Microchipping; yay or nay?

[EdiferiousRex]

Hey all, I feel like all I do is ask questions here, but heres another one:
I'm moving across the country in a few weeks and my birds have no bands, is microchipping a good idea? What are the risks, your individual experiences, benifits? Do shelters/vets actually check birds for chips? I have worked in the veterinary field for 7 years and have never seen one scanned for a chip, or implanted with one at either of my clinics. I know when I worked Avian medicine we offered it, but no one ever wanted it... Opinions?
Thanks for all your knowledge everyone!

 

[MikeyTN]

Shelters and vet clinics suppose to check all animals for micro-chips but most don't. My vet clinic didn't check my pets for it either. I always remind them to scan my dogs everytime I go in, but they remember me and my animals so I try not to push too much...lol. micro-chip your bird might be a good option since yours aren't banded. I don't like bands anyway.....

 

[suebee]

hummm i'd say if your bird ever got lose it'll be easier to claim ownership??

 

[EdiferiousRex]

Mikey: Having worked in a few clinics, I can assure you they check at clinics, but only when placing a microchip (To make sure that someone else hasnt owned teh dog and had it stolen) or when a new patient comes in.

 

[jew1187]

Wait... I want to take the band off of Skyler, and have him microchipped. What information goes on the chips database? There would be no question if he were to be brought to a vet that he was mine after that right?

 

[Tswift]

This is really interesting... how much do you think it would cost? I like the idea of micro-chipping better than bands..

 

[jew1187]

This is really interesting... how much do you think it would cost? I like the idea of micro-chipping better than bands..

Not certain, but the sites I just went to said between 35-50 dollars. I don't know though.

 

[EdiferiousRex]

If your avian vet is doing it correctly your cost is as follows: Exam fee, Microchip cost, Mask induction gas anesthetic cost.
My research so far from the vets I work with has been that it can be done, but to avoid shock/trauma should always be done under sedation with a bird. The microchip is the size of a grain of rice (I purchased a set of 5 online for 60.00) AVID friend chips are your best option, universal ones though (Check with your vet...They should be 9 digit code) All regular day practice clinics carry the chips and if you're chipping 1-2 birds and not registered as a clinic (like me) or a breeder its best just to buy one at the time of your exam.
The chip goes into the breast of your bird, research/vets recommend against chipping anything cockatiel size or smaller. Then the skin is glued shut around the insertion point (Did I mention BIG needle? It's about the size of an 8-6g.)
The Chip contains a code which is linked to a database so when found and scanned (Required for ANY pet that is brought to a shelter, or if there is an alert out also to any vet clinic if it matches the pet described in the alert) the chip reader will pick up an ID number, which when called in to the company gives your pet's name, your name, address, phone number, alternate contact.
If your bird/dog/cat is lost you can call in to say AVID for example with your chip number and they will alert all shelters and clinics near you of your pet's disappearance.
I'm not 100% on this, but a co-worker mentioned to me about Home-Again chips (I have one in my French Bulldog) that they come with a certain amount of insurance against the pet's medical care when lost. Her explanation was a few thousand for accidents in the time that the pet has been reported missing if it gets hit by a car for example, or breaks a leg for whatever reason while its running loose, they'd cover it. With Home-Again you do pay a yearly fee of 17.00 so I'd believe it. Avid is a one time activation fee of (I think) 10.00 but most clinics register for you, and pay that fee.
I hope that answered some questions about the procedure/microchips, thats the info I know...Was just looking for case studies/people that have done it to their birds.

 

[jew1187]

Ok, Definitely getting Skyler chipped. I would hate to lose him and not be able to get him back. I know the chip doesn't guarantee it, but it sure does make it a heck of a lot more possible.

 

[OOwl]

I'm a lurker (usually) and don't post, just like to read about parrots. I just wanted to comment that all of my parrots are microchipped, except my smallest two (lovebirds). My oldest, a BF Amazon, 20 years old, was microchipped at my vet, wrapped in a towel, without sedation. She was MAD but not that traumatized at all, beyond what she already was because of routine blood draw and exam. It was quick and easy. My Congo Grey was microchipped just after I got him, as a baby on his first well-bird visit. My vet didn't want to do him so young, but I felt it was necessary, so he complied. As you know, Greys are extremely more sensitive than most Amazons, and he has remembered that event for all his life (almost six years now) and growls when we go to that particular vet office (not at others, interestingly). He probably should of been sedated for the procedure, but he survived and recovered his dignity. My Rosebreasted cockatoo is a total drama queen on a good day, so he was already screaming and flailing around during his restraint for routine blood draw and never noticed the microchip implantation. All three parrots recovered from the procedure with no ill effects and I sleep better at night knowing I can without-a-doubt prove that MY BF Amazon, Grey, and RB Cockatoo are actually MY birds and not just someone's similar-looking parrots. Bands can be removed but chips, not so easily. Totally worth the temporary discomfort to the bird, quickly forgotten and forgiven.

 

[mtdoramike]

If your not into clipping their wings, then micro chipping would be a good idea.

 

[EdiferiousRex]

OOwl: Thanks for the input! good to see someone else has done it!

mtdoramike: My birds are clipped, but what if they grow out and I'm just not on the ball and they get out the door? That happens to people more often than you'd think.

Jew1187: Exactly my thought.

So Last night we got chipped. They got just enough gas to get woozy, and then the chips were popped in subcutaneously just like a dog or a cat, but in the breast. The scanner picks them up from on top of the birds as well as underneath and on the sides. The only trauma anyone suffered was when my sulpher crested (Phoebe) woke up a stranger was holding her (She's very much a one person bird) and she freaked out, still drunk flying/biting/running. I was quick to recover her as it was really just a bunch of flapping and somersaulting and falling over, but my thumb is quite swollen and purple now
All in all not a bad experience, within the hour Phoebe was chatting away with me again. When we get nail/beak/wings done she won't talk to me for at least a day. And Linus woke up without a problem and was playing upside-down bird games (His new favorite) within minutes.

 

[Scoobietimnehgraymaui]

My Timneh Gray says NAY! She never liked her chip, the vet put it in near vital organs and her spine. She can feel it or hear it and it quickly started to make her twitch and jump then pluck. All tests at the vet, unbelievably expensive, show she is on the low side of a few nutrients, but there should be no reason for her stool problems and plucking. Removal surgery almost killed her due to the deadly misplacement. But she was so happy we tried, she improved a bit. Read up on other forms of I.D. Maybe you will not end up like so many of us working on borrowed time to save your soul mate who is suffering horribly. Even the best team can only pull out all the stops and they are not enough to scratch the surface. We will donate her own blood when she is healthy enough so when the surgery is killing her there is more hope of saving her than there is now as every thing our team tries fails. They just want to make money. They have to catch your bird to scan it and the scanner has to find your chip to scan it, if the scanner and chip are even compatible tech. Do not do it!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Even after all this time... I'm gonna ask my vet next time we visit.
Thanks for this thread!
Got me thinking...