Bird Vet???

[Lauralee0114]

Hi. Does anyone know of a bird verternarian near the BOSTON, Ma area or New Hampshire or Maine. I have a Sun conure who can not fly.
He tries and falls to the ground. His wings are not clipped. He is eatting and playing well and not change in his personality, he just can’t fly. His wings are scare and he is losing good feathers. I bought him some
Vitamins to mix with his food but I am still concerned. Please let me know if anyone has a good vet? It’s so hard to find one around where i live.
Thank you and happy 4th of July.

 

[itzjbean]

I am not familiar with that area so hopefully some members closer to you will chime in soon.

As far as the not flying issue, how old is your sun conure? What is his history?

If he's young (under 1 year old), he may have never fledged correctly or allowed to do so. If he's older than a year and still cannot fly, he may also just never learned how or was never let out of his cage in a previous home.

It's not uncommon or unheard of to have a bird that can't fly. While I do recommend you first step to be finding a certified avian vet for an overall wellness exam, if he is deemed healthy by the vet then the work begins for you to help your sun learn to use his wings correctly.

You can help him learn to fly by having several training sessions a day with him on working him to rely on his wings. You should remain close to him, and encourage him to hop onto your arm from a small distance. Once this is accomplished, you can begin stepping further away from him so he has to open his wings a bit to assist him in getting to your arm.

Another thing you can do to make it easier for him to get around is to provide a large, roomy cage with lots of perches for him to get from the bottom of the cage connecting all the way to the top so he can climb the entire way. Provide as many places to climb as you can, use ropes, swings, ladders, there are endless ways you can help your conure to work with his issue of flying. Good luck!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Hello, and welcome!
Ooooooh, I'd recommend holding off on supplements and/or vitamins... a healthy diet won't require that...
Good for you, for looking for an appropriate vet!
Here are some ideas...
https://www.google.com/search?q=bos.....69i57j0l3.4095j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
About diet...
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Stick with us. We'll help you. I love your open-mindedness!

We'd love some pictures of your darling!

 

[BoomBoom]

Here's an avian vet in Boston: https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=avian+vet&find_loc=Boston,+MA They have fair ratings but they do specialize in birds.

Here's what appears to be a general vet also in Boston: https://waylandanimalclinic.com/pet-health-library/ They have the highest ratings in the area, but not sure if they have an avian vet on staff. Maybe you can ask them?

Please update us. Will keep an eye out for this thread. My regards to Petrie.

 

[Lauralee0114]

I do not know how old Petrie is or whether Petrie is a male or female. We rescued him from a snake store in NH 4-5 years ago. I didn’t want the vet to have to poke him to find out! Petrie is my best friend, we do everything together. I’m worried about his feathers and inability to fly, it’s been almost two weeks now.

 

[MonicaMc]

I can't recommend a vet, but I can recommend searching for one through these two links.


https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/

https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I live in Maine and there are only TWO avian vets in Maine (south of Bangor)

The one in South Gorham one in Yarmouth. I go to the one in South Gorham, been going there since 2000. Its a practice run by two vets (husband and wife)


http://www.southgorhamvets.com/

But being in Boston, such a populated area, I can't imagine not being able to find an avian vet nearby.

Both my vets are listed on the AAV link that Monica listed.

 

[Aratingettar]

Maybe the contact will be helpful:
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/recommendedbirdvetsmassachusetts.html

Connie Orcutt, Dipl. ABVP - Angell Memorial Animal Hospital

350 South Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130 - Tel. (617) 522-7282
​

 

[EllenD]

Oh my, so you've had him for 4-5 years and he could fly, only in the last 2 weeks he can't?

If he's losing feathers then this is why he can't fly for sure, the question is why is he losing feathers...Can you post some photos of him? What do you mean by "His wings are scare?" You mean the feathers on his wings are "scarce"? This requires an immediate visit to only a Certified Avian Vet for blood work and cultures...

And a DNA test is done with feathers, not with blood, usually, anyway...But I have a feeling that your bird will be getting blood work done anyway, so it's a really good idea to get the DNA test done at the same time, so you're prepared for any egg-laying situations in the future...Right now though, you need to figure out why his feathers are falling out, that's a big issue....

And also, are they falling out, or has he been plucking himself?

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

When Skittles had his DNA test, it was done with blood. They took it from his neck.

 

[jethrosgreencheeks]

I don’t live in Boston but I live about 30 minutes away from there. I’d recommend the Odd Pet Vet.

 

[EllenD]

Any update here??? Have you found a CAV to take him too?

I had forgot to ask how the rest of his behavior is, like is he acting lethargic, sleeping a lot, fluffed-up a lot, etc...

