I am beginning my chronicle with a subject that most either don't know about or choose to ignore, the Avian Veterinarian.
All vets are not created equally. An avian vet, especially a certified avian vet is a specialist. Birds are notorious at hiding illness. It is hardwired into them for survival. As a cockatiel owner, you should get to know your bird and take note of ANY change in their behavior or appearance. Molts and changes like moving are a big stress on your bird, as are hormonal changes. It is usually during this time that a problem likes to pop up. Looking back, I wish that I had initial testing on my very first tiels just for the record. It also may (or may not) have detected some of the problems that I had later on. After dealing with the megabacteria and other issues, I learned to take each new bird (there have been only 4 to date) for an initial work up.
On my page I have put links for viewers to find an avian veterinarian for the welfare of their cockatiel. I tend to use more than one as some have veterinarians listed that others do not. In my own experience, there are a couple of hard and fast rules that have become acceptable to me since I live rural.
1. The vet will be a minimum of one hour away.
2. Plan to spend 60+ for your visit.
Let's talk about the drive time. I am a person who does not like to drive distances, so I do understand the complaint about an avian veterinarian being a haul. However, do not choose your vet based on distance alone. I have moved several times in the past few years and one of the main reasons that I would consider an area was access to an avian veterinarian.
Base your choice on what services they offer and what the level of experience is. A good avian vet will refer you to a specialist if they are not comfortable with treating a particular condition. This is how I ended up going from about an hours drive to just over 2 1/2 hours.
The difference? The closer vet is great on routine care and tests, but anything outside of a grams stain must be sent out. The specialist does most of the testing in house, so results are immediate. This can be a matter of life or death to a little bird.
The next biggest complaint is the cost. Unfortunately, our little tiels are considered "throw away" birds. They are relatively easy to keep and breed. Not many people will spend any amount of money on a bird that cost less to purchase than to doctor. The sad thing is that some breeders also have this mindset. I will further discuss this matter in a later post, so for now, we will just stick to discussing having your bird checked out.
I have a "bird health insurance account" where I stash a little cash every so often to use on veterinary care if I cannot swing it from my monthly income. Most of the time, the costs are doable, so I rarely have to take from the stash.
I do not keep more birds than I can afford veterinary care for. This is my rule of thumb for the pony and dog, too. If you have one or two cockatiels, then there is really no reason not to at least have a baseline check up for them. Why? Because there are a lot of diseases that tiels can be carriers of and the new one, there are antibiotic resistant bugs out there. Since I live the Murphy's law of animal ownership, What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong, I have had the experience with some of these diseases even though I don't remember signing up for them.
I have dealt with more than enough diseases in my almost 2 decades of tiel ownership. Whether some were problems never diagnosed early enough or problems that came on after we all became ill from exposure to sewage sludge, I will never know.
Kidney failure
Megabacteria (avian gastric yeast)
Aspirgillosis
Melanoma and a subsequent partial wing amputation
Elevated liver enzymes
Unknown fungal infections under the skin
Unknown gastric illness causing death
Egg binding, a serious condition rather than a disease
I always have a necropsy done on my tiels if I lose one. I always ask for a cosmetic and then have them cremated.
Avian Veterinarian or Certified Avian Veterinarian?
Both, really. The avian vets that I used in Iowa and Missouri were both excellent doctors. Neither had certification, but they were diligent in their care and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
Call around. See who treats what and ask any questions. I have kept all of my past records so when I did move, all of the history came with me and my tiels. Some veterinarians will give you a printout of costs that may be incurred should you have to hospitalize or medicate your bird. Some give multi-bird households a discount. The important thing is to find an avian vet who you can feel comfortable with in having a relationship with you and your bird.
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