Hello people of the BBC :hap:

 

Well I'll start my little story here: As many people here know I needed an avian vet a while back for Huey :hap: and asked at a local Vet's to see if they had an Avian vet and was told yes so I said I need to see the Avian vet and made an appointment!!!

 

The person I seen was very good, he asked lots of questions and gave detailed answers..

 

For my new budgie Spike I thought i would get his wings clipped and made an appointment with the vet (same place) asked to see the same avian vet but he had just gone on holiday, so seen a vet there who I didn't like and when home Spike was FLYING about everywhere the butt head didn't even do the wing clip right :hap: and he was suppose to be an avian vet too!!

 

So anyway I get a letter from the vet a welcome letter okay no problem and then i read the bottom bit with the Doctors names and their qualifications are and find they all have B.V.Sc after their name and only 1 has B.V.Sc. M.V.S. M.A.C.V.Sc, with the help of Google i find out what this means.

 

The last 1 with all the m's in it is the Avian Vet AND that's not the person i seen for the wing clipping also the Avian vet I 1st seen is not even on the list (I hope that either he's new OR/AND they haven't updated their letterhead in a while...

Have you phoned them to tackle them on this issue ? If they said the vet you saw was an avian vet JUST TO GET YOUR BUSINESS then this is very wrong...especially considering you had no confidence in the clipping AND you especially asked for an avian vet ....if that is the case I would ask for a refund due to "false pretences " :hap:

I can clip Spikes wings for you some time :hap:

I would just request doctor so and so when you make the appointment...or take Liv up on her suggestion for clipping but if he is sick when you call I wouldn't make a deal say I would like doctor so and so and see if they do it and question it.

Was he flying around really high mag? A good clip doesn't actually stop them from flying, only from gaining height.

Edited April 9, 200817 yr by Chrysocome

Was he flying around really high mag? A good clip doesn't actually stop them from flying, only from gaining height.

 

Thanks for replying Chrysocome, this was a bad clip because Spike pushed open a small door for his seed pot and flew straight to the ceiling bumping his head on it along the way and ended up on top of the ceiling fans as he liked both of them.. :(Laughing out loud):

 

If the fans had of been on this would have been a different story :fear

can you take a picture of his wings spread open so we can see what they did?

:fear Not liking the sound of that at all. I'm with Elly, can you get a picture?

can you take a picture of his wings spread open so we can see what they did?

Yes will do tomorow

Not liking the sound of that at all. I'm with Elly, can you get a picture?

Yes will post tomorow

Have you phoned them to tackle them on this issue ? If they said the vet you saw was an avian vet JUST TO GET YOUR BUSINESS then this is very wrong...especially considering you had no confidence in the clipping AND you especially asked for an avian vet ....if that is the case I would ask for a refund due to "false pretences "

I will contact the Practice Manager and see what they have to say.. :fear

Some birds can fly with completely clipped wings. My Emmett can fly with only 2 feathers in each wing, because he is so light. Your vet may have done a complete clip or an incomplete clip, (which works very well for most budgies who are the heavier variety or who are not fit). Incomplete clips are often used on larger parrots.

 

I don't know if you have to have extra qualifications to be an avian vet I'm not sure. Chryso do you know?

Spike had all his secondary flights cut almost to the skin and had the 5 flight feathers on each wing intact. :hap:

hence he could still fly quite well.

I cut the primary flight feathers for Mag on Thursday and Spike is now happily exploring the floor rather than the ceiling

Good stuff Liv... I'm sure both were very happy!!!

Sailor - I think so, you can be a bird vet without being an avian specialist (ie get an MACVS Certificate for Avian Health) - same way we can go out and become 'small animal vets' or 'horse vets' or 'zoo vets' etc - our qualifications pretty much cover it all. Most vet students focus on the animals they're interested in and when they graduate they do the same, and then don't deal much with those they aren't interested in - ie I will never call myself an equine vet! That's why we tell people here to go see bird vets not small animal vets. The latter usually have never focused on birds during uni and then wanted nothing to do with them in practice.

Of course the MACVS (Avian health) is a stamp of prestige/assurance, which can only be issued after a certain number of years in practice, two years study and exams.

Edited April 12, 200817 yr by Chrysocome

okay. That's cool. Cause I was thinking then that if a vet only has BVSc it doesn't make them any less qualified than an avian vet, because a lot of avian vets only have BVSc? So just because they don't have extra letters after their name it doesn't mean they can't deal as effectively with birds.

 

 

Sidenote: My avian vet is doing some postgrad stuff on birds to so he is extra good.

Edited April 13, 200817 yr by Sailorwolf

When I clip wings the birds can still fly but far. It is better to have a bird that can fly in case it falls. It gets the message very quickly that it's going no where fast.