After having had three extremely ill chickens in urgent need of medical care recently, it has become painfully apparent to me that finding trained medical professionals who treat backyard chickens is difficult at best. If and when we are able to find any veterinarian willing to treat chickens, we consider ourselves lucky. Once past that hurdle, we just hope that they do the right thing from a treatment perspective, knowing that most vets do not have any significant formal training in poultry care. A 2013 study published by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System projecting an increase in urban backyard flocks of over 400% in the next 5 years, it is time to discuss our expectations for medical care of our chickens among ourselves and with our veterinarians. 
I have had chicken-care conversations with nearly a dozen vets over the past year, one of whom emailed me last autumn with some questions about starting her own backyard flock. I mentioned the dire need for chicken veterinarians across the United States and she indicated that she “…would like to feel educated on the basics of chicken medicine.” I encouraged her to seek formal education in the field not only for her own future flock, but to help bridge the gap between sick or injured chickens and caregivers. I was heartened to know that she completed some online education this past winter.
Esther had ovarian cancer, a very common condition in older laying hens, which required putting her down. Stella was also euthanized when it was discovered that she had a severe case of egg yolk peritonitis. Both conditions were confirmed by necropsies.
After having participated in a public forum on backyard chicken-keeping recently, this particular veterinarian’s feelings were that: “chicken people complain that vets don’t know anything but they also are willing to pay nothing to have their animals taken care of properly. It’s a bad cycle of bad feelings. I hate for (animals) to suffer with a treatable problem. I could use some guidance regarding charging for treatment and an approach to dealing with the notion that vets don’t know anything about chickens.” She and I have had several discussions about veterinary care for backyard chickens. I admire her candor and willingness to discuss these issues and while I am happy to share my opinions with her, I believe these important topics ought to be discussed within and between the chicken-keeping and veterinary healthcare communities generally. Only by fleshing out these issues collaboratively, nation-wide can we eventually come to a place where we are comfortable discussing our birds’ health with our vets, comfortable with the care our chickens receive and where vets are comfortable including chicken-care as a component of their practice.
Edited to add: This subject hit the front page of The Wall Street Journal after reporter Jon Kamp contacted me to discuss an different topic, piquing his interest in the lack of trained, experienced poultry vets for backyard chickens.
I invite you to share your thoughts on some, any or all of the questions below. Please limit your comments to constructive input regarding your own thoughts, feelings and decisions you would make for your flock. Please refrain from passing judgment on the decisions another chicken-keeper may make for their flock or engaging in debate with another reader. Comments will be moderated to ensure compliance with this request for a judgment-free dialogue.
For example:
DO feel free to share that you view your chickens as livestock and if they are sick, you cull them.
DO NOT share that you believe anyone who takes their chicken to a vet is wasting their money.
Some of the issues you may wish to address are:
- Do you view your backyard chickens as livestock, pets or something else?
- Is it important to you to know that there is a veterinarian available who will treat your chicken(s)?
- Would you bring a chicken to see a vet if they did not have chicken training/experience?
- If a chicken vet practiced medicine in your community, would you bring your chickens to them for well-patient visits?
- Are you willing to pay the same exam and treatment fees for your chickens that you would pay for your cat or dog?
- Do you believe that the negligible cost of purchasing a chicken means that vets should discount their fees? If so, is that fair to the practitioner?
Please feel free to share any other thoughts you may have on the subject of chicken medical care in the comments below.
Kathy Shea Mormino
Affectionately known internationally as The Chicken Chick®, Kathy Shea Mormino shares a fun-loving, informative style to raising backyard chickens. …Read on
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After having had three extremely ill chickens in urgent need of medical care recently, it has become painfully apparent to me that finding trained medical professionals who treat backyard chickens is difficult at best. If and when we are able to find any veterinarian willing to treat chickens, we consider ourselves lucky. Once past that hurdle, we just hope that they do the right thing from a treatment perspective, knowing that most vets do not have any significant formal training in poultry care. A 2013 study published by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System projecting an increase in urban backyard flocks of over 400% in the next 5 years, it is time to discuss our expectations for medical care of our chickens among ourselves and with our veterinarians.
I have had chicken-care conversations with nearly a dozen vets over the past year, one of whom emailed me last autumn with some questions about starting her own backyard flock. I mentioned the dire need for chicken veterinarians across the United States and she indicated that she “…would like to feel educated on the basics of chicken medicine.” I encouraged her to seek formal education in the field not only for her own future flock, but to help bridge the gap between sick or injured chickens and caregivers. I was heartened to know that she completed some online education this past winter.
