Concern! Advice, please

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xo Missi
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Concern! Advice, please

Post by xo Missi »

So this morning I took Baby to the local aviary (where they sell birds and bird food, toys, cages, and board birds while you're on vacation and stuff) to get her DNA tested to see if she is male or female for sure.
Anyhow, I asked if they could refer me to a local avian vet. The owner said there are none locally and the closest one is Miami. She also said that birds don't need to go to the vet unless they're ill or injured. Well I have always heard that parrots need vet visits just like dogs and cats and such. The woman said this was nonsense. She said it costs a lot of money but I don't care how much it costs as long as Baby is happy and healthy and lives herself a nice LONG life.
Please let me know the truth as I am now confused :( Thank you.
xo Missi
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Post by xo Missi »

Oh, I must also add that this woman is the leader of the exotic bird enthusiats group here in Naples :shock:
Mikaela
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Post by Mikaela »

Missi:

Im in Tampa and hunny... cant find a bird vet. In all of Tampa! They dont want to mess with birds. I too found one only in Miami and thats 4 hours away.

Thank God I am close with Baby's (my fids name too) breeder or I would never sleep a night. He has no certificate on his wall but when it comes to birds... he doesnt need one and knows probably more than a regular vet.

Im sorry Missi... it makes no sense. All the birds are born here, many raised here... perfect climate... not a vet in sight will even LOOK at a bird around here. They want nothing to do with it and make no bones about it.
~ Mikaela Sky

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venus
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Post by venus »

yeah idk i read in a book a parrot hould have a bird avian and has check ups once a year idk.
xo Missi
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Post by xo Missi »

Ughh I wish I knew a bird expert as you do, Mikaela. Maybe I can come to you if I have any questions :lol: jk....kinda :wink:
I can't believe you can't find anyone who will see a bird in Tampa (what does your breeder do if a bird gets sick or injured?)! My boyfriend and I are moving to Orlando in May of 2007, I wonder if there is any luck there :? Well, probably not since the closest one to you is in Miami as well. Have you been to the avian vet in Miami? How come no vets care about our beloved parrots??
Mikaela
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Post by Mikaela »

Dont ever hesitate to ask me ANYTHING.

If you are here, we are friends. Thats IRN.com! PM me if you dont want to ask onboard. I am here to not only help ya'll but to love ya too.

There are no stupid questions, only people too stupid or prideful to ask. My third grade teacher taught me that and if she said it, its true.
~ Mikaela Sky

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kimtoo
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Post by kimtoo »

hi all...this is a tad long but I hope that you will find the information useful...

I am in Gainesville and lucky to have several avian vets to choose from. If you are in Orlando or Tampa, Gainesville is only 2 hrs away. Of course that is much too far if you have an emergency so it is good to be well versed in handling things like broken blood feathers yourself if you do not have a vet nearby. I would have lost a bird several years ago (in Texas) if my avian vet had not been within minutes of my home. I did not know what to do other than apply pressure and that was inadequate, she lost such a little bit of blood, 1/4 of a teaspoon, but she is a cockatiel and that 1/4 teaspoon was enough to be fatal. She had to have an emergency transfusion and it was unclear if she would survive. Thanksfully, she recovered and went on to lead a happy life!

Back to the vet....another option is Lake worth, just south of West Palm Beach, I used to live there and there is a great avian hospital with several vets there. You probably know the vet who started the practice from the bird food that he developed, his name is Dr. Harrison. He was the vet for my grey for several years. I do not know if he is personally practicing but he has several vets in practice with him who are also excellent. I have forgotten the name of the practice but is something like "Lake Worth Avian Hospital", or the bird hospital...I am sure you can find it if you google avian vet and lake worth florida or harrison

I know people do not all share this opinion, so, let me stress, this is MY opinion...all birds should have an annual vet exam, they also need to be vaccinated against disease. There is a 2 shot series, for which you will get a health certificate, after the initial series, your bird gets boosters. The vet will check the bacterial fauna in your birds gut with a fecal sample...it is critical to your birds health that the balances of gram positive and gram negative bacteria are at optimum level, he will check for parasites in the stool as well. They will also check a blood sample for all of the normal health parameters. This may cost between $100 and $200 dollars but that is no more that what I pay for an annual visit to the vet for my dogs.