And yes Skittles, as I said, usually they use feathers to do DNA tests, obviously because it's much less invasive, and you don't need a vet to do it, you can order a DNA test kit online and send in a few feathers for the test...But if they are taking blood anyway, then they can just do the DNA test from the blood...though I don't know many CAV's that would draw blood ONLY for a DNA test and for no other reason...

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

When Skittles had his DNA test, it was done with blood. They took it from his neck.

Amy also...



Jim

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Any update here??? Have you found a CAV to take him too?

I had forgot to ask how the rest of his behavior is, like is he acting lethargic, sleeping a lot, fluffed-up a lot, etc...

And yes Skittles, as I said, usually they use feathers to do DNA tests, obviously because it's much less invasive, and you don't need a vet to do it, you can order a DNA test kit online and send in a few feathers for the test...But if they are taking blood anyway, then they can just do the DNA test from the blood...though I don't know many CAV's that would draw blood ONLY for a DNA test and for no other reason...

Exactly Ellen...when Amy had blood work done the last time,thats when I asked for the dna test. I wasn't about to have him poked at with a needle,just for the dna,and decided since they were going to do blood work,then do the dna.


Jim

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

sighhhhh........Any update here??? Have you found a CAV to take him too?...I just hate when a post is made,and everyone is concerned and asks questions,and then you don't hear back from the OP..





Jim

 

[bill_e]

This will be a drive but I'm very happy with my CAV Dr. Dutton in Weare NH. You can see an abbreviated write up on his experience but I can also tell you he has performed almost 200 ortho surgeries on Raptors for the State of NH, was the vet at Benson's animal farm (zoo) for many years and seems to be pretty good with my Nike.

http://wearevet.com/

 

[EllenD]

Any update here??? Have you found a CAV to take him too?

I had forgot to ask how the rest of his behavior is, like is he acting lethargic, sleeping a lot, fluffed-up a lot, etc...

And yes Skittles, as I said, usually they use feathers to do DNA tests, obviously because it's much less invasive, and you don't need a vet to do it, you can order a DNA test kit online and send in a few feathers for the test...But if they are taking blood anyway, then they can just do the DNA test from the blood...though I don't know many CAV's that would draw blood ONLY for a DNA test and for no other reason...

Exactly Ellen...when Amy had blood work done the last time,thats when I asked for the dna test. I wasn't about to have him poked at with a needle,just for the dna,and decided since they were going to do blood work,then do the dna.


Jim

Exactly, that's what I meant in the first place...I don't know of any CAV who would do a blood-draw ONLY for a DNA test. Yes, you can have a DNA test done with blood, lol, obviously, and this is convenient if you're already having a blood draw done for diagnostic/baseline testing anyway, as it will prevent having to pluck feathers or clip a nail...But, if you're not already planning on having blood work done and you simply want a DNA test ONLY, there is no reason at all to have them actually draw blood to do it, as it makes absolutely no difference as far as the "accuracy" of the test...The bird's DNA is the bird's DNA, regardless of where it comes from, just like a person getting the inside of their cheek swabbed or a hair pulled with the root on it...And if you only want a DNA test, it just depends on your bird whether a toenail clip or a feather-pluck is better. Some birds don't mind you pulling a few chest feathers quickly, or they'll get over it quickly...With my birds, I clip their nails myself anyway, so it's much easier to do a quick clip, collect the blood on the test-card or swab, and then dab it with Qwik-Stop, than to pull chest feathers...

And I was hoping for an update too...People do this all the time, and I usually end-up just assuming that the situation didn't end-well if they never answer back...which is sad...

 

[BoomBoom]

I sent Lauralee a PM a while ago so she knows she received several vet recommendations on her post. Hopefully she sees the notification on her email.

Wishing Pietre well.

 

[Lauralee0114]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice.
Petrie is still unable to fly, but does attempt too but falls to the ground.
I have had Petrie for a few years now and there have been no eggs so I assumed P was male.
I have not brought P to a vet yet due to the holiday and i have decided to bring P to MSPCA Angell Memorial. They have a vet names Brendan Noonan who specializes in birds, he was an intern to Dr. K.
Dr. Susan Kelleher is a vet from Florida who had her own show called Dr. K's Exotic Aminal ER- i highly recommend watching this show.

I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again.
Laura M and Petrie

 

[itchyfeet]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice.
Petrie is still unable to fly, but does attempt too but falls to the ground.
I have had Petrie for a few years now and there have been no eggs so I assumed P was male.
I have not brought P to a vet yet due to the holiday and i have decided to bring P to MSPCA Angell Memorial. They have a vet names Brendan Noonan who specializes in birds, he was an intern to Dr. K.
Dr. Susan Kelleher is a vet from Florida who had her own show called Dr. K's Exotic Aminal ER- i highly recommend watching this show.

I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again.
Laura M and Petrie

Pleased you came back Lauralee, your answers, once you've visited your vet, may well help others in the community.