Gussie at home, fully recovered.
Keeping backyard poultry is growing in popularity as the recession grips but new poultry owners often need a bit of help deciding how to react if their chicken is off colour. Gussie of Dunfermline appeared listless and was regurgitating water, but her owner Frances Turner wasn't sure if Gussie's condition was serious or not. Unsure whether to call the vet out of hours, Frances turned to the website www.vethelpdirect.co.uk for advice. “There were plenty of symptoms to choose from in the Backyard Poultry Section, and as two directly applied to her (blue tinge on comb and regurgitation)
Gussie's vet Megan Connell from Inglis Vets, Dunfermline said "If Gussie hadnt been brought in when she was, she would have continued to go downhill overnight, and been much more poorly the next day." “Gussie strarted out as a battery hen, Frances took her on. Since then Gussie (and her companions), have been the most pampered hens ever!”
Frances is amongst a growing number number of fans of the unique website “I’ve been telling all my pals who have animal companions about Vet Help Direct! It definitely gets the wings up from us” Frances laughs.
Vet Help Direct is a free to use website for pet owners who are unsure how urgently their pet needs medical attention. Run by British vets it uses an interactive symptom checker which covers a wide range of pets including: dogs; cats; rabbits; horses; donkeys; backyard poultry and reptiles. As well as giving individualised guidance about how promptly owners need to seek veterinary advice, the site also gives practical, customised first aid advice. A handy Vet Directory enables swift identification of local vet practices, their contact details and areas of specialism. Information sheets are also available for 'top tips' on maintaining pets, such as how to check for fleas and how to worm a cat.
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