Parrot blood and feather testing

[PaperLantern]

I know Avian Biotech offers blood and feather testing for sex, and some diseases like PBFD and Chlamydia. However, are there labs you can send in blood, feathers, or swabs in order to test blood for vitamin levels and organ function? I'd like Chubby to get his blood tested to make sure everything is perfect, but the closest vet is 4 hours away. I would of course drive him there in a heart beat for an emergency, but I'm wondering if there is an easier way to do a blood check up? Such as sending samples online.

I already ordered the kit from Avian Biotech, so at least I'll know for sure he doesn't have those diseases, but I'd really like to get a complete workup done.

 

[weco]

I'm pretty sure you would have to provide wet samples (blood draws) for a blood panel/CBC.....there's some vet techs & a lab tech or two around here...maybe they will pop in to correct me.....

 

[MonicaMc]

You might want to look for a local vet who is willing to work with an avian vet... have the regular vet do the work the a-vet would do, and consult with the a-vet.

I suspect they would have a specific way to send blood to a lab and they may need to draw quite a bit of blood... more so than what you could do on your own unless you know what you are doing... which I wouldn't recommend.

 

[PaperLantern]

I'd be scared about letting my regular vet take blood from Chubby. I mean, she's an AMAZING vet, but she doesn't have a ton of experience with birds since we only have a few in the area that she has seen. Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and schedule a checkup when I can get the time off to go downstate.