Vet visits

[dragon06]

I have a question for all of you.

How often do you take your fids to the vet? Do you do regular yearly visits or do you just take them when you think something is wrong?

I may seem dumb asking this but are there regular vaccinations for birds?

There aren't many bird vets near where I live but I have finally found one that I like about a 45min drive from me. So now that I have found one I thought I would ask this community what the "rule of thumb" is with vets.

You see, I don't think I will have any trouble taking Merlin (a Senegal) to the vet as he loves to drive in the car and he loves his travel cage and loves to go out and meet new people. He's always so great whenever we bring him to Bird Paradise with us for grooming...and of course to pick out toys...how can you even go in a bird store and not walk out with toys!!!

However, our other bird, Meester Feench (a Parakeet) does NOT like to be handled in the least. He is not hand raised. He will gladly interact through the cage with you but he in NO WAY wants to be handled. He had an accident a few months ago which required us to bring him to the vet and for him to be put on pain meds and antibiotics. He hated every second of it. The drive, the cage, the doctors, the needles and then meds. It was VERY stressful for him. I am not sure I would want to put him through that stress every year.

So that is my question...where do you draw the line at maintenance care and over stressing?

[4HAND]

I think it's very important to bring a new bird to a vet for a well bird exam.After that I would make myself familiar with signs of illness[Lisa B and Gbird both have posted lists] and also have a scale to keep an eye on weight.Be aware that taking your bird places where there are other birds does expose them to viruses and bacteria.Also,wash well after handling other people's birds.I do not vaccinate my conures,although there are some shots available.I prefer to keep their immune system strong with a healthy diet and by keeping stress levels as low as possible.I'm sure there will be other opinions to follow.
Tena

[Valo's Moirana]

answers in purple

Originally Posted by dragon06

I have a question for all of you.

How often do you take your fids to the vet? once a year unless there's something wrong
Do you do regular yearly visits or do you just take them when you think something is wrong? see above - one of the reasons is that i do board the birds about once a year for travelling, and for that my vet requires the annual

I may seem dumb asking this but are there regular vaccinations for birds? nope

There aren't many bird vets near where I live but I have finally found one that I like about a 45min drive from me. So now that I have found one I thought I would ask this community what the "rule of thumb" is with vets.

You see, I don't think I will have any trouble taking Merlin (a Senegal) to the vet as he loves to drive in the car and he loves his travel cage and loves to go out and meet new people. He's always so great whenever we bring him to Bird Paradise with us for grooming...and of course to pick out toys...how can you even go in a bird store and not walk out with toys!!!

However, our other bird, Meester Feench (a Parakeet) does NOT like to be handled in the least. He is not hand raised. He will gladly interact through the cage with you but he in NO WAY wants to be handled. He had an accident a few months ago which required us to bring him to the vet and for him to be put on pain meds and antibiotics. He hated every second of it. The drive, the cage, the doctors, the needles and then meds. It was VERY stressful for him. I am not sure I would want to put him through that stress every year.

So that is my question...where do you draw the line at maintenance care and over stressing?

if a bird is that stressed out with the trip, i totally agree with considering the pros/cons of the vet visit. however, i would only omit the annuals, if the bird is not exposed to any other birds. given that you take merlin with you to bird stores etc, i'd probably try to get at least a fecal in once a year - if the stress is really that high for the budgie, you might be able to talk to your vet to just bring the poop, and only bring the bird if the fecal comes back funky - just one possible option to think about