Product Description

"Filled with the information every bird–owner...needs." Joel Murphy, DVM, ABVP, author of How to Care For Your Pet Bird Praise for Birds for Dummies(r) "Squawk about this! A lighthearted...informative book about the care and maintenance of our fine–feathered friends." – Gary A. Gallerstein, DVM, author of The Complete Bird Owner′s Handbook "At last – a book that contains more than just pretty bird pictures. This was fun to read. It is clear, concise, factual, useful, and understandable." –Linda Biggi, owner, Bird Gardens

Full–color guide to pet birds inside!

"You will not be disappointed." Walter Rosskopf, Jr., DVM, Dipl. ABVP Certified in Avian Practice Get the word on birds! From finches and canaries to conures and macaws, this friendly guide describes the species that make the best pets, explains how to select the bird who′s best for you, offers tips on bonding with your feathered friend, and provides expert advice on feeding and grooming.

Discover how to: Choose the right bird for your budget and lifestyle Create a bird–friendly environment Minimize noise and mess Keep your bird groomed, fit, and healthy Bond with your bird

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #334396 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 332 pages

From the Back Cover
"Filled with the information every bird–owner...needs." Joel Murphy, DVM, ABVP, author of How to Care For Your Pet Bird Praise for Birds for Dummies(r) "Squawk about this! A lighthearted...informative book about the care and maintenance of our fine–feathered friends." – Gary A. Gallerstein, DVM, author of The Complete Bird Owner′s Handbook "At last – a book that contains more than just pretty bird pictures. This was fun to read. It is clear, concise, factual, useful, and understandable." –Linda Biggi, owner, Bird Gardens

Full–color guide to pet birds inside!

"You will not be disappointed." Walter Rosskopf, Jr., DVM, Dipl. ABVP Certified in Avian Practice Get the word on birds! From finches and canaries to conures and macaws, this friendly guide describes the species that make the best pets, explains how to select the bird who′s best for you, offers tips on bonding with your feathered friend, and provides expert advice on feeding and grooming.

Discover how to: Choose the right bird for your budget and lifestyle Create a bird–friendly environment Minimize noise and mess Keep your bird groomed, fit, and healthy Bond with your bird

Get smart! www.dummies.com Register to win cool prizes Browse exclusive articles and excerpts Get a free Dummies Daily(TM) e–mail newsletter Chat with authors and preview other books Talk to us, ask questions, get answers

About the Author
Gina Spadafori is the pet–care columnist for the Universal Press Syndicate and the award–winning author of Dogs For Dummies(r) and Cats For Dummies(r). Brian L. Speer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP ECAMS, is president of the Association of Avian Veterinarians.

Customer Reviews

The most up-to-date book on pet bird husbandry.
This is the market's most comprehensive book on the husbandry of pet birds, mainly psittacine birds (the parrots and parakeets). Written by an animal behaviourist and an avian vet, it covers all the main subjects of bird husbandry - from choosing the right bird to common diseases of pet birds. 21 Capters make acces to the various subjects very easy for both the novice and the more experienced bird-owner. Although most people will fall for impulse-buying at the local pet store, the first part of the book is still useful if you want to find out whether you have got the perfect species for you and your familiy and it gives a thorough review of certain groups of birds as far as their pet potential is concerned. Part 2 then gets rid of all the old-fashioned items and foodstuffs that most people still tend to use because this is what they have been told by the pet shop or breeder. The most important single thing you can do for your bird is to feed it right, and Birds for Dummies gives you all the information you need for this task. You will also uncover the many ways of birds to express themselves, find out how to handle your bird right and much more. Part 3 covers health issues in an excellent manner- the emphasis is on finding the right vet for you and your bird and on preventative health programs. Because of the special biology of birds, they tend to hide chronic and not so chronic diseases very well from predators (and, unfortunately, owners), until they can't cope anymore - by which time it can be too late for the vet to get the bird back to normal. This part tells you how to uncover the sick bird and how to deal with common emergencies. Part 4 deals with bird and bird-owner behaviour and offers very good strategies for dealing with undesirable behaviour traits and for simply understanding what's normal behaviour in a bird. Part 5 is a quick-reference section with hands-on advice on subjects such as what to look for when buying a bird, disaster-planning, common household dangers and last not least, ten classic bird jokes. The appendix has got a useful selection of birdy resources.
I recommend this book to almost any client that comes through the door of our avian vet practice and I have yet to come across a bird owner who did not like the book. Besides, it makes excellent bedtime reading! Highly recommended, not only for Dummies... full of up to date advice for the benefit of our feathered friends.