Kiwi's Trip to the Vet :(

[crzybird]

Well, I took Kiwi to the vet today. It was NOT pleasant. So before I even took her I called to ask and make sure they had handled birds before. They told me that yes they had. So I went. When we got there it was only to clip her wings. The vet decided to cut her nails. When he did she started bleeding all over the place. His response was, "Oh, I guess that is how long they are suppose to be". THEN he proceeded to clip one side of her and put her down for a "flight" test. NEWS FLASH she can still fly. So he clips the other side and guess what? SHE CAN STILL FLY JUST LIKE SHE DID BEFORE. They decided to go ahead and sex her but before they could they had to look online to see what needed to be done!!! They were going to cut another of her toes to make her bleed more and I threw a fit. I said she's still bleeding from the first time. So they just used that blood. My baby was so frightened I cried. I was enraged. When we were on our way out the door they had the nerve to say, "Thanks for bringing her in this has been a real learning experience for all of us". ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? If you want to experiment on something get a stuffed bird you butthead! My poor bird sat on my shoulder for a half an hour with her head buried under my hair. I'll never be taking her back to that place again. It was a huge mistake and I feel like the worst bird mom EVER!!

 

[Wulfgeist]

Oh my lord..I'm so sorry for you and Kiwi both. I suppose this is exactly why when I picked up Jasper today they stressed I should find an avian vet. I had called our vets here in town and one of them does see birds but that wasn't good enough for the store. Hence why I am driving an hour and half one way on Friday to a certified avian vet. I just hope a real emergency never comes up that makes me need to drive that far. =(

I hope this hasn't traumatized poor Kiwi too much and that you find a suitible replacement for future trips.

 

[crzybird]

There is another place but it is a good 45 minute to an hour drive. After what happened today I'd drive 3 hours to make sure she is taken care of. When we got home she went in her cage and wouldnt come out. I was afraid of this. I know she isnt mad at me but mercy. I've never wanted to kill another human being in all of my life. They had no idea what a Nanday conure was!! They asked me if it was a parakeet or a parrot. Seriously?? This one place I called I asked them right off the bat, "Do you know what a Nanday Conure is"? She said yes maam I do. I made her describe it to me! I asked her how they hold birds. She told me with a towel very gently. The vet we went to today grabbed her with big bulky gloves! And she started to fly out of her cage he threw his arm up in front of the cage door but her head was trapped between his arm and the cage, he nearly broke her neck! I was so angry I couldnt help but cry and I had to bite my tongue so hard to not cuss them out. I couldn't believe my eyes. I'll NEVER do this to my baby again EVER. I'll make darn sure they know something about birds before I take her. I trusted this vet when they told me that they had taken care of lots of birds. They didn't know nearly enough. I'm a new bird owner and I know more than they do about this bird. I'm so disappointed and just want to cuddle my bird like crazy.

 

[kc_y0]

That's horrible, poor little Kiwi. they should have told you on the phone that they were not experienced with birds. Hope she wont be too scared next time she visits a vet :'(

 

[kc_y0]

Ps Dont feel bad either, its in no way your fault, how were you to know! They should of just been honest with you from the start!

 

[crzybird]

Yes they should have been honest. But instead they wanted to with hold information so they could experiment on my baby. And they didnt even clip her right!! She still flies just as high and as far as she did before. I dont think she's suppose to be able to do that is she? Why else would you clip them if it didnt do any good? *sighs* I dont know, I'm just terrified for her and I feel awful. She's come so far and then this. I'm gonna see how she's feeling about me in the morning. Hopefully she can forgive me. I'm just still so mad its unreal

 

[Rio Mom]

I'm so sorry that the both of you had to go through that.

 

[HalfInsane]

Poor Kiwi. I'd probably have lost it on the whole staff had I been you.

I don't think she'll be mad at you, but a few soft words and a little bribery (which is to say, food) in the morning probably won't hurt.

About her wings, I guess it'd be hard for you to tell, but the first ten feathers should be trimmed to the covets (the short feathers that cover the shafts of the primaries). Conures are quite aerodynamic, even by bird standards. They need to be quite well clipped or they can still fly. Which... you've already noticed.

 

[Remy]

Poor baby!! I hope you didn't pay them! If you did, I would get a refund!

 

[roxynoodle]

Make the 45 minute drive in the future! I do, but my vet is so worth it!

I'm so sorry you both had such an awful experience. I guess I got lucky with my first 2 vets who weren't avian certified, but were at least both breeders and knowledgeable about handling and taking care of birds.

I'm surprised she can still fly. When I had Rowdy clipped, she would drop like a stone. The breeder did my Blue Crown though and she could still fly just fine.

