Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Sandychick]

This might be a very silly question but is there such a thing as insurance to cover vets bills etc for chickens? My cat is insured because I know I couldn't afford any surprise big bills. I actually have no idea how expensive a sick chicken could end up being. Has anyone else either got their chickens insured or thought about it?....... or am I on a mad tangent of my own here????!

[Egluntyne]

We looked into it a while ago.

 

There was only one company who would do it at the time.

 

The price was ludicrous....over £300 pa per chicken......and they were classed as "exotics".

 

Maybe with the increase in backyard chicken keeping things will change.

[FruitandNutCake]

I haven't seen insurance for chickens, but have seen it advertised for rabbits. I'm not sure what the monthly payments are, but I do a rough calculation of how long a pet is likely to live for, and how likely it is that the pet would require extensive treatment, or how likely euthanasia would be the best option.

 

With cats and dogs, their life expectancy is probably 12-14 years and probably more likely to have more problems, especially in old age. They are also more prone to falling out of windows or getting run over.

 

Chickens are less likely to have serious accidents I would think.

 

I don't know anything about chicken illnesses, but with rabbits, there are not many things that can go wrong that would need expensive treatment ( the worst I've had is a tooth extraction due to abscess followed by antibiotics which didn't work anyway).

 

 

If you put away the money you would have spent on insurance, it would probably be enough to cover any treatment, as insurance doesn't tend to cover routine vaccinations, worming etc.

[Sandychick]

 

With cats and dogs, their life expectancy is probably 12-14 years and probably more likely to have more problems, especially in old age. They are also more prone to falling out of windows or getting run over.

 

Chickens are less likely to have serious accidents I would think

 

Yes, therefore the insurance premium would be less than a cat or dog as there is less risk. It doesn't look as if it is available at the moment then. As you say Egluntine, this may be available in the future if the demand is there. I hope so, I would hate to have to base my decision on what to do with a sick chicken on financial grounds - that would be a difficult situation.

[Yolky]

perhaps open a chook account and put in say £15 a month and then if you need it the money is there. If you don't need it then you could use it to buy a cube or something

[Sandychick]

perhaps open a chook account and put in say £15 a month and then if you need it the money is there. If you don't need it then you could use it to buy a cube or something

 

As much as I love my chickens, there is no way they are having their own bank account with more money in it than mine!

[MedusA]

We insured our rabbit the first year, but it wasn't worth it, so now we just save the equivelant amount and use it for vet's bills.We've not ever used up to the same amount in one year!

 

I do the same for the girls too. £300 is just madness! Even poorly Muggle who had 2 nights in the "vet hospital" only cost just over £30, so the maths just doesn't work out.

 

Just put some money aside, instead of throwing it down the drain, would be my advice.

[Sandychick]

I think the problem is that the insuarance isn't available for the average chicken. My cat's insurance is £4.50 a month which makes a lot of sense to me. If chicken insurance was available it should be a lot less than a cat so would probably be worthwhile also.

 

I think we are missing the point of insuarance. If I had put £4.50 a month away for my cat since I got her and she got run over tomorrow with a vets bill of hundreds of pounds, I wouldn't have enough £4.50's to cover it. That's the whole point!......and yes, a chicken is likely to have cheeper vets bills.....and would therefore have cheeper insurance premiums.

[mrs chook]

I used to have my ex-racing greyhound (who passed away three years ago) insured. Back then even after paying monthly premiums, there was about a £70 excess to pay with every treatment claim. So I stopped it.

 

I think it's as easy to keep money by and as chickens are smaller/hopefully less expensive it would probably be cheaper in the long run.

[LesleyH]

I have had a couple of large bills - £60 - £120 and with no live chicken at the end of it. My advice is generally give them a go with antibiotics at the most...but in sickness they generally end up in heaven unless something simple. I agree with previous suggestion - make your own policy by putting some by for when the worst happens.

[KAZAROO]

Maybe one of the BHWT ladies could set up insurance for hens and use the proceeds to help rescues????? Cant be that many chicken "lay-outs"

[smanners]

I'm not sure chickens are cheaper than any other animals when it comes to vets bills! In my case last week I paid £37.50 for initial consultation £8.65 for Baytril , £10+ for antibiotic injection and £10+ for sterile water injection for rehydration!! I was quite shocked as after reading some of the Forum entries I had assumed that chickens would be much cheaper to treat.