Esther had ovarian cancer, a very common condition in older laying hens, which required putting her down. Stella was also euthanized when it was discovered that she had a severe case of egg yolk peritonitis. Both conditions were confirmed by necropsies.
After having participated in a public forum on backyard chicken-keeping recently, this particular veterinarian’s feelings were that: “chicken people complain that vets don’t know anything but they also are willing to pay nothing to have their animals taken care of properly. It’s a bad cycle of bad feelings. I hate for (animals) to suffer with a treatable problem. I could use some guidance regarding charging for treatment and an approach to dealing with the notion that vets don’t know anything about chickens.” She and I have had several discussions about veterinary care for backyard chickens. I admire her candor and willingness to discuss these issues and while I am happy to share my opinions with her, I believe these important topics ought to be discussed within and between the chicken-keeping and veterinary healthcare communities generally. Only by fleshing out these issues collaboratively, nation-wide can we eventually come to a place where we are comfortable discussing our birds’ health with our vets, comfortable with the care our chickens receive and where vets are comfortable including chicken-care as a component of their practice.
Edited to add: This subject hit the front page of The Wall Street Journal after reporter Jon Kamp contacted me to discuss an different topic, piquing his interest in the lack of trained, experienced poultry vets for backyard chickens.
I invite you to share your thoughts on some, any or all of the questions below. Please limit your comments to constructive input regarding your own thoughts, feelings and decisions you would make for your flock. Please refrain from passing judgment on the decisions another chicken-keeper may make for their flock or engaging in debate with another reader. Comments will be moderated to ensure compliance with this request for a judgment-free dialogue.
For example:
DO feel free to share that you view your chickens as livestock and if they are sick, you cull them.
DO NOT share that you believe anyone who takes their chicken to a vet is wasting their money.
Some of the issues you may wish to address are:
- Do you view your backyard chickens as livestock, pets or something else?
- Is it important to you to know that there is a veterinarian available who will treat your chicken(s)?
- Would you bring a chicken to see a vet if they did not have chicken training/experience?
- If a chicken vet practiced medicine in your community, would you bring your chickens to them for well-patient visits?
- Are you willing to pay the same exam and treatment fees for your chickens that you would pay for your cat or dog?
- Do you believe that the negligible cost of purchasing a chicken means that vets should discount their fees? If so, is that fair to the practitioner?
Please feel free to share any other thoughts you may have on the subject of chicken medical care in the comments below.
for a vet practice to treat any certain population, there needs to be an economic "driver"…..both for their education and for their practice. Horse racing/showing has a high economic need and thus there are a lot of vets and research into how to treat horses…greyhound racing tracks and research facilities that use dogs also have driven a lot of research into dog treatments. Chickens are kept by egg or meat producers and there the end result will end in the bird death and is generally short term….and there is not a lot of income derived from the individual bird, so… Read more »
I currently have 3 backyard hens, one of whom is living in my kitchen due to a burst abscess. They get organic feed and warm oatmeal and lots of produce treats. I will do what I can to help my sick chickens… by now I have a fairly well-stocked first aid kit and a fair amount of knowledge regarding common chicken issues… but I will *never* pay to take them to a vet. We have certain financial goals as a family, and investing for college and remaining debt free takes precedence over vet care for a $15 chicken. There is… Read more »
We are lucky here in Chesapeake, Virginia, to have a local veterinarian who treats "exotics" and is competent: Dr. Poutous at Midway Veterinary. But taking our pet chickens to him isn't cheap. We took three birds to him last spring for a full check-up, fecal tests, and deworming. The bill was over $200.00. Now that our flock has grown to five hens, I fret at how to afford good medical care for all of them. Dr. Poutous will work with us. He says we can bring in two birds from our flock, and he can examine them and prescribe wormers… Read more »
our hens are definitely more than livestock, probably not quite on the same footing as the dog, but certainly well above the fish. We don't breed them–we can't legally have roosters in our area, and don't have the space or inclination to breed anyway–we just like the eggs and the funny chickenness of them. We live in an urban area (about two miles from the center of downtown in our state's capital city). Our dog's vet is fantastic, but she doesn't see chickens. She did, however tell me that someone brought one in that'd been attacked, and she emergently sewed… Read more »
My chickens are pets,even after they have finished laying,they will still be my pets. I love them as much as i do my dogs/cats,and they receive the same medical treatment as my dogs/cats if they are ill. I do not expect any discount for my chickens. My opinion is that if a vet has taken the time to be educated in medical issue regarding chickens,then he/she has the right to charge for any medical care they provide. I will gladly pay to ensure they are receiving the best care possible. When a dog or cat is ill,it is expected that… Read more »