Vets - avian or exotics?

[louises]

Hello everybody, I'm just wondering whether you think it is better to see an avian vet rather than an exotics?

I took Georgie to the vet last year when she was vomiting, and we saw an exotics vet.  I initiatally phoned the nearest vet, but they only do beak and nail trims.  They told me that I needed to see an exotics vet and suggested a place in the nearest city.  I have to say that I was very happy with the vet we saw.  I couldn't go in because Covid restrictions were still in place, but she came out in the car park after and had a good chat with me.  She also saw Georgie after her shift had finished.  She couldn't fit us in any earlier, and didn't want to leave it till the next day in case Georgie went downhill overnight.  After reading about some other forum members' experiences of trying to find a vet, I am really so grateful to her for doing that.

I really got a good impression of the vet we saw, and felt that I would be happy to take Georgie back.  However, I've now discovered that there is an avian vet not too far away, so I'm really not sure what to do next time.

[tweetiepiesmom]

I personally think an exotics vet is fine and it sounds like you vet is very knowledgeable about birds and provides good service to the owners. The vet I took my two guys to was an exotics vet but she was very good for birds and had a good reputation with all the local vets. Unfortunately she moved too far away for me to continue to use her. The vet I now use is an avian vet. In a recent webinar I attended, someone asked the avian vet the question about taking a bird to a vet who was not just an avian vet. The answer he gave was if the vet had a strong interest in birds and studied up on them, your bird would be well treated by that vet.

[Hezz]

I agree with TPM - a vet you feel comfortable with and have faith in is worth more than the name they get to hang on their shingle. I would guess that a very large part of an exotics vet’s clientele would be birds anyway.

I guess you could try a walk in and see what reaction the surgery give you at the avian vet surgery, if you had a bit of time to spare one day. I mean just yourself, not taking Georgie in. Tell them - you have a bird are would like to meet the avian vet as a potential client. You can’t be more up front than that.

[criswell]

The vets I've used have all been exotic vets, with avian expertise, and from what I've notice in the waiting rooms they see mainly birds, some reptiles, and a few rabbits too. We not go to an exotics practice where one vet has avian medicine as his specialty and the other has her specialist qualification in small mammals. I do feel more confident seeing the avian specialist but that's as much about his personality as his qualifications, as he is so nice and reassuring. I agree with the others that having a vet that you feel comfortable with is important.

You can find out a bit more information about vet specialism from the RCVS website
findavet.rcvs.org.uk/find-a-vet-surgeon/

[louises]

Thank you for the advice and information. My gut feeling was to stick with the vet we had seen, but I feel reassured about doing so now.