I was warned that chickens are fickle and despite treatment that she might still die. Luckily she's fine and has completely recovered

I had cat insurance once and the premiums just kept going up each year unless you take a initial higher premium which stays fixed for a few years and simply means that the costs are loaded to begin with ! I have got 8 cats so it isn't viable

I think it's prudent to put some money by in future just in case

[sandra d]

Has anybody any idea who will insure an Eglu. I`m getting one in a couple of weeks and it has to be kept in my allotment. The allotment is just outside my back door but I`m still a bit worried about it being stolen.

Sandra

[Unit]

Not finding anything in the realms of pet insurance that covers chickens. Seems it's still not been an uptake by insurers.

 

I see that a lot of you feel setting money aside is a better option but the point of insurance for us is that it covers for the unusual events... One of our cats needed a fortnights 'hospitalisation' including a lot of treatment totaling over £1000.00, which we could have afforded to pay but only by wreaking havoc on our savings. The insurance was a definitely welcome buffer. In addition, our second cat developed a heart condition and her initial specialist consultation and echocardiogram would have cost us over £750.00 without insurance. Setting aside the cost of insurance each month would not have covered these costs. It's all a gamble of course really!?

 

I don't take on a pet without the financial means to provide the food, housing and health care they may need but insurance is a definite consideration in our household through previous experience.

[lillybettybabs]

Maybe some sort of flock insurance would be better ,

My girls have their own bank account and the money from the eggs i sell goes into it to pay for feed etc, There was enough in there to pay for their Anti bio injections when they all came down wtih a nasty cold.

[Chucky Mama]

MIght be better to use a direct debit and to put some money aside every month.

[RRRisnewtochickens]

I cant imagine chickens would be cheaper than an average cat for medical treatment. No doubt most vets will class them as "specialised" or "exotic".

 

My ferrets cost me a bomb at the vets as they are classed as exotics. They are more expensive than rabbits, and usually either on par with cats or over. Its ridiculous, but hey they are a business at the end of the day.

[Millie-Annie]

You've got to be joking, my chickens have cost me more in a year than my cat has in 9, excluding her annual boosters.

 

If I were an insurance company I'd run a mile from insuring chickens

[retrotecchie]

When my chickens took poorly, I took one to the vet and it cost me £35 for the consultation, medication and follow-up. A week later she died. The second chicken went the same way a week later and with exactly the same symptoms, so I dispatched her with an axe and saved myself the vet's bill.

 

The cost of a couple of replacement chickens, even from a relatively expensive poultry breeder like the one I buy mine from, was still cheaper than a trip to the vet for one hen, so there is no 'logical' reason why anyone would even consider putting money by or insuring a bird when a replacement is far cheaper than even one trip to the vet.

 

But....before you all flame me....a 'family pet' is a different matter - and I get that. Emotions sometimes outweigh cold logic.

 

Both Brenda and Henrietta were as much 'pets' as they were 'egg producers', but even so, the cost of insuring a bird is simply ridiculous. I was quoted £9.99 a month PER BIRD to insure my four girls....and that means that the premium for just two months could have bought all four all over again, with change to spare.

 

Which is why only one or two very specialist insurers will insure pet chickens, at outrageous levels of premium relative to the replacement cost of a new bird.

 

If you spent £20,000 on a new car and an insurer demanded £10,000 a month to insure it....you wouldn't bother!! A tenner a month to insure a £20 chicken is extracting the urine!!

[squiffs]

When my chickens took poorly, I took one to the vet and it cost me £35 for the consultation, medication and follow-up. A week later she died. The second chicken went the same way a week later and with exactly the same symptoms, so I dispatched her with an axe and saved myself the vet's bill.

 

The cost of a couple of replacement chickens, even from a relatively expensive poultry breeder like the one I buy mine from, was still cheaper than a trip to the vet for one hen, so there is no 'logical' reason why anyone would even consider putting money by or insuring a bird when a replacement is far cheaper than even one trip to the vet.

 

But....before you all flame me....a 'family pet' is a different matter - and I get that. Emotions sometimes outweigh cold logic.

 

Both Brenda and Henrietta were as much 'pets' as they were 'egg producers', but even so, the cost of insuring a bird is simply ridiculous. I was quoted £9.99 a month PER BIRD to insure my four girls....and that means that the premium for just two months could have bought all four all over again, with change to spare.

