Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pet poultry training for veterinary practitioners.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary medical education
- Year:
- 2010
- Authors:
- Crespo, Rocio et al.
- Affiliation:
- Washington State University · United States
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
More people in the United States are keeping chickens and other birds as pets in their backyards, especially in cities. Because of this trend, urban pet poultry owners are likely to look for help from veterinarians who usually care for dogs and cats. However, many of these vets don't have much experience with birds and may be unsure about treating them. To address this, a one-day training course was created to teach veterinarians about caring for pet poultry, including how to examine them, recognize diseases, and provide proper nutrition and care. This training is important not only for the health of the birds but also because it helps veterinarians identify serious diseases that could affect both animals and humans.
Abstract
Keeping backyard poultry in urban areas is a burgeoning trend in the United States. As such, we believe urban pet poultry owners are increasingly likely to seek veterinary services from urban companion-animal practitioners. Traditionally, poultry species have been classified as production animals. Most small-animal practitioners have limited experience or knowledge of these species and hesitate to accept these animals at their practices. We developed a one-day course to train veterinarians in pet poultry (as opposed to commercial poultry) medicine. The course covers poultry examination, diseases, and treatments and provides an introduction to poultry breeds and behavior and the basics of nutrition and husbandry. We believe this type of continuing education program is important for veterinarians because they are often on the front line of human public health issues. In addition, courses of this type increase the number of veterinarians trained to spot serious avian diseases, including foreign diseases and diseases with zoonotic potential. Most important, veterinarians with this training develop the knowledge to contribute to the health and well-being of pet poultry along with their clients' other companion animals.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21135406/