No avian vet near me :-/

I am considering adopting a conure but I have no avian vet near me to trim a birds nails. Would a regular vet work? Or are they not as good? Also what size cage would a conure need? Just a side question

Most vets can trim a birds nails and you can even learn to trim them yourself. Cage size would depend on the type of conure. For example a green cheek is small about 10 inches long where a Patagonian conure is large and closer to 18 inches long so needing a much larger cage!

Depends on your regular vets confidence with dealing with birds! I suggest ringing around and finding out yourself about each vet.
My first 'avian vet' was not avian certified, but had studied zoo med and so had lots of dealings with birds. He lacked the official qualification but he was more than knowledgeable about bird conditions and ailments etc for me to trust him with Merlins life.

So no, an 'avian vet' isn't always necessary. Just find a vet who understands a birds medical needs.

My vet was "Ian Mostyn BVM&S CertZooMed MRCVS" Which means he's a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and has a Bachelors Degree in Vet Medicine + Surgery and is Certified to practice 'Zoo Med' which is basically exotics and fancy animals that arn't cats/dogs/bunnys.
So look out for ZooMed type awards. MRCVS is a UK thing, so ignore that!

I should also mention that before I got Merlin into this vet's practice I had previously seen a self proclaimed Avian Vet, two of them actually and they were horrific with Merlin. I'm now seeing one of the ACTUAL few Avian Vets in the country and the only reason I'm seeing him over Ian Mostyn was that I moved and so I'm closer to him now. His surgery is avian care only and he is just fantastic, but had I not had the opportunity to have Merlin in his practice I would have stayed with Ian, the non-avian vet without a doubt.

Ian, despite not being an certified avian vet, was caring, professional, knew exactly how to handle Merlin. He knew specifically about flight feathers, how to do clips (we didn't get Merlin clipped) he knew about bird anatomy, bone structure, their respiratory system and infectious illness'. Merlin has a splayed leg too, which we discussed and resolved for the most part.

Seeing an Avian Vet isn't the bee all and end all, your vet just needs knowledge, experience and equipment, the certification is just a bonus.

What you do is call & speak with your local vet & ask them if they would be willing to consult with an avian vet if something the local vet was not versed on.....then, you start looking for an avian vet...you may need to find contacts for several...call them, tell them that you don't have an avian vet nearby & inquire if they do telephone consultation & would they be willing to work with your vet if a situation arose where their consultation might be needed.....

Understand that you will have to do all the legwork on something like this and you need to ask the avian vet what kind of cost factors might be involved.....checking with several vets will allow you to sort of comparison shop, if you will.....

If your vet is willing & you find one or more avian vets willing, be sure to get everybody's e-mail addresses & follow up the conversations with e-mails confirming the discussions.....you'll also need to introduce the two or more vets somehow...e-mail word work there also.....

You need to get all this worked out as soon as possible, because if an emergency comes up & you've procrastinated until the emergency, your bird will be the one who suffers because of your procrastination.....



As Mayden said, depends on your vet's confidence.....ask him/her & if you'd feel more comfortable with an avian vet's involvement, set up a conference association like I described.....

Good luck.....

While there are more avian vets in the US & Canada than there may be other places, the popularity of parrots has only increased to a sustaining level in the past 25 years, and while a community may have a couple or more vets, the cost of the additional education for avian certification may not be justified by the patient potential of that community.

I'd ask you where you live, so that perhaps I could help you find an avian vet in your area, but considering your age (nothing against it), I'll give you these links instead. I hope that's fine!


AAV - Find a Veterinarian
2008 List of Avian Diplomates – Board Certified Veterinary Practitioners
Find an Avian Vet | Lafeber Cares - Pet Bird FoodLafeber Cares ? Pet Bird Food
Birds N Ways - ABVP Certified Avian Veterinarians
ABVP ? American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
BirdsnWays - Avian Veterinarians - Vets - Vet Services for Pet Parrots & Exotic Birds

Hi there
Please go through the thread below many vets locations available

Vets in your area !!!!!!!

RandomChick23 said:

I am considering adopting a conure but I have no avian vet near me to trim a birds nails. Would a regular vet work? Or are they not as good? Also what size cage would a conure need? Just a side question

Click to expand...

Check out the Web for Bird Clubs in your area. Also Breeders who may do it free or for a nominal fee.

We do not risk clippers, but instead use Emery boards for human nails. Just cover one side of the Emery board with tape so it is smooth and will not chaff the skin of other toes in the filing process.

ALWAYS have either Flour or Commercial Blood agent to stop any bleeding.

Find articles about how to Towel Birds.

LEARN,LEARN,LEARN about what blood feathers are!

Check out more Web sites for matching bird species to cage size. Basic advice is to look at width of spaces between bars, then width,length, and height of cage.

Little birds like some elevation off floor. Remember coldest part of room is bottom. Most Vets should be able to handle a bird.

Yes, follow the links others have posted and find an avian vet, even if not really local, because you will need to have one "at the ready". You can sometimes find other bird experienced people (even some breeders/shops) to do nails, and sometimes it's not bad at all doing nails yourself once the bird is very confortable with you.

But you would still want to find an A vet for checkups, in case of illness, etc. Even an excellent vet not specifically trained to work on birds will generally not want to take the chance.

You would be surprised how many avian specialists are out there anymore though. My vet was once one of the few board certified avian specialists in NJ (he has been my vet for 20 years and is about 10 min from my house--lucky break!), and now i'm seeing them in a number of veterinary hospitals.

A confident normal vet can do a nail clipping, but clipping is fairly easy to do once you see it done once. I use pedicure perches(safety pumice) and never need to clip Rosie's.

Even if you don't have a local avian vet, try to find the closest. Some people drive several hours to a vet for a yearly check up or emergency.