Just moved - no Avian Certified vet in new area!

Hi, everyone....I just signed on to this Forum on behalf of my YNA, Bubba, and myself. We have lived together in Kansas, Pennsylvania, Denmark, and Virginia (D.C. area)--and have never been in an area without an Avian Certified doc for Bubs. But here we are in rural SE Arizona, and there aren't any! There's a vet hospital in Tucson that will treat birds, but the vets aren't diplomates, which bothers me. I'd rather go without a doc for myself than not have one for my best friend. Bubba is about 30 years old, and is generally in good health....but he gets skin splits in his feet from time to time and needs cold laser treatments to help them heal. The vets here that claim to treat birds don't even have the cold laser machine! What are a woman and her bird to do?
Thanks for any guidance or suggestions.

Welcome to the forum. I get the feeling of living in an area that doesn't treat birds! For as prevalent of pets as parrots are in Arizona, not a lot of places will have anything to do with them period, let alone trying to find a qualified AV. We used to live up in the northern part of the state, and at least there was one "exotics" clinic that would see birds. They did a decent job with very basic care, but were not avian specialized. If we would have ever needed specialized care (thank goodness we never did), we would've had to go to Phoenix. I think that's what you may be running into where you are. They may do grooming or be able to prescribe some antibiotics/run a blood/fecal test kind of thing, but they aren't specialized to avians and thus don't have specialist equipment at their practice to treat avian-specific issues. Are you south of Tucson then? That would be a bummer of a drive to Phoenix, but I've heard there are some good avian specialized practices down there. Also curious if you've checked with any livestock vets? Sometimes they have avian specialized equipment because they work with poultry. Not parrot specific, but may be able to do the procedure your bird needs. Az is so dry, I can't imagine skin splits in scaly bird toes being that uncommon! Hope you find someone!

Hello, welcome to you and Bubba! Avian vets are scarce in my area too. It's not ideal, but it's a good idea to locate the closest Avian specialist, schedule well checks in advance and plan for a long drive. My regular vet doesn't treat avians, but he has agreed to see my birds in an emergency and he can also do blood work if necessary. It makes me feel a little better.

Good luck! I hope you and Bubba enjoy Arizona!

I was surprised when one of my avian vets told me he wasn't "avian certified". He is VERY WELL QUALIFIED avian vet nonetheless! His clientele consists of at least 50% birds, and he is very experienced and knowledgable. I know this because he's seen several birds of mine for about 10 years. I've been to a few under qualifed vets who see birds too...

I'd try to find the local bird club, go to a meeting and ask the members which vet they use. Here, our best "avian" vet isn't avian certified, but it's well known in avian community that he is the absolute BEST for treating complicated avian issues, including surgery. In fact, he has so much business, he won't even take new customers at this point. I do have an avian-certified vet that I use for common concerns, but I would, without hesitation, let this non-certified, more experienced vet take care of anything more serious or chronic in nature.