What to expect at the avian vet.

Hi! I am not exactly sure what to expect at our avian vet's office. I got the name of the vet from an excellent bird specialty shop in my town, and they take a whole lot of birds to him. They have about 10 pets that live in the shop.

However, when I called today, they said the following....

--All toenail clippings bleed.--
That is the way it goes ???? Louis' previous owner said no bleeding toes.

--They take a blood sample from their toes while you are there.
???? Is this really necessary?

--They do not sedate the bird at all for a well visit.--
I guess this is good, but I heard otherwise.

--They will do either a cosmetic or standard clip of wings, and they usually scream the whole time. That is no big deal.--
Well one time Louis went insane having his wings clipped because some inexperienced girl was giving him a cosmetic clip while awake. (I didn't know what that was yet.)

--They do a throat swab.--

I don't want to take up too much of anyone's time, but could you guys just chime in and let me know if this sounds like a good vet, or should I go to another one? There are a lot of good avian vets in chicago. But I want to know what I should be looking for in terms of care while I am there.

Thanks all!

-Not all Nail clipping sBleed. Bird nails are a lot like dog and cat nails. they have a quik so it is possible to bleed if it gets to short, but if you know what your doing and you take a little off at a time it generally doesnt bleed.
- Not having to sedate is a good thing. Why medicate if you dont have to? if your bird is calm enough and not stressing out to much then there really is no need to sedate.
- Blood samples can be taken from the toes ( nail quiks) or by taking blood from the wing vein (located under the wing where the shoulder meets winbg. You can generally see it when you extend the wing. blood test can be good in preventing disease or knowing the true health of the bird. As all of us bird owners know, Birds can hide when they are sick very well.
- I dont know to much about throat swabs.

I agree w/ Dusty. Your nails don't bleed every time you trim them, do they? I suspect that teh vet says this since many people wait so long to take their birds in for a pedicure...which gives the quick time to grow out thus resulting in more bleeding toes.

As for the rest, it sounds okay to me. Remember, veterinarians go to school as long as MDs. They're the experts - so find a vet you trust. However, as responsible bird guardians we need to educate our selves as much as we can. Ask questions if you aren't sure about something or if it seems odd.

I cut my Conure's toes and wings on my own and in the few years that I have had him, I have caused his toenail to bleed once and that is because he decided to try to move while i was cutting.

I'm a Vet Tech Management Student (hopefully in the next week or so I will find out if I am a LVT or not), this is why I cut dusty's nails and wings on my own, because I have been trained to do so. Everything else you talked about sound okay to me with exception of course as to the nails bleeding all the time.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I have had his nails clipped twice in three months, so I don't think he is long overdue. I will tell the vet that I can take him to the bird shop any time. They do a great job and haven't made him bleed at all. That was why I was so surprised when she told me that they use the blood sample from the toes, because they bleed when they cut the nails anyway.

I have heard of people doing it on their own, but I would definitely not try it. Not only because I have no veterinary training, but also because Louis is my first pet. I am still getting used to him.

Yes, I am hoping to ask a lot of questions. I mostly want to make sure he weighs enough and get a health baseline for him moving forward.

I love seeing all the pictures of everyone's lovely birds. Thanks again!

Sincerely, Elizabeth

I really don't understand some of what the vet wants to do and why it is necessary. First off, we ask our clients to bring in a fresh fecal sample and we will do a gram stain, float and direct looking for bacteria. Sometimes the nails will bleed but that is not the norm for all birds. The bleeding is stopped and all is well. As far as the wings, we have NEVER sedated a bird for wing clipping. If the tech is good enough at holding there should never be a reason to sedate for a wing clip or anything else that is minor as far as that goes. Taking blood from the nail is just rediculous unless it's for a DNA test. To send blood out for testing takes alot more then what you get from a nail. I would not let them do a throat swab at all if there is absolutely no reason for it. We have to have a good reason for doing that, and it's usually there is NOT a reason. Is this just a well bird check up?

Yes it is a well visit only. I got the awesome idea from Auggie's Dad that I should take him in just to check him out and make sure he will be happy in his new environment after adoption. (Thanks A.D.) So, I figured I'd wait until the next time he needed some trims and then get him in right away.

Also, I have a bunch of other questions. I was thinking of asking them all on the forum, but I may just list the questions and the answers after I get them from the vet to save the moderators some time.

Well, Kind regards and thanks also to Riley's mom. That was a Great Answer! I didn't understand it all, but I am going to call another vet office and ask if they do things similar to what you described!

Elizabeth

EDIT: Found another vet! They are going to be much better. They use a drummel tool for the nails instead of clipping them. They take blood from a vein in the neck instead of the toe. They are going to analyze the stool sample, and the blood work is optional. I think I might skip the blood work this time, because it costs $109 more for the appt. if I get it. The other vet charges $125, but everything is included. This one charges $50 for the appt. $39 for wings and nails and $109 for blood work. I guess I switched, because they just sounded nicer on the phone.

I'm going to send you a PM.

The drimmel is a much better option in my opinion - that is what my vet uses for the conures. I clip my cockatiels nails myself however because they are white and tiny i can easily hold the toe still and see the quick inside.

Sounds like it's all been covered pretty well here.

I hate to judge a vet by such limited information, but the info in the first post would not give me the comfy warm feeling I want when choosing a new vet - I'd also look elsewhere.

All vets are trained (of course some of them did better than others) but what you can really look at is how they will treat you and your animals. Do they take the time to explain things to you? Do they empathize with the stress and worry you feel when bringing in a family member? Do they treat your pets like family?

Of course their knowledge and skill should be the most important, but this is nearly impossible to assess until you have had continued interaction with them.

In regards to those prices they sound a little higher than what I am used to, but this will vary by location, and I would not be at all surprised if that was a good rate for the Chicago area (is that where you are?).