How much do your vet check up's cost?

[carryon213]

I found a avian vet (: It's about 30 mins away from my house though, but that's what I get for living in a tiny city, even though I love it here (: Plus I don't have a choice since I'm only 16. :P To take Belle to the vet, it is going to cost me 45.50 for a full exam. I was going to get her sexed but it is supposed to cost between $64-$70 :/ Too much money just to see if my bird is a boy or girl. It's not like I need to know, I'm just going to keep pretending she's a girl haha ;D So I was just wondering how much an exam is for other people...like to see if this vet is like average price or expensive :P haha

[linda040899]

Cost of vet care for birds will vary by location. An office visit with my avian vet is $50.00. Re-checks are usually cheaper. If you want to DNA sex, you can order a kit online from Avian Biotech (http://www.avianbiotech.com ). The kits are free. You pay for the test when you send in the sample. Blood sexing is $19.95 and feather sexing is $24.95. Veterinarians generally charge a lot more for the same thing you can do yourself!

[Pips mom]

That's the average price here too, only a vet here will charge around 100 for DNA sexing. If you really want to know the sex, you can order kits here.....http://www.avianbiotech.com/ then you either have to pluck a few feathers from the chest or clip a nail until you get a tiny bit of blood.....I've never had the heart to do this! but it's cheap, only like 20-25 dollars. I ordered kits and keep them just in case one day somebirdy bleeds from something.....of course the only birds of mine that I don't know for 100% sure the sex are the lovies, but I really believe that if you just be patient and get to know your bird and watch the behavior, that you can get a good sense of it's a girl or a boy. I feel certain that both of mine are boys. Pip I've had for three years now, so I feel I know after this length of time, and Rudy I've had for a year and believe it or not, I feel even more certain that he's a boy than with Pip! Pip is a stinker and would be one of those ones who would try to fool ya! plus Pip has shown some behaviors that females tend to have, like how territorial he's always been with his cage......but.....he does the male clickey dance and darn good I might say, and humps til his feathers start wearing thin in spots! His previous owner thought he was a boy too, and to guess is really 50/50 right? so I'm thinking we're about 80/50 here in being right about Pip's sex at this point! but ya never know....

[carryon213]

ahahaha wow i really have no idea what belle is, i just decided that she would be a girl because her eyes are so pretty (;

[Eliza]

A well-bird exam with the practice I go to is about $300, depending on what vet I see.

This includes physical exam, gram stains, a blood panel, disease testing and wing/nail trim (if necessary). I board 2-4 times a year so I have to keep up on disease testing.

Curious as to how thorough a $60-70 "full exam" is -- do you know what it entails?

[jk1944]

In British Columbia a general exam (no lab work) costs $68 CDN. When my lovebird, Ethel, needed overnight care at the vet's, the charge was over $300!

[Bill's Birds]

Hi, all. My vet charges $55.00 for an initial exam for my little ones. Doing Bird Rescue, she cuts me deals because I bring in so many Birds. Also, we network together to find homes for Birds that either of us come up with that need them. As for sexing, if you are not breeding, what does it matter? I think my Bella is a female because of her behavior, but, I don't care either way. And, if she is a he, I'm still calling him Bella.:rofl:

[linda040899]

As for sexing, if you are not breeding, what does it matter?
Sex of a lovebird can actually matter, especially when you are dealing with a mature one. Females will become cage territorial and turn into little land sharks when/if they go into breeding condition (which single hens can/will do under proper conditions). Knowing which gender you have will help you to understand the behavior and deal with the aggression that is caused by hormonal change. Many hormonal hens are quickly rehomed because of breeding behavior, as it's disconcerting to try to even service food/water dishes and you withdraw your hand from the cage with a lovebird hen attached to your fingers!! :omg: :omg: :omg:

Gender also matters if you have one lovebird and you want to get a second one. Males get along well with males, just as males and females get along. However, house 2 hens in the same cage, and you could have a recipe for tragedy.