With how much would you feel safe?

[hacatta]

Hi,next year i will be living on my own.
Now i am wondering how much i should safe up for their VA bills in the future.
I won't have a lot then,and while i will be able to save money it won't be a lot at once.
I am already saving up from the moment i got my first,and i have now 2000.
But with how much would you feel safe?
This is my biggest concern about living on my own.

 

[Doublete]

I have tons of animals and always assume the worst could happen. They could all get sick at the same exact time. Obviously this isn't likely but it could happen. So set aside enough for each animal if it all happened at once.

 

[RavensGryf]

If I recall, you're living in Europe? I'm not familiar with the cost of living in your area, but as in the US, I'm sure each city can greatly vary.

Vet bills (again varies with the country or area) but generally speaking, it's hundreds for a basic visit along with testing of some sort (bloodwork, fecal, etc). Then if your bird(s) ever need surgery, or even say a treatment for whatever then a follow up with X-ray for example it can be thousands (in total). You might always be on the "lucky" side, but even diligent, "good" and responsible bird owners like myself have been faced with some hefty unexpected charges throughout my years with birds.

If you cannot at all get or borrow money from your parents after you move out, I'd feel more comfortable first having saved as many thousands of dollars as you possibly can befiore making the big move. Not just birds, but you might be surprised how often an unexpected "thing" of some sort comes up that costs lots of unexpected money in addition to your normal rent, bills, and expenses. Good luck

 

[LeaKP]

here stateside one can purchase insurance.

 

[hacatta]

The amount i gave is only their savings,and i hope to at least have 4000 on it when i leave.
Since last year you can buy insurance here for birds,but i find it lacking.
I would have to pay about 50 each month and still be left with most cost.

 

[Kiwibird]

I have about $1500 saved up for Kiwi. Seeing as he eats better than most people and is never exposed to other birds (and is quite 'robust' and healthy) I don't foresee any major medical emergencies, barring some random injury. I would say around $1000 per bird is probably a 'safe' cushion personally. You don't want ALL your savings "tied up" in the bird fund for the unlikely event all your birds get sick and/or injured. You just want enough to offset a major expense or completely cover a minor issue.

 

[jasper19]

I have had a lot of bad things happen to dogs over the years, the worst end up costing over 4k when it was all said and done. He lived though

My thought for a bird would be 1-2K...and is what i budget for mine. I would think you would be pretty covered if you had $2k set aside. A lot would need to happen if you burned through that much.

 

[goalerjones]

Can you get pet insurance?

 

[Flboy]

 

[Scott]

Have enough saved or sufficient available credit so you will never be faced with the heartache of needing to ration care due to economics.

It's a balancing act between available funds and/or pet insurance. Personally, I've never had pet insurance for fear it may lead to an ethical conflict between the vet and insurer. Or, perhaps that's just my ignorance of how the system actually functions!

 

[thekarens]

I'd save as much as you can. I really don't think there's a set "safe" amount. It doesn't take long to go through a couple thousand in avian vet bills.