How Do I Find a Good Avian Vet?

Finding the right veterinarian for your bird isn't just a matter of convenience; it's essential for your feathered friend's health and longevity. Birds and other exotic pets have specific medical needs that differ significantly from those of cats and dogs, making specialized care crucial. A vet with expertise in avian medicine understands the unique physiology, behavior, and dietary requirements of birds. This knowledge can make a significant difference in early diagnosis and effective treatment, ensuring your bird remains happy and healthy for years to come.

When searching for an avian or exotic veterinarian, it’s important to look beyond proximity and consider the quality of care they offer. The ideal vet should not only have a solid background in avian medicine but also come highly recommended by bird owners. Active memberships in professional associations such as the Association of Avian Veterinarians can be a good indicator of their commitment to staying abreast of the latest advancements in avian care. Additionally, a good rapport between the vet, the bird, and its owner is indispensable for providing a stress-free medical experience.

Why does my bird need regular checkups?

Regular checkups are important for your bird's health because they help catch potential problems early, allowing for prompt treatment and better outcomes. Just like people, birds can develop health issues that may not be obvious at first glance.

By getting regular checkups, your vet can monitor your bird's overall health, detect any signs of illness or disease, and provide preventive care to keep your feathered friend happy and healthy for as long as possible. Taking these proactive steps can also save you from unexpected and costly veterinary bills down the road.

How much do avian vet visits cost?

Despite the importance of providing your bird with preventative health care, just 12.4% of bird owners take their birds to the veterinarian. I find this to be a shocking and sad statistic.  It blows my mind to think how someone can acquire a beautiful bird and not provide with the proper care that it needs to thrive.

Many pet bird owners worry about the cost of a wellness checkup. Bird health care care be more expensive for the following reasons:

• Avian Vets have to go through 6 more years of training to get certified
• Bird's hide pain so intricate lab tests are often required for a proper diagnosis.
• The avian vet may have to overnight lab tests to specialty exotic pet labs, which. are more expensive

Plan on spending around $100 USD for an annual wellness exam.  More if your vet needs to run labs. Preventative wellness checks may be the best money you spend on your bird. Diagnosing and treating an existing illness is more costly.

Why do I need an avian specialist?

It's very important to have a good avian or exotics veterinarian in your corner who can address both preventive medicine and treatment of injuries and illnesses, should they occur. An avian vet can also help with specialized pediatric care and geriatric care so that you can properly support your pet throughout its lifespan.

Most general veterinarian training programs focus on treating mammals whose body structures and systems are a lot like ours. A bird's body could not be any more different than a mammals. A bird's body is designed to support flight, to live in large flocks, and to procreate. Every system in their body is unique.

A parrots body is designed to maintain their weight at a low level in order to fly miles through the jungle in search of food each day. This means that their bones are hallow and very lightweight. They have highly sophisticated respiratory systems to process oxygen effectively in order to fly. That's why they are susceptible to respiratory issues.  

Bird’s also have a very high metabolism and a short digestive tract which allows them to process food intake much more efficiently so they don't carry excess "baggage" that could slow down flight.Forgetting to feed your pet bird can be deadly for it, especially if it's a small bird.

You probably get the drift!  Our exotic birds need a specialized vet who knows their body systems inside and out. General veterinarians don't get this type of training.

You can find a certified avian vet near you by logging on to AAV.org - the Association of Avian Veterinarians. Beware, you may have to read each individual's profile to locate those who see pet birds as opposed to those that work in research, zoo’s, or the poultry business. 

Now, that said, it makes sense why avian vet's tend to flock toward larger cities where they can get plenty patients. Finding an avian vet if you live in a smaller town can be a challenge! If there isn't an avian vet near you, Google "Exotic Vets near me."

What does parrot wellness really mean?

Preventive bird health care is very important. Think of preventive healthcare as having two Important prongs. 

One prong revolves around your daily bird husbandry care that minimizes the probability of major health issues developing in the first place.  

The Richard M. Shubolt Parrot Wellness Program at UC Davis Veterinary School describes 6 major components home-based parrot husbandry practices that support parrot wellness. These include the following:

1. Preventative health care and annual exams.
2. A species-specific diet of premium bird pellets and raw plant-based foods.
3. A variety of parrot enrichment activities including foraging and exercise.
4. Behavior training to include teaching your bird foundational behaviors and behavioral expectations.
5. Pain prevention and management.
6. Pediatric and geriatric care.

