Went To A New Vet Today!

[Blancaej]

The only certified avian vet Vermont had retired a couple of years ago, he was Quincy's vet for many years. The guy who took over for my vet who retired is about 45 minutes away, but his knowledge is pretty basic. So I found out there was a new doctor in my town (just 10 minutes away) who has dealt with birds a lot, but is not an avian vet. Well it was either keep going to the guy 45 minutes away or try this new guy out, who probably has just as much knowledge as the other vet who took over for my avian vet (sniff sniff, still bummed he retired).

He examined the linnies and they got a clean bill of health! Yay! He said everything looks great. I talked to him extensively on what he is capable of doing with my birds. He can do wing & nail clippings and there annual exams. He is going to look at my options in Vermont and see which vet would be my best option for anything more extensive and emergencies if he is not available. Since there are no "certified avian vets" in Vermont now, we just need to figure out who would do the best job for my birds if we need something out of the norm! Hopefully he can find me a good resource and no more then an hour and half or less away. We'll see. In either case, I am glad the Linnies got checked out. He wants me to keep them apart from my other birds for at least another week. I may choose longer, not sure yet.

[spiritbird]

I go to a vet who is not yet certified and he does a grand job, even for emergency visits. He mainly takes care of injured wild birds. If you are comfortable with this vet that would be good. Does he handle avian emergencies and consult with an avian vet if needed?

[Blancaej]

I do like him. I think he will look at my birds in an emergency situation then consult with someone or send me where I need to go if it is beyond his knowledge. We are talking about that now and he is going to look into my options in case something comes up he doesn't have enough knowledge about. He knows I have 5 birds and the potential for needing emergency care at some point could be there. So we are trying to come up with a plan so I have my bases covered!

[plax]

Best of luck with your vet situation, Blanca. As you probably know, my own status as far as vets is far less than desirable... especially considering the attitude that I've encountered a few times too often. The entire matter is quite unsettling for me. Unfortunately, as in your case, there are no board certified avian vets within driving distance from me . At least my current vet is only about 10 minutes away (like the new one in your area), and he does do emergency procedures. But it's certainly no perfect world around here either

[Blancaej]

It is really too bad there is a shortage of avian vets out there. I guess it doesn't help that not everyone takes their birds for annual check ups. I do and many of us here do as well. But even my vet said today, most of the time he doesn't see the birds until they are sick. I know it is quite the process as well to become certified. I know you have had some really bad situations with your vet. I wish it didn't have to be that way, but I guess we have to make do with what we got. We just have to hope and pray it is not at the expense of our beloved fids!