What's New at KVC

Congratulations to Eleanor and partner Will who are expecting their first child in May. We wish them lots of joy.

Eleanor's maternity leave position will be filled by Kate Dickson who has locumed for us several times during 2011.

Welcome also to Dr Trepheena Hunter who will be doing occassional fill in shifts for us during the year. Trepheena has 10 years small animal practice experience and is currently studying to be a specialist in veterinary behaviour.

Clinic Specials

Royal Canin have introduced a rewards card for all of their veterinary diets - including precription diets! Buy 10 bags and receive the next one free! Also you can sign up on line to go in the draw to win a years supply of Royal Canin Food.

Don't forget that Eukanuba and Advance also offer rewards cards. Just ask our friendly nurses.

Pet Facts

Backyard Poultry

With the increasing popularity of keeping backyard chickens in inner city areas we are seeing more and more chickens in our practice. Keeping pet chickens can be very rewarding, and not just for eggs. Chickens can make great pets and provide pest control, fertilizer and weed disposal in the garden. There are a few things to consider in keeping backyard flocks:

Ensure you buy your chickens from a reputable source. It is better to spend a little bit extra on well cared for, healthy birds than try and save money. There are a number of breeders selling birds for backyard flocks, and poultry auctions can also be a good place to source birds. It is extremely important that your chickens are vaccinated against Marek’s disease – a common and extremely contagious disease of chickens which is invariably fatal and untreatable once birds start showing signs. Ideally chicks should be vaccinated at one day old and must be vaccinated before five days old for the vaccine to be effective.

Foxes can be a real problem, even in inner city areas such as Flemington and Kensington. Foxes can dig into or climb over many chicken runs and can be devastating to a flock. It is recommended that chickens are housed securely at night to safeguard them from foxes.

Ensure you have clean, fresh water available at all times. Drinker type arrangements are ideal as they reduce soiling but it is vital that water is checked daily as chickens can be very good at quickly dirtying their water. Suspending the drinker can help. A good quality, balanced commercial diet appropriate for your chicken’s life stage should be fed, supplemented with green vegetable matter. A limited amount of appropriate table scraps can be fed. Food should be provided in a suspended feeder to reduce soiling and restrict access by rats and mice. Oyster shell or limestone grit should be provided ad lib to assist in grinding food within the gizzard and assist in shell formation.

Don't forget your chickens on a hot day - they can get over heated too. Make sure they have access to plenty of shade. A soaker hose can be used over the top of the cage to proide a fine water mist to help them cool down.