Sweet Heart Aviary
Handfed Companion Parrots

A VISIT TO THE VET

I strive very hard to make sure your baby is comfortable being examined. You must keep this up. Birds have been known to have seizures and die on the table from a routine examination or swab. The vet will not take responsibilty for this. Your baby is simply gone. (I know this from experience, I lost my 3 1/2 year old baby girl to a vet "examination".

SO.. If you buy one of my babies, please have your veterinarian call ME! Or, I expect you to call me. If your vet is researching things online, etc., then they are not an experienced avian vet. Any vet who will not listen to you, or the breeder, is not a good avian vet. You want a "Board Certified Avian Vet". I will provide you with names and numbers.

Also DO NOT EVER vaccinate your bird! Bird Vaccines are not tried and tested, there has not been enough research. Ever get the flu from a flu shot? Do you know someone who has? Do you want your bird to be the .01 that get Polyoma from the vaccine. Nothing in vaccination is guaranteed. I have been told by Dr. Phalen at Texas A & M University that even a killed virus is ony 99.9% killed, leaving no negligence on the part of the manufacturer. So if your bird dies from a vaccine, they are protected, you are NOT! You are again, out your baby bird and light of your life.

FIRST DO NOT LET A VET TECHNITION RESTRAIN YOUR BABY! YOU should place the bird on a towel on the exam table. Pet and stroke her till she calms down and is comfortable sitting there. If this is not working, sit in the chair and put your baby on your knee till she calms down and then allow the vet to examine her there. Then the examination may begin.

1. Play with your babies wings, stroke under them, carefully spread them up wards and out.

2. Play with their feet. All my babies are raised to allow you to play with their "tootsies". This aids in nail trimming also. All babies should allow you to file their nails with a nail file or dremmel. I use both!

3. Look in your babies mouth and ears! Gently put both index fingers in their mouth and have a look!. Ruffle the feathers by their ears.

4. Check their preen gland, (dont touch it), but gently ruffle the feathers on the top of their behind so they are used to being touched there.

5. LISTEN TO ME HERE> NEVER NEVER ALLOW A VET TO STICK ANYTHING IN YOUR BIRDS BUTT! I mean it, if they want to REFUSE!. Any foreign object can damage their cloaca. Please people, NO SWABS, NO THEREMOMETER! A fecal swab can be taken from a fresh poop. Birds poop approximately every 20 or so minutes. They can wait! Also a birds body temperature is not exactly know, and they are not prone to "fevers".

Petting your bird is important, rub over its whole body, face, etc. Let other people pet your bird in the same way. This prepares them for someone else examining them.

At the visit:

NO IMMEDIATE BLOOD WORK. When a bird is sick and you draw blood, not only does it stress them out, they do not have that much blood to begin with. You are only hurting the bird. Vets like to do blood work! They make good money on it.

Also, do not let a vet put your bird on antibiotics arbitrarily. Antibiotics are not the cure all of unknow afflictions. They not only remove the bad bacteria, the also remove the good gut flora "(bacteria) that is necessary for you bird to digest food. They also suppress the immune system. By giving antibiotis when it is not known if they are needed, most times  you are doing more harm than good.  Any time a bird is given antibiotics, they should (upon completion of the antibiotics) be given a Pro-Biotic to replace the good gut flora (bacteria), such as lactobactillius, etc,

If your bird is sick these are the four things a good vet should do immediately.

1. Throat swab. This will detect gram negative bacteria, yeast, or other bacterial infections.

2. Fecal Swab (from a fresh poop) This will also detect gram negative bacteria, yeast, or other bacterial infections, such as e-coli.

3. X-ray! Birds are known to put small objects in their mouth and "pump" or "bob" (feeding response) on them. Sometimes inadvertently they swallow an object not meant to be swallowed. An x-ray can tell you if there are any foreign bodies in the digestive tract. .

4. Again, CALL ME! or have your vet call me.  If your vet will not call me, perhaps you should get a new vet.  Remember most "Avian Vets" have never owned a bird, or lived with a bird, and even though they may see cockatiels and small parrots, not all are equipped to deal with macaws.