 

Which is why only one or two very specialist insurers will insure pet chickens, at outrageous levels of premium relative to the replacement cost of a new bird.

 

If you spent £20,000 on a new car and an insurer demanded £10,000 a month to insure it....you wouldn't bother!! A tenner a month to insure a £20 chicken is extracting the urine!!

 

My cat cost me £10, his insurance is £12 a month, and last year he came down with an infection which ended up costing me £80 excess. Insurance isn't cheap, it's a luxury, but it's cheaper than the vet costs that you COULD end up paying. I'd rather pay £12 a month over a year than end up with a £400 - £500 vet bill. I don't know what the upper limit is for what a hen illness could cost, but I think I could live with £35 for a vet consult if it meant I'd ruled out everything before having them PTS.

[The Mcconnochies]

Thansk for the summary...as a new chook keeper I've been thinking about insurance etc. I definitely think it isn't worth it at present.

 

When my chickens took poorly, I took one to the vet and it cost me £35 for the consultation, medication and follow-up. A week later she died. The second chicken went the same way a week later and with exactly the same symptoms, so I dispatched her with an axe and saved myself the vet's bill.

 

The cost of a couple of replacement chickens, even from a relatively expensive poultry breeder like the one I buy mine from, was still cheaper than a trip to the vet for one hen, so there is no 'logical' reason why anyone would even consider putting money by or insuring a bird when a replacement is far cheaper than even one trip to the vet.

 

But....before you all flame me....a 'family pet' is a different matter - and I get that. Emotions sometimes outweigh cold logic.

 

Both Brenda and Henrietta were as much 'pets' as they were 'egg producers', but even so, the cost of insuring a bird is simply ridiculous. I was quoted £9.99 a month PER BIRD to insure my four girls....and that means that the premium for just two months could have bought all four all over again, with change to spare.

 

Which is why only one or two very specialist insurers will insure pet chickens, at outrageous levels of premium relative to the replacement cost of a new bird.

 

If you spent £20,000 on a new car and an insurer demanded £10,000 a month to insure it....you wouldn't bother!! A tenner a month to insure a £20 chicken is extracting the urine!!

[Mum]

Chickens are such fragile creatures that I doubt any insurance company will take the risk without a substantial investment on the part of owners.

 

Sometimes a chicken appears very healthy one day and the next, it can be found dead and no obvious reason for it.

Sometimes, a henpecked chook (or an extremely timid one!) will simply choose not to fight and give up.

Sometimes, an apparently depressed chicken will perk up all of a sudden and go on to live for ages thereafter.

Sometimes, chicken keeping is such a rewarding (and productive) occupation - be that hobby or investment.

Sometimes, chicken keeping can be heartbreaking, demoralising, confusing and just plain sucks!

 

If I were in the business of insurance, calculating the risk factors, I'd offer a very high premium against so many unknown-knowns!! (or is that known-unknowns? )

 

Domestic pets such as cats and dogs do have a slightly more stable history of disease/infection/hereditary conditions; so the risk factor is more predictable.

 

My strategy? I have to take my furboys to the vets soon; I know he is not a domestic fowl expert. I'm going to sound him out about learning/experience with my chooks vs fees. I shall promote the fact more and more people are keeping chooks in the domestic scene. He's a canny lad and I think I may be able to swing things/persuade him that it could be in his longer term interests By that same token, I am perfectly ok if I get an "on yer bike!" response Nothing ventured, nothing gained

 

I'm not prepared to invest the aformentioned fees on chook insurance! I adore them, they are pets and I find it heartbreaking when something happens to one of mine. However, I can buy a replacement for £12. How can I justify those prices quoted? I can't

[Alis girls]

Paid £35 for one hen to be PTS and another to have beak trim. thats London prices.

[duchess]

I don't think insuring chickens would be worth it. You would be better putting money into an emergency vet bill account. I've yet to take one of my girls to the vet. I've always done my best for them if they've been ill, bought them into the house to keep them warm, given them antibiotics etc. some have survived and are still with me now. 2 have died naturally and 2 my partner had to shoot. I wouldn't pay a vet to have a hen put to sleep

[Chucky Mama]

I don't think insuring chickens would be worth it. You would be better putting money into an emergency vet bill account. I've yet to take one of my girls to the vet. I've always done my best for them if they've been ill, bought them into the house to keep them warm, given them antibiotics etc.

How have you managed to give them antibiotics without seeing a vet