 

[Molcan2]

Poor Kiwi, If they don't normally see birds then they were operating outside of their scope of practice (which is malpractice). They should have been honest with you up front. Thats a horrible situation. I drive an hour to see my avian vet because I am adamant that only a board certified avian spe******t will be the only one to touch Rome, anything less than that is a gamble. Hope you can find a decent vet to go to.

 

[Doris48]

From another Kansan I know how difficult it is to find a good bird vet.At least my local vet was honest enough to tell me she had only ever taken blood from a bird in vet school and didnt feel qualified to do it..Im all for new vets learning but not on my animals...LOL.

I have to make an appointment for Paco and I guess Ive put it off long enough.But it scares the heck out of me especially after reading on here some of the horror stories about bleeding birds and such from stupid vets...Im taking him to K state, they have an exotic vet, but I hate that they take the animals in another room so they can pass them around to students.Then they charge up the wahoo for their education(you'd think it should be cheaper since they are learning from my animal).

 

[roxynoodle]

Here is one of the problems: when a bird's nails get long, the quick (blood supply) also gets longer. You have to trim little by little in order to get the quick to shorten up. Nanday's also have black nails so you can't see it. The vet should have stopped after the first bleed, and just took a bit off the ends of the others.

Get Kiwi a cement perch and make it the highest in the cage so she uses it. I haven't had to trim Rowdy's nails in 11 years now; only when I first got her. I am working on getting Pete to not be afraid of his so I can put it in his cage. Both Rowdy and Merlin sleep on theirs.

The vet I have now is definitely a keeper. I am very lucky to have such a vet in a city as small as Toledo. But, my previous two handled my birds gently, and the 2 times I did have illness, they were able to cure them, so I guess I can't complain.

You could also start introducing Kiwi to an emery board so you can gently file her nails her and there. My Blue Crown let me do this, and Pete is starting to let me do it as well.

 

[lexx510]

Yes, those pedicure perches help a lot. I placed two in Guava's cage, one directly above her food bowl so that she always uses it. Her nails have not been trimmed in a while, but are now noticebly less sharper.

This is the one I purchased:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-80905-Living-World-Pedi-Perch/dp/B0002DGYYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331735162&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Living World Pedi-Perch, Small: Pet Supplies[/ame]

 

[crzybird]

Thank you everyone for the advice about the bird perches. I will be looking in to one of those. But never while I was on the phone with them did I mention she needed her nails trimmed. She doesnt. Her beak and nails are perfect from what I've seen of other birds. I feel so bad for her still. She's letting me hold her again and pet her head. But she still acts kind of skiddish with me. I know she will come around but wow. And no I did not pay for what they did to my bird. Especially after that, "It was a learning experience for all of us" comment. I'm about a 3 hour drive from the K-State campus. I'd like to take her there but I really cant. The vet that I called thats 45 minutes away told me what a Nanday conure is so already I have a bit more faith. I guess all I can do is take her and observe and hope and pray it goes better than the last time. The vet agreed that her appointment should be later on down the road simply because neither of us want to further traumitize her.

 

[Doris48]

3hrs is a long trek.Im only an hour away so its not too bad.I still dont like the idea of them taking the animals into the back room without the owners.I had a lizard that they did that with and they bruised his mouth quite badly.No doubt letting some newbie pry it open..Left a bad feeling about that place but I dont know were else to go.

 

[Helitorian]

I am so angry right now I am shaking, Crzybird. I would have gotten physical with the vet if he had nearly broken my bird's neck. I have no way to put into words my anger right now.

 

[roxynoodle]

I wonder why you can't observe. At Ohio State you can even watch surgery though the observation window. We watched my friend's horse have colic surgery from the moment we arrived with her until we knew she had come out of the anesthesia and was ok.

Very funny in a way to see them lift a horse off a stretcher and onto an operating table. They also put on the little disposable booties like they give us before surgery onto the horse's hooves.

 

[DaCoSim]

I am so sorry!!! Poor Kiwi and poor YOU!!!!

 

[crzybird]

I just wish it was easier to take someone at their word. I learned a very valuable very difficult lesson. I dont know where to take her honestly. K-state is an option but mercy the drive. And in Kansas options are very limited. I've considered going out of state for her but I dont even know where to go if I did that. One thing I know for sure is that I'll never be taking her back there again. And Helitorian, it was so difficult for me to not beat the vet. He towered over me but I coulda took him I'm certain of it. I just feel awful. Things can only get better from here though right. This was a major eye opener for me. I'll be sure to ask the right questions from now on. Thanks again everyone.