bug_n_flock
Well-known member
- Jan 2, 2018
- 1,373
- 208
- Parrots
- B&G Macaw, Galah, 5 cockatiels, 50 billion and a half budgies. We breed and do rescue. Too many to list each individual's name and age etc, but they are each individuals and loved dearly.
Hey guys.
I just got off the phone with the nearest vet I could find who sees birds. It is 50 miles away(next closest "bird" vet is 116 miles away, YIPE), but GOOD NEWS: they have a CAV and are willing to see Freedom as a patient even knowing his history and wild side and such. Siiiiiiiiiiigh, HUGE relief. I was worried because a half tame macaw is not typically an easy patient and I was worried they would either refuse him or sedate him for the exam, but no! PHHEW! We will get blood work, grooming, etc done on this visit hopefully. The woman I spoke with did caution me that we may not get it all done in 1 visit if he is too stressed out(I take this as a great sign. They would rather do 2+ visits than over stress a bird, sedate it, or force it into compliance).
This may not be a popular choice here, but it is one we and we alone are responsible for making for our birds(of which Freedom is now one). We are going to have the vet clip his wings at least for now. He cannot fly as is, and I worry the flight feathers are only something that could get him into trouble at this point if he were to get spooked and take off not knowing anything about flight. Once we have established trust with him we will probably start trying to teach him how to fly. 2 owners back used to take him outside unclipped she was so confident he "didn't remember how to fly", but he didn't 'forget', he never learned. 28 years padlocked in a small dog crate will do that to any bird.
But as you may or may not know, we are fairly isolated here, and when it rains too much we can't access our farm/the outside world(depending on what side of the bridge we are on, we have so far not been rained OUT tho, knock on wood). Sometimes we can be rained in for *quite* a while... a week or so at a time. So we need a really really beefed up first aid/stabilizing medical kit for every living thing on the farm. What would you suggest we keep in the parrot one, besides the typical stuff?
Disclaimer: I am experienced in bird first aid, biology, small animal medical care(mammalian, reptile, amphibian, avian, etc) both intensive and ongoing types, administration of medication, and my fiance is a very trained EMT. Between the two of us we have an amount of medical experience that is above average. This kit is not intended as an alternative to proper medical/vet care, it is an insurance policy of sorts and ideally we will never need to use it. Our situation requires us to be more proactive with the medical care of us and our animals, but we are not shunning legit medical and vet care when it is available.
I just got off the phone with the nearest vet I could find who sees birds. It is 50 miles away(next closest "bird" vet is 116 miles away, YIPE), but GOOD NEWS: they have a CAV and are willing to see Freedom as a patient even knowing his history and wild side and such. Siiiiiiiiiiigh, HUGE relief. I was worried because a half tame macaw is not typically an easy patient and I was worried they would either refuse him or sedate him for the exam, but no! PHHEW! We will get blood work, grooming, etc done on this visit hopefully. The woman I spoke with did caution me that we may not get it all done in 1 visit if he is too stressed out(I take this as a great sign. They would rather do 2+ visits than over stress a bird, sedate it, or force it into compliance).
This may not be a popular choice here, but it is one we and we alone are responsible for making for our birds(of which Freedom is now one). We are going to have the vet clip his wings at least for now. He cannot fly as is, and I worry the flight feathers are only something that could get him into trouble at this point if he were to get spooked and take off not knowing anything about flight. Once we have established trust with him we will probably start trying to teach him how to fly. 2 owners back used to take him outside unclipped she was so confident he "didn't remember how to fly", but he didn't 'forget', he never learned. 28 years padlocked in a small dog crate will do that to any bird.
But as you may or may not know, we are fairly isolated here, and when it rains too much we can't access our farm/the outside world(depending on what side of the bridge we are on, we have so far not been rained OUT tho, knock on wood). Sometimes we can be rained in for *quite* a while... a week or so at a time. So we need a really really beefed up first aid/stabilizing medical kit for every living thing on the farm. What would you suggest we keep in the parrot one, besides the typical stuff?
Disclaimer: I am experienced in bird first aid, biology, small animal medical care(mammalian, reptile, amphibian, avian, etc) both intensive and ongoing types, administration of medication, and my fiance is a very trained EMT. Between the two of us we have an amount of medical experience that is above average. This kit is not intended as an alternative to proper medical/vet care, it is an insurance policy of sorts and ideally we will never need to use it. Our situation requires us to be more proactive with the medical care of us and our animals, but we are not shunning legit medical and vet care when it is available.
