How to know if a vet is good

[ShaunaR]

Hi everyone!
Being a Nurse I know very well how to tell if a Doctor is qualified to meet my needs. I am finding that I am really lacking in terms of being able to tell if a Vet has enough Avian knowledge to meet our bird's needs. We live in a town of 10,000 people and the one vet we do have doesn't see birds which I totally respect. We took Pixie to 2 regular Vets in a neighboring city so far now and neither was knowledgeable enough for my liking. When they walk into the room and say, "And what kind of Parrot is this?" it strikes me as a bad sign. As a result, now that Pixie is a year old we have an appointment in the big city with an Avian Vet. She needs her beak trimmed and I want to get her checked for possible plucking. How do you know if a Vet is suggesting the right things? Do birds really need vaccinations like dogs and cats or is that considered a money grab as I have heard suggested? I have learned through experience with owning many dogs that sometimes Vets suggest very expensive procedures when it's not really necessary. How do you all deal with this and how do you know if your Vet is a "good one"?
Thanks Ahead,
Shauna/Richard

 

[Scott]

Game over if they ask "what kind of parrot!" Word of mouth from trusted clients is likely the best method of validation. Social media such as Yelp is helpful, though you have to read between the lines. Seeking a large practice within a veterinary Taj Mahal can be misleading. Service and fee gouging is reprehensible, particularly as some invasive procedures are hazardous. Unfortunately I learned the difference between a practice devoid of ethics and competency a bit too late, mostly through experience.

 

[Bandespresso]

One good way to tell is to ask them if you should put your birds medicine in their water. If the vet says yes then it's an instant NOPE!

 

[Birdman666]

Well, I go with Avian Certified Vets... I don't know if they have that distinction in Canada. [UPDATE: YES THEY DO, AND THERE ARE FOUR OF THEM LISTED IN ALBERTA.]

I was fortunate in California to have two of the best vet clinics in the country nearby (one owned by a close friend.) So, I basically had people I could trust.

No, they do not need vaccinations. If he told you that, he is not someone I would trust.

If the vet doesn't even know what type of parrot that is?!

DON'T WALK AWAY - RUN!

Check the ACV listing to find an avian certified vet in your area. Otherwise, you are probably wasting your time with a doctor who knows less than you do...

http://www.parrotscanada.com/services/avianvets.html

 

[Terry57]

Shauna, I'm not sure how far you are out of Edmonton, but Pam Gordey is wonderful. That is my avian vet, and also everyone I know with birds goes to her.

Riverbend Veterinary Clinic - Veterinarian In Edmonton, Alberta Canada :: Meet Our Team

 

[ShaunaR]

Thanks for the advice guys! Good news! The Vet we are taking Pixie to is on the Avian Certified list. Calgary Avian & Exotic Pet Clinic is the name of the clinic Terry. We are about exactly as far away from Edmonton as Calgary and we are from Calgary so I thought we should try that first. I have written down your Vet's name and will go there if this one turns out to be bad. Unfortunately Scott we also learned the hard way that regular Vets just don't always know what to do with birds. I tried to cut Pixie's nails and found her quicks to be incredibly long so I wanted him to trim them in the office in case of a bleed. It pains me to even talk about what he put our baby through as he snipped every nail very short, cut every quick and then proceeded to burn them with a sulphur stick! Yes it hurt and yes she screamed. I ashamed I didn't put a stop to it immediately. Never again!

 

[Terry57]

Shauna, I have heard good things about that vet. My ekkie is originally from Calgary and I called them for his records after we got him, and the records were quite complete. They were very nice, too! Good luck!

 

[Scott]

Unfortunately Scott we also learned the hard way that regular Vets just don't always know what to do with birds. I tried to cut Pixie's nails and found her quicks to be incredibly long so I wanted him to trim them in the office in case of a bleed. It pains me to even talk about what he put our baby through as he snipped every nail very short, cut every quick and then proceeded to burn them with a sulphur stick! Yes it hurt and yes she screamed. I ashamed I didn't put a stop to it immediately. Never again!

It hurts just thinking about the hatchet-job on the nails.

My avian vet uses a dremel-tool to grind them down and carefully remove any sharp edges.

Short story about trust and ethics.... My female Eclectus has a chronically overgrown upper beak with a splayed outward lower beak. Diet and blood chemistry is excellent; the vet thinks it is likely the result of a lower-beak infection years ago. (she had a precursor where the bottom flat section of the lower beak became "bubbled" with globular segments) Our old vet stressed how difficult she was and needed to anesthetize her about 4 times per year! Several intervening situations with other birds made us change to a different vet, and we were blown away the first time Angel saw him for beak trim. He calmly observed her, did the towel-wrap, held her in one arm and ground away with the Dremel with the other. Hardly a whimper and no struggle! I am convinced she was not anesthetized for most if not all the other visits! No potentially harmful anesthesia and a $90 charge vs roughly $250. No proof, but plenty of doubt.

 

[ShaunaR]

Update: Pixie saw the Avian Vet yesterday and we were blown away by the attention to detail and wealth of information we found there. The female Vet was an Amazon owner and when she spent 15 minutes alone asking us diet-related questions we were sold lol. Interestingly she had some advice I have never heard before which I will post separately. She took a very small piece of Pixie's beak and showed us some special considerations when cutting nails for Caiques as well. Overall she took about 4 pages of notes and asked about our cage, cleaning routine, bathing, diet, and what type of perches we use. I have never seen this kind of detail with taking dogs to numerous Vets over the last 30 years...how impressive!

 

[Terry57]

Wow, she sounds amazing! Looks like Pixie has a wonderful new vet