labs that specialize in exotic animals -- and special labs are generally more expensive than regular labs. The avian vets in my area send bird samples (be they blood, cultures, pathology, etc.) to labs as far away as Florida, Texas or California. This means the transportation of the samples is different, too. Instead of a messenger stopping by daily to pick up samples to be transported a few miles to a local lab -- which is the situation for the dog and cat hospitals in this area -- the avian veterinary staff has to package samples to be sent hundreds of miles. And since disease can move much faster in a sick bird than a sick mammal, those samples often need to go FAST. Blood samples, for example, are usually sent Overnight Air. Therefore, MORE money. Lastly, one vet commented to me that even the phone calls with lab results take longer when the patient is a bird. He said he
can call 10 dog and cat owners about test results in a few minutes, but the same number of calls to bird owners will take several hours. You know how we birdie-types can be, right? We always have "one more quick question…," but it isn't the question that takes time, it's the answer!
And If The Bird IS Sick…
If the bird is sick enough to need medicating while the vet awaits lab results, but not sick enough to hospitalize, then the avian vet or staff has to teach the owner how to safely medicate their pet. And needless to say, it takes longer to properly teach someone how to restrain and medicate a bird (either by mouth or by injection), than it takes to teach them to pop a pill into a dog. Suffice it to say, this process tacks another 20+ minutes to an already long office visit. Most bird owners report that a visit with a sick bird lasted over an hour. So the next time you take your feathered friend to your avian vet -- and that should be once a year, whether it looks sick or not -- try not to shriek at the receptionist about the size of the bill. (That's a cheap shot, anyway -- the bill isn't the receptionist's fault!) From my experience, vets will spend as much of your money as you the owner say they can spend. If you tell them your finances are limited (and hey, Ed McMahon didn't come to my house, either), then they will do what they can to keep expenses down. If you say nothing about money but agree to all the tests the vet recommends, (s)he will assume money is not a problem. After all, you didn't bring it up, right? According to the numbers, veterinarians are the lowest paid professionals in this country -- if you don't believe me, look it up. I have worked with a lot of vets over the years, and they are NOT rich people! And statistically speaking, the avian vets would be making more money if they canned the bird stuff, and stuck to dogs and cats.
But we don't want them to do that, do we?
Liz Wilson, Certified Veterinary Technician, has been assisting pet bird owners with parrot behavior problems for over a decade through lectures, phone consultations, and house calls in the Greater Philadelphia area.
She can be reached at (215) 946-5964 9AM - 9PM M-F
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