Little Chicken is going to the vet!

[Susan27]

Little Chicken gets to go to the vet tomorrow. I split her and Peepers apart, as Chicken was getting over plucked by Peepers. She has bald spots above her eyes, on her chest. Poor girl, I can see the pin feathers growing back in.

The problem I discovered was her foot/leg (lucky I split them up). Her leg is bruised and her toe is wounded. I put neosporin on her foot and decided to wait and see (since Fridayish). She isn't putting much weight on it, and holds it up often. It's warm to the touch, so I am hoping the vet will prescribe metacam....and probably baytril...this is my guess. She is still eating and drinking well, poopin good.....but her footie hurts her.

Poor Little Chicken just likes to stay in her cozy or be with me....but she has an attitude sometimes...that's Chicken, bites and all.

Has anyone purchased vet insurance? I can imagine it would be expensive for all my 10 birds??:x

[linda040899]

Her leg is bruised and her toe is wounded. I put neosporin on her foot and decided to wait and see (since Fridayish). She isn't putting much weight on it, and holds it up often.
Sounds like a possible fracture or a very bad bruise. It was a good idea to split them and I think a vet appointment is necessary to determine the extent of the injuries. I don't know too much about pet insurance but it might be worth checking.

[jknezek]

I have pet insurance and once ran a comparison for a different list and it's based on cost for an eclectus. Not sure if it changes for a lovie, but I doubt it since the vet costs are the same, regardless of the value of the animal. Here is the information I came up with (though it's outdated...)


------- OLD POST ---------
I actually just ordered VPI. I had meant to look into it for a while. I got
both the exotics coverage and the routine coverage. The total for Kiwi was
$255.00 annually (279 if you pay monthly, $2 per month handling fee). I
called my vet and compared his rates for routine coverage against what VPI
would reimburse for. For my Board Certified Vet it looks like this:

Procedure: VPI My Vet
Physical $25
$31
Parasite/Fecal Exam $10 $12
Parasite Treatment $20 $20
Beak/Nail/Wing Trim $7 each ($21 all 3) $15
(wing/nail/beak or $9 just wings)
CBC $20 $23
Culture $45 $32
Panel (all 7) $40 $40

TOTAL $181 $173

I actually figure, based on Kiwi's last exam, that it will cost me $13 for
the annual checkup as opposed to the $147 it cost me uninsured. That's a
difference of $134. The insurance for regular checkups costs $8 per month,
$96 per year. So, if I take Kiwi for one physical, it will save me $38 a
year just on the annual checkup. Since he needs his wings and nails clipped
more frequently, it will actually save me considerably more.

The other $13 per month, for the illness/emergency care, is more hit or
miss. I hope to never use it, but I think if he gets sick or injured just
once every 3 or 4 years (god forbid) I will end up better off. VPI estimates
that the coverage will provide 70% to 90% of coverage for any care required
during illness, injury or emergency. Plus the peace of mind it provides me.

I hope this helps some of you with your questions about pet insurance. I
encourage you to do some research and determine if it is right for you. If I
didn't own a pet of my own I would think it's kind of a silly overboard
thing to do, but I know as my family dog got older when I was a child my
parents repeatedly kicked themselves for not having covered her early in her
life. Her vet bills ran in excess of $700 per month. Luckily they could and
gladly did pay for it. I am very glad that I can afford Kiwi's vet care, but
I'm thrilled that I can afford insurance for him.

------- END OLD POST ---------

Now some additional information. I changed vets about a year after I wrote this (the original post is almost 2 years old) and the new vet costs were more expensive. Therefore it made no sense to continue the routine care and I dropped it. I keep the emergency care and have had no cause to use it, but when I did submit for reimbursement for routine care it arrived quickly and without any hassle.

Second, they do offer a discount for multiple pets, but it's not very substantial. I believe the costs for a flock of 10 would probably be close to $1000 per year just for emergency care.

I have nothing but good experiences, so far, with VPI. Thankfully, however, I have not had to use it very much (knock on wood...)

Hope this helps, Jeremy