duchess Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Got the antibiotics from a local poultry breeder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 - Ever so slightly illegal - your breeder should not be dishing out antibiotics. They should only be prescribed by a vet. The indiscriminate use of broad spectrum antibiotics could contribute to the growing issue of drug resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 From an insurers point of view, they would not be able to identify the chicken you have insured, which could lead to a lot of abuse. EG...You own 4 light sussex girls and insure one. Get the picture...the administration of such a policy would outweigh the commercial viability of such a product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchess Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 - Every so slightly illegal - your breeder should not be dishing out antibiotics. They should only be prescribed by a vet. The indiscriminate use of broad spectrum antibiotics could contribute to the growing issue of drug resistance. The antibiotic I got was colloidal silver which is a natural antibiotic and doesn't need to be prescribed by a vet. And has worked wonders in 3 cases of mycoplasma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millie-Annie Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 With my first three ex-batts I was forever at the vets. They cost me £35 for an initial consultation plus drugs. When I had the next lot, I decided to adopt a more wait and see approach instead of racing there at the first sign of illness and apart from peritonitis, after a few days of being off colour they got better on their own. So now sad to say I just figure all of my chickens are with me as an alternative to death. My four latest ex-batts and Tallulah, who was due to be dispatched by next door as she had stopped laying. Therefore I do my best, they have a good and happy life and they do not go to the vets. I have learnt that they either get better on their own or they don't and so far they all have. I would not spend a fortune on peritonitis, the ending is the same sadly. The only one that would be at the vets at the first sign of a problem is my wonderful Marigold. Favouritism, you bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 - Every so slightly illegal - your breeder should not be dishing out antibiotics. They should only be prescribed by a vet. The indiscriminate use of broad spectrum antibiotics could contribute to the growing issue of drug resistance. The antibiotic I got was colloidal silver which is a natural antibiotic and doesn't need to be prescribed by a vet. And has worked wonders in 3 cases of mycoplasma. Ah, more of a conventional medicine than an antibiotic then ...sorry to have gone off topic - I'll shut up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 had no choice with the vet - i dont have a gun and wouldnt trust me or OH to wring a chickens neck and do it quick or painlessly - £35 well spent - I had tried to nurse her myself with TLC ,keeping hr clean and giving antibiotics and what I didnt realise is she had cancer. If I knew how to dispatch properly I am not sure I could do it - each to their own I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Interesting how many times this has been bumped! I've been lucky and needed to go to the vets with chickens, but have enough friends who know about chickens and vet friends that I can ask for advice if needed. I agree, the insurance companies wouldn't really be able to tell which chicken is the insured one etc so maybe flock insurance (premiums up to 3, up to 5, up to 10) etc could maybe be better. I'd just save the money you would pay in premiums, into a bank account, and keep that in case For anyone interested, there are Dispatch Courses available which will teach you how to humanely dispatch - mainly for use with meat birds but also for ill chickens if you can't get to a vet etc. I've had to dispatch a lot of prolapsed and ill chickens this summer (not my birds) so was an invaluable course for me - always something to think about for the more experienced keepers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I wonder how viable the whole insurance for chickens would be Insurance companies usually add exclusions to policies to wriggle out of repeated payments for conditions. As chickens tend to suffer from a fairly limited number of conditions I wonder if many of them would be excluded come renewal time. Pre existing conditions would also not be covered. I think careful budgeting is the way to go. Make sure you have a little put away just in case and maybe, depending on your outlook on chicken keeping and your personal finances, perhaps allow for the price of a consultation and a course of medication before deciding on whether to continue or to humanely cull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Insurance is really not much different to betting on the races. Insurers take the risk - they gamble that you won't have a burglary/illness/accident during the time that you're insured with them, or that if you do it will cost £X, and they usually (but not always) come out on top because they have information on risk that helps them to set the odds. What most of us are buying with insurance is peace of mind - IF something goes wrong, then you won't have to pay the whole bill. I doubt if many pet insurers would offer terms on chickens, just because the odds are so short on them dying within the year, sorry to say it but we all know this to be the case. If they did offer terms, then yes, they will be prohibitively expensive because the chance of the insurer having to pay out is so high. It's not really related to the replacement cost of the animal, it's the cost of any treatment. Most pet insurance carries exclusions for long-term illness, and most of it has an excess payable. I have never bought pet insurance and never will - over time, I reckon that I will come out on top, but that's a risk I'm prepared to take, and if a big bill came in, it wouldn't mean that I couldn't pay the mortgage or bills. I also have a pragmatic approach to animal health - their quality of life is paramount, and I wouldn't put a sick or elderly animal through a long course of treatment if the outcome was uncertain. I could end up with a £1,000+ bill for traffic injuries, it's true - but I might not. You pays your money, and you takes your choice! I rarely buy extended warranty insurance, for the same reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Even with a course dont think I could kill an animal wuss that I am - I have been indoctrined to save lives in the NHS and although I have had animals PTS and can make that decision I am not sure if I could do it myself. I probably could if being attacked by say a dog in self defence but a little creature I had nurtured and loved. Soppy cow I am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
