5pm to 7am no night staff to check on ill birds and exotics

Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital: Friendly staff and services given in a kind manner, but I don't know why it's called a hospital if there's no night shift roles to check on ill birds. I only found this out after my bird died, and it's heartbreaking to know that ill birds are left unattended during the night from 5pm-7am. A lot can happen to animals during this period. Lots of aviaries give advice that ill birds need to be checked on constantly, and needs to be kept separate from other birds and kept warm in a quiet place to recover. Clearly this is not practiced.

On Monday the 13th December 2021 I took Scott my ****atiel for a check because he was ill. The doctor said that if he's not taken good care of, it's down hill from then and that it's better if he's admitted to hospital for 2 days to be given fluids under the skin and force fed. She over sold the hospital by making me believe that he would be taken care of 24/7. I notified her that he is extremely sensitive to noise and sound and needs to be in a quiet place which she acknowledged. I paid R1600.00 deposit for the 2 days admission and the following day, Tuesday 14th , I did not receive any calls so I called in to ask how Scott was doing and I was told he's fine, started eating and on antibiotics. Few minutes later the doctor called to say that he needs to be 5 days in the hospital for extra treatment due to her "spotting" metals in the xray. She said I could take him home and bring him in daily but she'd give me special discount for the 5 days, so I agreed to the discounted offer and mentioned I would visit him Thursday 1st thing in the morning at 10am. Wednesday I received no call and I thought I'd see him Thursday and probably take him home same time because we bought him get-well gifts. Thursday the 16th at 10am I received a call from the doctor and I said I'm outside walking in. I'll never forget the looks on the few staff members faces I came across while walking in almost like they were hiding something. I asked where's my bird and I was told he died 30 minutes ago. She said the students started the first day of metal treatment because they "suspected there is a metal object". He was flapping and fine, then he wasn't fine. I was furious and I walked out with my grandmother to calm down and went back in to settle the bill. Over the phone she said she spotted metals but in person she said she suspected a metal and only on my request did she show me the xray. I asked what was his status yesterday (Wednesday 15th) and she mistook Tuesday for Wednesday and said he wasn't eating. I asked what was his **** like yesterday and she said she was "so busy", then (stuttering) she said sticky and black like when I brought him in on Monday. I asked what happened during the night, what was night shift reports? Only to be mumbled at that there's no night staff, only from 7am the students found him weak in the cage and placed him on oxygen. For the 3 unattended nights I paid R2600.00 and R850 to receive his ashes.

I'm no aviarian doctor, but I never leave my birds unattended at night especially if they are ill, ****atiels are known for night frights and my Scott was afraid of the dark, he had to sleep with a light on. He was sensitive to noise and kept shaking his head, yet he was kept among all the other noisy birds. (This is like placing a person with a head tumor in a party club with people talking over his head.) He was on antibiotics and then given "suspected" metal substance injections. I don't know if this is good practice, but to me it's more than what a tiny bird should handle at one go.

I'm very disappointed, when I fetch my bird's ashes (hopefully it's the correct bird they cremate) sadly they lost a client even if it doesn't make a difference to their pocket. I'll rather take my birds to a daycare doctor who is honest and truthful and knows what is best for a bird because he genuinely cares, and it's not a test subject for students. My mistake was thinking that this hospital division was in fact a 24/7 hospital to admitted animals, which are highly paid for per day.