[Phoebe_Vet]

I'm really interested in Avian med and that would probably be what i'd lean towards specialising in if asked but how do the vet med courses cater for specialisations such as avian med?

One vet told me:
"I'm c**p at birds, we only had about an hour of lectures on them.... "

If this is true, how would you go about gaining the knowledge to specialise in birds?

If it's not true, how much depth do the Unis go into about it and how accessible/easy would it be to study in detail?

[bumbleboy]

I find Avian medicine really interesting, and based on my experience of having my own birds treated and seeing how some vets handle fledgling birds etc, id guess your vet is telling the truth!

Sorry cant answer your question but would also be very interested to hear!

[Annaconda]

i dont like birds much.
but even if there isnt much in the actual course about them, you could always spend more of your optional EMS time with them.
Birds come under the exotics categorie, so there obviously wont be as much about them as dogs or something though

[OllyH]

Is the market for avian veterinary particuarly big however? Surley only disease control in large flocks is going to be what one faces (apart from expensive pets such as parrots). I do love my chickens though

[Annaconda]

its parrots etc mainly probably. the vets i work at (exotic practice) about half its clients are parrots of some sort, although they do get pet ducks etc in too.
Wildlife vetting would also involve birds probably, depends what area you're in

[bumbleboy]

Well on a small scale there is a strong demand for vets to treat pet chickens, as most vets in gp lack the skills to treat them.
I have been told theres a lot of money in treating racing pigeons, although im not sure if this is true.

Yep I think my chickens are pretty cool to.

[starry skies]

see practice with specialists & when you qualify work in a practice with a large exotic case-load so you can justify to your boss the cost of the "specialist" CPD. If youb work in a practice without many exotics you'll have a hard time convincing your boss that it's worth his while to pay for the courses, when he's convinced that his assistant would be much more use with a qualification in orthopaedic surgery!

Worth a look in the RVCS register for avian specialists (towards the back)

edit: I see lots of birds but it's mainly for things like trimming budgies claws and the odd malnourished parrot. Oh, and we learnt sweet FA about them at uni apart from animal husbandry, and a couple of "cage bird" lectures in 4th year.

[JW GINGER]

Racing Pigeons. Wow. I love them.
They are just amazing, they were they seem to think that they are so posh. Its so cool.
I'd guess that owners of them would pay for a specialist avian vet. Racers can be extremely expensive, especially winners. I've actually held a 15 grand pigeon. Really ugly thing is was, but by god it could fly.
Anyway, digressed a bit there, loads of money in pigeon racing.
I'd guess avian you would have to do zoo med certificate, i see there is a module of birds that rcvs offers. Wildlife wold fit in as well. I think there is a parrot one as well.

[Egglet]

I want to specialise in avian too, glad im not the only one! Ive heard from a lot of vets and vetty people that I'd be in high demand if i specialised in avian.

[fairy princess]

We have about 5 lecutres on birds in the second year and that's about it (not sure about clinical though). I guess if you are keen on specialiseing it is something to pursue once you are qualified.

[Annaconda]

look at the Association of Avian Veterinary Surgeons

[FellForAJinx]

We had about 7 poultry lectures this year. (1st year Glasgow)

Also one of our Anatomy/husbandry lecturers (Maureen Bain) is obsessed with chickens/birds. So I reckon we get a fair bit of avian stuff.

Maybe come to GLASGOW? :P

[Phoebe_Vet]

Thanks guys!

Absolutely adore birds. I've got chickens and parrots too and I'm completely fascinated by them, not only in a medical way but behaviour-wise aswell. They're just amazing animals. It's crazy how little depth they're gone into when they're very popular pets with many complex and unusual problems.

Funnily enough, Glasgow's not on my choices list maybe I'll have to reconsider!

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by FellForAJinx

Also one of our Anatomy/husbandry lecturers (Maureen Bain) is obsessed with chickens/birds. So I reckon we get a fair bit of avian stuff.

Maybe come to GLASGOW? :P

LOL! Maureen Bain... everything is chickens! Even in histology, I remember adipocytes were always chicken-wire! Just wait until you do the mammary glands next year... she divulges a little too much information

Back on topic - the head of anatomy at Glasgow is also very much into his birds and the lectures in 2nd year from him are very informative and interesting!

[FellForAJinx]

^Maureen Bain's a legend! Did you see her at Mr Vet School..? Lmao. I've heard a lot about these mammary glands.. Guess I'll just have to wait and see! =/

Originally Posted by Phoebe_Vet

Thanks guys!
Funnily enough, Glasgow's not on my choices list maybe I'll have to reconsider!

You should! Best vet school in the UK. (And the funnest too. )

[00nay00]

Here we have one or two avian and exotics lectures a module (so like avian cardioresp lecture in that module etc) and we've also done a couple of chicken dissections, had 3 hours of poultry lectures and visited a free range chicken place, so we get a fair bit.

[givvy]

Originally Posted by 00nay00

we've also done a couple of chicken dissections

lol think I do one of them every sunday

[fairy princess]

The chickens were riddled with lice in our 1st chicken dissection....I refused to touch anything. I guy who was slightly keener than me on my dissection table got stuck in and after half an hour had bugs crawling all over him, even under his collar . I think i made the right choice

[tiny_tiger]

If you want to specialise, you will have to do it after the degree. You can do certificate or Diploma in zoo medicine and avian medicine is a subdivision of the zoo med specialisation. Though apparently theyre getting rid of the certificate so I guess there will be a zoo version of the replacement.

[Dissey]

On a kind of related note, a friend of mine said he found a baby hawk near the side of the road. It was more of a fledgling with a normal feathers, and a bit of those fluffy white baby feathers under his beak, and was flying awkwardly.

I told him to leave it there, did I do the right thing? ;s I asked if it showed signs of injury and he said no.