$500 in Blood Tests?

[RavensGryf]

I second Stephen's (Anansi) post. Cost will vary greatly depending on WHAT the blood tests are for.

Sounds like typical prices in SoCal to me!

 

[Luna]

Hello, Of course I live in a forien country that has slipped from second place after the war to below Italy and Mexico. Soon you will have to defend the boarder against incoming Canadians. But $500.00 seems very high my vet does all the bloodwork in his own building. Only once sending me to the Guelph University. I maintain a closed system and do very little in the way of preventive medicine. Of couse the youngast bird we have is Luna in her 12th year. I have always quarantened new birds. An aquatance euthenized several parrots on her interpretation of a vets advice when I believe she would have been better served issolating them. Another a vet tech lost her macaw by taking in a macaw with undiagnosed PDD. I take Luna out every day but I would not take her to any place of higher risk than the clothing of the people who she sits on. Since the 80's there have been several good avian medical texts that might be of interest to you . You could find several used on the internet for less than $500.00 and the more knowledge you acquire the more confidence it gives. Good luck D.D.

 

[Puck]

Yes, I called and found out there were basically two charges in the $500--basic blood tests and testing for everything under the sun for an extra $350. I decided to go with the former.

 

[Birdman666]

Doesn't some of that strike you as being a bit excessive on the testing, if the bird has come up 100% healthy, hasn't been exposed to anything, and isn't showing any signs of anything other than a normal healthy bird appetite...

If the friggin' bird is actually GAINING weight, he probably isn't getting sick.
I don't know of a single bird disease that manifests itself by the bird overeating... (though fatty liver comes in AFTER they overeat for a long period of time.) So, several hundred dollars worth of confirming he doesn't have it, just seems like overkill to me...

 

[Birdman666]

Yes, I called and found out there were basically two charges in the $500--basic blood tests and testing for everything under the sun for an extra $350. I decided to go with the former.

Exactly. I would have done the exact same thing. Do the basic blood work, establish a base line. He's healthy.

 

[OOwl]

Why don't you just send your own tests using a tiny amount of blood extracted from a CLEAN nail using CLEAN/sterilized nail clippers and submit it to vetdna.com (they're in Dallas and do the test with a 24-hour turn-around). They charge $45 for a triplex panel that includes three common diseases (PBFD, Psittacosis, and Polyoma). Vets charge more for those tests but I sincerely doubt they are "better." What's probably better and more accurate is the collection method (blood draw being more likely to be sterile and done correctly by a trained professional).

 

[Hawk]

I second Stephen's (Anansi) post. Cost will vary greatly depending on WHAT the blood tests are for.

Sounds like typical prices in SoCal to me!

$ 500 in blood test is cheap.....when friends bird died unexpectedly, he had it autopsied in Michigan State University lab, one of the best in the country.
Cost 2900 dollars and found that the bird died from meningitis. So yeah,
test can be costly.

 

[Puck]

It just seemed a little costly for a bird that had been examined and had a fecal test and declared healthy. When I talked to them, however, the first package covered basic stuff and the second package covered tons and tons of possible viruses. Since he seems healthy overall I just went with the basic blood exams. I actually consulted the most well known avian specialist in DFW, Dr. O, and she said they offer the same two packages, they are just nice enough to actually explain that one is basic stuff and the other is everything else! It seems that Sammy is in good health other than needing to lose a few grams after his all parakeet seed diet!