I would also STRONGLY URGE that you get your precious Baby microchipped, my vet here in Gainesville just charged me $53.00 to chip my grey. The IRN I have now is with me instead of with her family because she was NOT microchipped. If I have not located her family in the next several weeks, I will take her to my vet to be microchipped too.

I hope this info is helpful, if you disagree about the vaccines and such, no problem, as I said this is my opinion only. I am not a vet, I am however a Ph.D. in Zoology and my research has been entirely on wildlife, specifically nutritional and physiological ecology. This does NOT make me an expert!! Just a fairly well informed bird owner :wink:

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions or want more info on vets in the gainesville area, at least gainesville is 2 hours closer to Tampa than Miami...

Kim
Mikaela
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Post by Mikaela »

Kim:

Thank you for the time it took for your post. Awesome!
~ Mikaela Sky

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xo Missi
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Post by xo Missi »

Kimtoo!! Thanks for all this info!! I knew I heard somewhere that the birds need to have vacination (and of course fecal samples). My opinion is same as yours, completly. This is why I was shocked when the woman told me I didn't need to worry about vet checkups. I plan on calling around all vet offices here in Naples to see if they know of any avian vets within an hours distance, and if not I will be looking into the Miami area Harrison vet! I only want what's best for my sweet yellow Baby!!
kimtoo
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Post by kimtoo »

BTW...your Baby is beautiful. I love the pictures you took outdoors. There is a lutino ringneck in our local petstore, she (?) has been there for at least a month...I feel so sorry for her with no attention. They want $400.00 for her though...more than I can afford.

PS--PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, get your birds MICROCHIPPED!!! I am certain that somewhere not too far from my house, some family is very sad, missing their little girl. Unfortunately they did not chip her and I have not been able to locate them. I know they are worrying about their baby having come to a horrific end, as we all do when a fid gets loose...I can't put their mind at ease or bring their baby home.

You are all probably getting tired of me saying this (microchip your birds!)but I know this baby misses her family too. Each evening she comes out and spends time with me, she climbs all over me, dances for mango, and snuggles up to my ear. She is somebodies baby. It is very sad....


On a happy note--my grey thinks she is pretty cool, he is whistling and talking to her across the house (I still have her isolated)...it is pretty cute :D
kim
Bird crazy
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Avian Vet

Post by Bird crazy »

I'm in N Ft Myers Florids just north of Naples and have an avian vet in Cape Coral how took care of my quaker and eclectus and now Nila my IRN.
His name is Milton McKelvie, at Viscaya-Prado Animal Hospital. They care for dogs,cats and birds. There is more than one vet but Dr McKelvie is the bird vet.
Their phone number is 239-574-6171
920 Country Club Blvd
Cape Coral, Fl 33990

I had Nila checked, blood work, and microchipped and dna sexed (He's a male) for $140.00. There may be extra for the DNA because they forgot to add it to my bill and I called back and requested it. Haven'g gotten an extra bill yet.

Sue and Nila
Sue
Rowdy Vos eclectus, Dolly Cockatiel
Nila Blue IRN, Priya Grey IRN, and Bigotes the cat
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CarolinaWren
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Post by CarolinaWren »

