Registering with a Veterinarian

We always recommend registering with a veterinarian when you are first forming your flock of backyard poultry.

Veterinarians can provide advice on how well you have set everything up at home and examine your new birds to make sure everyone looks healthy.  Even if you don’t think you need veterinary care right away, having that relationship in place will make it much easier if your birds do get sick in the future.

This is especially important because not every veterinarian or veterinary clinic is comfortable treating poultry and the last thing you want in an emergency is to be scrambling to find someone who can treat your bird.

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Why is it hard to fnd a vet?

There are very few veterinarians who specialise in treating backyard poultry in part because there is not currently a lot of demand from backyard poultry keepers for veterinary services.  As such, poultry medicine occupies only a very small space in the very crowded veterinary school curriculum. Veterinarians who are willing to treat backyard have often worked very hard to develop the knowledge and skills in their own time.

Many veterinarians also report getting very burned out from treating backyard poultry because the birds are often brought in too late when the disease process has advanced beyond the point where they can successfully treat it and owners are often not willing spend money on the diagnostics and interventions that are needed.  It’s very frustrating and heart-breaking not being able to help a patient when you have the skills to do so.

Backyard poultry have an unusual role in our households oftentimes being both companion animals and production animals.

For many owners, this creates tension between wanting to seek professional help to diagnose and treat these important members of their family, but also fearing that other people will judge them for spending money on “a bird that’s only worth $20“.  It’s good to remind ourselves that the value an animal has in our lives is not determined by the amount we paid for it.

What to Ask

When you are looking for a veterinarian, you will probably have the most luck with either small animal clinics who treat birds and exotic species or large animal clinics that provide services to lifestyle block owners.

Make sure you ask specifically if they treat chickens and you may want to clarify if this means bringing the bird into the veterinary clinic for treatment or the veterinarian making a farm call to treat the bird.

If they don’t treat chickens, you can ask for a referral to another veterinary clinic they may know about that sees poultry patients.  It may also be worth asking if they would be willing to euthanise your bird in the event of emergency if you feeling uncomfortable about doing it at home yourself.  Some veterinarian may be willing to provide this service even if they are not comfortable diagnosing and treating birds.

Find a Veterinarian

Check here to find a list of veterinarians in New Zealand who are willing to treat backyard poultry.

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