Learn more about how to improve wellness in your home care routine here:

The second prong revolves around annual wellness check done by an experienced avian or exotics veterinarian. The main purpose wellness checks is to catch an illness early when the treatment outcome is much better (and cheaper). 

Getting back to The Shubolt Parrot Wellness recommendations, I strongly recommend that you develop a daily parrot care routine that supports the steps described above.

A bird whose physical and emotional needs are getting met daily is less likely to get stressed out and more likely to maintain optimum health. So, honing in on your parrot husbandry skills is really important to preventing illness in your pet.

If you're not sure where to begin, how about scheduling a bird behavior consultation with me.  

What do avian vets look for on a wellness exam?

I've already addressed why parrot wellness exams are so important for catching an illness early on. In this section I'm going to talk about what the veterinarian is looking for as they're doing the exam.  A parrot wellness exam will systematically  assess various body systems to look for any abnormalities.

A trained avian specialist will be focused on minimizing your pets stress during the examination, so they'll move quickly from one body system to another. A good exam only takes 5 to 10 minutes. That's how well-trained these specialists are!

Here are the systems that your vet will look at:

HEAD - to include eyes, nares,  ears, and inside the mouth.  The vet is looking for any signs of illness that might not be obvious to you. They are looking for plaques or growths on the mouth, nasal discharge or blockages, swelling in the ears, any abnormalities in the eyes, the condition of the beak, and more.

SKIN & FEATHERING: Next the vet will move on to skin and feathers. They're looking for feather quality, signs of under grooming or over grooming, follicular damage, cysts or tumors,  and words. Skin and feather quality can be affected by poor husbandry skills, malnutrition, disease processes, and more.

BONES & JOINTS: Your vet will want to examine your bird for signs of arthritis, pain, and range of motion. They’ll flex and rotate joints as they assess your birds skeletal structure.

SOFT TISSUE EVALUATION: Next, the vet will want to examine soft tissue and the body cavity. The doctor will palpate various organ structures to assess for abnormalities of the organs, body composition including the bird being underweight or overweight, abnormal lumps and bumps in the body cavity, and more.

FEET & CLAWS: Finally, you're a vet will shift Focus to the feet to ensure that they are free of ulcers, lesions, or growths. They will want to ensure that the toenails are normal.

Of course, if your vet notices anything awry, lab tests will be suggested.  Lab tests are an important tool for determining our bird's health status. Lab tests are when the vet takes a sample of blood, urine, other bodily fluid, or body tissue to get information about your bird's health.

Bob Doneley BVSc FANZCVS (Avian Medicine) CMAV describes why lab tests are needed. "A critically ill patient that needs a correct diagnosis and treatment FAST if it is to be saved, but at the same time it doesn’t give away many clues as to what is wrong. So in many cases we have to use lab tests to get a fast diagnosis so as to save your bird." A wait an see approach is simply not advisable when treating a fragile, sick bird. In fact, getting the correct diagnosis is a matter of life and death for birds.

A good vet will also coach you on parrot husbandry wellness routines so that you can provide the optimum care for your feathered friend. The doctor and his staff are not judging you, but to be a teacher.

How do I know if my bird is dying?

Whether you're getting routine preventative check ups or not, it's very important to learn the signs  for when a bird is not feeling well.  A sick bird can go downhill very quickly, sometimes within hours.

Often, by the time that you notice our bird is sick, it is really, really sick. That's why it is so important that you learn to read your bird's body language that tells you when it is sick.

Print out this list for future reference.

SIGNS THAT A BIRD IS SICK

1.  Runny or discolored droppings
2.  Weight loss
3.  Loss of appetite
4.  Drooping wings
5.  Sleeping more than normal
6.  Fluffed up feathers
7.  Dull or squinting eyes
8.  Perching on the bottom of the cage
9.  Quiet and inactive
10.  Labored breathing
11.  Food and fecal matter stuck to the feathers

Image courtesy of Getty images (picmonkey.com)