pigeon medical supplies

[Hambone]

I posted in another thread about possibly picking up a few pigeons to keep as pets , and doing a lot of reading on the subject since I really am a complete novice on bird keeping . Now I'm wondering .... how do you deal with any sickness and preventative maintanence problems with your birds ? Not real emergency type problems requiring a skilled vet , more of the bird just seems sickly type stuff .

I found several pigeon supply outfits online that sell a " beginners medical kit " lets call it , with external / internal antibiotics , wormers , canker treatment stuff , along with other items in a package that seem to average around a hundred bucks . Is this a good idea to have on hand ? or do you just buy items as neccesary at the vets , or feedstore ? Whats the cheapest way to go , and still not compromise the birds health ?

I get catalogs from Jeffers and I believe I saw one that had poultry medicines in it too . I have no idea how long these things keep on the shelf either .

Any suggestions for a newby . Perhaps this has been covered here before somewhere and you can direct me to it .


Thanks ! hambone

[horsesgot6]

What Ever Med or Things For Your Bird should be Onhand Unless You Have A Bird Vet close That You Can Get Meds From. Your Dog And Cat Vets May Not Have Alot Of Stuff For Birds/Pigeons.

The beginners medical kit Would Be a Good Idea To Have. Its Better To Have It And Not Need It, Then To Not Have And Need It On The Fly. These Kits Don't cover All Things But They Are A Nice Start. If You Plan On Having Baby Pigeons Have A Hand Feed Mix Like Kaytee Also Just In Case. Along With A Heating Pad The One that Doesn't Have The Auto Shut Off You'll Need The One That Stays On. The heating Pad can Help With Babys And Sick Birds.

Others Will Also Be Along To Help And Will Have Other Things To Add or they May Know More Of the Most Have Meds. But I Like The beginners medical kit To Start Out with. Plus There Cheaper To Buy that Way If You Need Them All. After That Its Just Replace Order To Keep It Stocked.

[Charis]

I agree that the beginners kit would be a good idea to buy. You are approaching this from the right way...too often people get pigeons and are don't prepared for illness and emergencies.The lack of knowledge or preparation make the inevitable even harder to deal with. Don't ya know emergencies always seem to happen when everything is closed, a weekend or holiday. You are wise to be investigating this now.

[Birdmom4ever]

Originally Posted by Charis

I agree that the beginners kit would be a good idea to buy. You are approaching this from the right way...too often people get pigeons and are don't prepared for illness and emergencies.The lack of knowledge or preparation make the inevitable even harder to deal with. Don't ya know emergencies always seem to happen when everything is closed, a weekend or holiday. You are wise to be investigating this now.

Charis is absolutely right--it very often seems the birds (like kids) get sick or hurt on a weekend or holiday and there you are. I recommend the beginner's kits sold by Foys and some of the other suppliers. I believe Foy's and Global also recommend a health maintenance plan which includes regular treatment for coccidiosis ("canker"), trichomoniasis and worms. Those are meds you should have anyway because it's wise to treat your pigeons several times a year for those things even if you don't see signs of illness. You know the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."