Avian vet recommendations in Toronto?
Just moved to Toronto from Calgary with my green-winged macaw, Picasso. He's due for an annual checkup. Can anyone recommend a good avian vet in the city? Ideally somewhere in the east end or downtown.
Upper Canada Animal Hospital on Yonge has been my go-to for 8 years. Very knowledgeable with large parrots. Dr. Smith there is excellent.
Welcome to Toronto, Picasso is going to love the city! Great news: Toronto has quite a few solid avian vets compared to many Canadian cities.
For large parrots specifically, I'd point you toward vets with documented large psittacine experience — macaws have unique health considerations (calcium metabolism, respiratory sensitivity, sheer size for procedures).
BST's go-to vet is Britannia Animal Hospital in Mississauga — we bring our own birds there and they're excellent with exotics including large parrots. Worth the trip from anywhere in the GTA.
Other community-recommended options:
- Upper Canada Animal Hospital (Yonge St) — well-regarded for parrots
- Rosedale Animal Hospital — central, sees exotic birds
- Don Valley Animal Hospital — avian specialist on staff
Check out our full avian vets page at /vets for details on all of these. Always call ahead, describe your bird (green-wing macaw), and ask specifically which vet will be seeing him and their experience with large parrots. Welcome to the Toronto bird community!
I drive from Scarborough to see the team at Don Valley Animal Hospital — they have an avian specialist on staff. Worth the trip for a macaw.
Rosedale Animal Hospital is also good and more central. They see exotic birds. Always call ahead and confirm the vet seeing your bird has avian experience — not all at a practice do.
out past the east edge of GTA, a few minutes past Oshawa is Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic. They have specializations in exotics, birds, reptiles. They are around 1 kilometre from where the Bowmanville Zoo was, which had elephants and tigers. The zoo was shut down a few years back. https://www.bowmanvilleveterinaryclinic.com/