:evil: ya know, i don't get it either!! with all of the vets in my area, there's only ONE avian vet & when Gina became ill, i called her office ... well, she's pregnant, expecting any day & she makes occasional "pop-ins" ... if she just happens to be there when you phone with an EMERGENCY, she MIGHT see you!! :evil: by the time i got Gina to a vet ... after Johnny had made probably 10-11 phone calls, i wuz so distraught, i wuz in tears & Gina wuz deathly ill ... all of these vets are within 20 minutes of our home, but NOOOOOOO ... i had to go to Savannah, GA ... 30 minutes on a good day ... to get her seen ... man, i wuz pi$$ed!! thank God that the doc we did finally find is just wonderful ... he's not only great with the birds, but very compassionate with the parents, as well ... and WAY NOT overpriced like the ones around here ... i just don't get it ... an avian vet here in this area could make a killin, but they just don't wanna be bothered, i reckon ... a$$holes!! oh, but mine didn't mind calling me up to nurse these baby chimney swifts!! not that i mind, but you'd think that he'd take some of that into consideration when i take my Wah-Wahs in for dental work & he charges me $400 ... NOT!!! i don't mind paying the vet bills ... i've taken on these creatures & i believe in responsible pet ownership, but gimme a freakin' break ... my Maggie's 12 years old & at that time, she had only 5 teefers ... he had to pull 2 of 'em & do pre-surgical bloodwork (had just done complete geriatric blood screening 3 months prior ... thank God that i remembered it cuz they were gonna do it AGAIN!) ... daughter-in-law wuzn't at work that particular day to watch my back ... anyway, one of the other vets in the office did the work ... pulled 2 teefers & slapped me with a $400 tab!! i reckon they gotta afford to have that office in the "high-rent district" ... ok, now i done got jacked-up & off-topic ... ***deep, cleansing breath***

i had Willie & Max checked out & will have 'em checked out again if ANYTHING appears "off" before a year's up ... i've read it 1,000 times if i've read it once ... BY THE TIME A BIRD SHOWS SYMPTOMS, IT'S PROBABLY TOO LATE ... and i learned a VERY tuff lesson with Gina's illness ... if i'd had her checked by an avian vet when i got her, i might not have lost her ... considering that i adopted her from "Dr. High-Price's" office, i just ASSUMED that she'd been checked ... that's wut i get for assuming anything!

ok, i'm all done now ... i need a Coke & a BC powder ... whew!

huggles,

Wren :?
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all

Emily Dickinson
xo Missi
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Re: Avian Vet

Post by xo Missi »

Bird crazy wrote:I'm in N Ft Myers Florids just north of Naples and have an avian vet in Cape Coral how took care of my quaker and eclectus and now Nila my IRN.
His name is Milton McKelvie, at Viscaya-Prado Animal Hospital. They care for dogs,cats and birds. There is more than one vet but Dr McKelvie is the bird vet.
Their phone number is 239-574-6171
920 Country Club Blvd
Cape Coral, Fl 33990

I had Nila checked, blood work, and microchipped and dna sexed (He's a male) for $140.00. There may be extra for the DNA because they forgot to add it to my bill and I called back and requested it. Haven'g gotten an extra bill yet.

Sue and Nila


OMG THANK YOUUU!!!! The Cape is not that far from me at all (considering I used to drive to Ft. Myers for work every day)!! So are you happy with this vet? Does he/she seem like they really know what they're dealing with? I will definetly be taking Baby in soon (may have to take a personal day off work, though)
xo Missi
Posts: 704
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 12:34 pm
Location: Naples, Florida
Contact:

Post by xo Missi »

