Avian Vets

A Centre of Avian Veterinary Excellence

Great Western Exotics is the only full time Specialist staffed avian veterinary service in the Southern UK.

We have a dedicated team of three vets specifically trained to care for the everyday needs of raptors, parrots and all other birds, headed up by Neil Forbes DipECZM(Avian) FRCVS, RCVS and European Recognised Specialist in Avian Medicine.  

Neil and has 25 years experience as a pioneer of avian medicine, as well as working with a wide range of exotic animals, and has written and published various books and articles on avian medicine, lecturing to international conferences on this subject in many parts of the world, and is currently President of the European College of Zoological Medicine.

We have access to full diagnostic services including

• endoscopy
• ultrasound
• magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT scanning
• fluroscopy

• radiography (x-rays)

and a comprehensive in-house laboratory to assist in making a rapid and specific diagnosis, so as to optimise prognosis.

Other avian services include

• DNA & surgical sexing
• faecal sampling
• imping
• microsurgery
• identichips
• coping
• nebulisation

We offer routine consultations 7 days a week (including bank holidays) and our department is staffed day and night so our service is truly 24/7.

Supporting our avian vets is our dedicated team of nursing staff, on hand to provide the intensive nursing care your pet or working bird requires. As a tier 3 RCVS accredited veterinary hospital, we provide ventilated, disease control avian hospital accommodation and have a vet and nurse on site 24 hours a day, and ensure that all inpatients have optimal around-the-clock care to include a clinical evaluation at least every 4 hours and more often if required. We provide the very best levels of comfort and care for your pet.

Avian Vet Referral Service

We are also happy to provide clinical advice, interpret radiographs and laboratory results for colleagues in other veterinary practices and accept any exotic animal referral cases.

If your bird is not already registered with a vet you can come to us direct.

If your bird is already under the care of another vet you are welcome to come to us for a second opinion (i.e. you then become our client) or as a referral case (in which case you go back to your vet after treatment). However we cannot give telephone advice about a patient which is under the care of another vet without first seeing the patient. In such situations it is an ethical requirement that your vet is informed that we are seeing your bird.

Clients of other practices are welcome to see us when their veterinary services are not available, but these clients will be charged an Out of Hours Surcharge.