CarolinaWren wrote::evil: ya know, i don't get it either!! with all of the vets in my area, there's only ONE avian vet & when Gina became ill, i called her office ... well, she's pregnant, expecting any day & she makes occasional "pop-ins" ... if she just happens to be there when you phone with an EMERGENCY, she MIGHT see you!! :evil: by the time i got Gina to a vet ... after Johnny had made probably 10-11 phone calls, i wuz so distraught, i wuz in tears & Gina wuz deathly ill ... all of these vets are within 20 minutes of our home, but NOOOOOOO ... i had to go to Savannah, GA ... 30 minutes on a good day ... to get her seen ... man, i wuz pi$$ed!! thank God that the doc we did finally find is just wonderful ... he's not only great with the birds, but very compassionate with the parents, as well ... and WAY NOT overpriced like the ones around here ... i just don't get it ... an avian vet here in this area could make a killin, but they just don't wanna be bothered, i reckon ... a$$holes!! oh, but mine didn't mind calling me up to nurse these baby chimney swifts!! not that i mind, but you'd think that he'd take some of that into consideration when i take my Wah-Wahs in for dental work & he charges me $400 ... NOT!!! i don't mind paying the vet bills ... i've taken on these creatures & i believe in responsible pet ownership, but gimme a freakin' break ... my Maggie's 12 years old & at that time, she had only 5 teefers ... he had to pull 2 of 'em & do pre-surgical bloodwork (had just done complete geriatric blood screening 3 months prior ... thank God that i remembered it cuz they were gonna do it AGAIN!) ... daughter-in-law wuzn't at work that particular day to watch my back ... anyway, one of the other vets in the office did the work ... pulled 2 teefers & slapped me with a $400 tab!! i reckon they gotta afford to have that office in the "high-rent district" ... ok, now i done got jacked-up & off-topic ... ***deep, cleansing breath***

i had Willie & Max checked out & will have 'em checked out again if ANYTHING appears "off" before a year's up ... i've read it 1,000 times if i've read it once ... BY THE TIME A BIRD SHOWS SYMPTOMS, IT'S PROBABLY TOO LATE ... and i learned a VERY tuff lesson with Gina's illness ... if i'd had her checked by an avian vet when i got her, i might not have lost her ... considering that i adopted her from "Dr. High-Price's" office, i just ASSUMED that she'd been checked ... that's wut i get for assuming anything!

ok, i'm all done now ... i need a Coke & a BC powder ... whew!

huggles,

Wren :?


*hugs*
xo Missi
Posts: 704
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Post by xo Missi »

kimtoo wrote:BTW...your Baby is beautiful. I love the pictures you took outdoors. There is a lutino ringneck in our local petstore, she (?) has been there for at least a month...I feel so sorry for her with no attention. They want $400.00 for her though...more than I can afford.

PS--PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, get your birds MICROCHIPPED!!! I am certain that somewhere not too far from my house, some family is very sad, missing their little girl. Unfortunately they did not chip her and I have not been able to locate them. I know they are worrying about their baby having come to a horrific end, as we all do when a fid gets loose...I can't put their mind at ease or bring their baby home.

You are all probably getting tired of me saying this (microchip your birds!)but I know this baby misses her family too. Each evening she comes out and spends time with me, she climbs all over me, dances for mango, and snuggles up to my ear. She is somebodies baby. It is very sad....


On a happy note--my grey thinks she is pretty cool, he is whistling and talking to her across the house (I still have her isolated)...it is pretty cute :D
kim


Thank you for the compliment on our Baby. I did pay $399 for her. The magic of credit cards :wink: She has the best personality and did even at the pet store!! *sighs in love*

P.S. I am going to get her micro chipped. Although, I am wondering what they do when you move. How do they change the info?
Bird crazy
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Post by Bird crazy »

I like Dr McKelvie, he's gentle and kind. I have never had a serious problem with any of my birds so I can't comment on what I would think in an emergency but I do know with the dog and cat that they always work me in if it's an illness and have always been good about their care.

The microchip I had done, you mail in your personal info but also the vet info so if someone found the bird and had it scanned they would have your contact info and the vet's contact info. But you can update the infor with the microchip co if you move and remember to do it.

Hope that helps

Sue and Nila
Sue
Rowdy Vos eclectus, Dolly Cockatiel
Nila Blue IRN, Priya Grey IRN, and Bigotes the cat
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kimtoo
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Post by kimtoo »

the info goes in to a national database, it is up to you to continually update your contact information. Any shelter or vet across the country should be able to scan your bird and identify you as the owner with all of the correct contact info...definitely worth it.
xo Missi
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Post by xo Missi »

Oh, okay! I just wanted to make sure I would be ble to change the info! Thank you!!
kimtoo
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Location: Gainesville, FL

Post by kimtoo »

Yes...part of your initial cost is registration for the life of your animal (hopefully a VERY long time) in the national database. Pretty great system.
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