Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting Started with Birds 5
Chapter 1: Birds and Humans: Its Only Natural! 7
Getting to Know the History of Birds 8
Food, feathers, and (finally!) friendship 9
Humans enduring involvement 9
Deciding If Youre Ready for a Bird 14
Putting in the time 14
Shelling out the bucks 17
Dealing with the noise and mess 17
Chapter 2: Narrowing the Choices 19
Deciding What Youre Looking for in a Bird 20
Judging interactivity 20
Considering size 21
Making a mess 21
Bring in da noise 22
Talking ability 22
Paying attention to price 23
Considering the Species 24
The hands-off color and songbirds 25
Small parrots 27
Medium-size parrots 33
Large parrots 36
Toucans, mynahs, and some others 42
Chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, peafowl, and turkeys 42
Chapter 3: Deciding on a Bird of Your Own 47
Telling the Girls from the Guys 49
Checking Up on a Birds Good Health 51
Making Mature Decisions about Age 52
Weighing the pros and cons of baby birds 52
Considering the prospect of an older bird 54
Finding a Reputable Source 56
Pet stores 58
Breeders 60
Private parties 61
Protecting Your Rights 62
Part 2: Caring for Your Bird 63
Chapter 4: Preparing for Your Birds Arrival 65
Shopping for Cages 66
Considering size: Bigger is better 66
Focusing on material: Wood or metal? 67
Knowing what to look for in a cage 68
Shopping for a travel carrier 69
Perch Perfect: Finding the Right Perch for Your Bird 71
Diving into Dishes and Waterers 75
Keeping Your Bird Entertained 76
Play stands and gyms 77
Food as entertainment 78
Clearing the Air 81
Cleaning Up 82
Stocking up on cleaning supplies 82
Preventing messes in the first place 83
Chapter 5: Starting Your Bird Off Right85
Setting Up the Cage 86
Settling In 88
Managing Introductions 90
Kids 90
Cats 90
Dogs 91
Other birds 93
Building Trust through Training 93
Rules for you 94
Teaching the Step up cue 95
Target training 96
Carrier training 98
Keeping Things Clean: A Basic Regimen 99
Setting up for cleaning 100
Everyday cleanups 101
The big clean 103
Identifying Your Bird in Case He Flies the Coop 103
Banding 104
Microchipping 104
Chapter 6: The New Art, Science, and Fun of Feeding Birds Right 107
Understanding Bird Nutrition 108
Macronutrients 109
Micronutrients 113
Knowing What Your Bird Should Be Eating 115
Pelleted diets 115
Fruits and vegetables 118
Food for people and other pets 120
Nuts 120
Seeds 121
Converting Your Birds Diet 123
Feeding Birds of a (Slightly) Different Feather: Lories and Lorikeets 126
Chapter 7: Beyond Food and Water: Bird Basics 129
Translating Bird Body Language 130
The eyes have it 131
Say what? 132
Beak bulletins 134
Wing things 136
Tail tales 137
Posture primer 138
Getting a Handle on Your Bird 140
Meet Mr Towel 141
Practicing Good Grooming 143
Trimming nails 143
Clipping wings 145
Raining down with showers, baths, and misting 148
Bird Care When You Cant 150
Pet sitters 150
Boarding 152
Harness Training 153
Types of harnesses 154
Harness-training tips 155
Taking Your Bird with You 156
Hitting the beach 156
Hitting the road 157
Flying with your bird 158
Part 3: Keeping Your Bird Healthy 161
Chapter 8: How Birds Work: The Short Course 163
The Outside: More than Just Beautiful 164
Built for versatility: The beak 165
A birds-eye view 170
The better to ear you with 171
Beautiful, functional feathers 171
A leg to stand on, times two 176
Finding Your Inner Bird 178
Them bones, them bones 178
Live and breathe: The cardiopulmonary system 180
Ya gotta eat: The gastrointestinal system 180
Chapter 9: A Preventive Care Approach to Your Birds Health 183
Understanding Why Preventive Care is the Best Care 184
What your bird wont tell you and why 185
More arguments for preventive care 186
Following a Three-Part Plan for Preventive Care 189
Starting with a healthy bird 189
Providing proper care and nutrition 191
Working with the pros 192
Finding the Right Veterinarian 193
Why any veterinarian may not be right for your bird 193
Special care for a special pet 195
Whos out there, and what are they offering? 196
Chapter 10: Your Bird in Sickness and Back to Health 201
Remembering That Birds Are Birds Not People, Not Dogs 202
Understanding the Role of Home Care 204
Knowing First-Aid Basics 205
What qualifies as an emergency 205
Who to call, where to go 208
What to do, in what order 209
Emergency! The veterinarians role 213
Looking at Infectious Diseases That Panic Parrot Lovers 215
Tiny beings, big problems 215
Psittacine beak and feather disease 216
Psittacid herpesvirus and Pachecos parrot disease 217
Avian polyomavirus 218
Proventricular dilation disease 218
Psittacosis 219
Aspergillosis and candidiasis 219
Offering Supportive Care 221
The hospital stay 221
Home care 222
Giving medication 223
Chapter 11: Lifelong Care for Your Bird 225
Why Birds Are Living Longer 226
Domestically raised versus wild caught 226
New views on nutrition 227
The veterinary contribution 228
Health and the Older Bird 229
Chronic malnutrition 229
Cataracts 232
Arthritis 232
Heart disease 232
Chronic pain 233
Knowing When Its Time to Say Goodbye 235
Euthanasia options 237
Dealing with loss 238
What If You Go First? 241
Part 4: Living Happily with Your Bird 243
Chapter 12: Behavior 101: Getting to Good Bird! 245
Setting the Stage for Good Behavior 246
Ensuring your birds health 246
Being fair to your bird 247
Being consistent with your bird 251
Becoming your birds life coach 251
Problem-Solving Unwanted Behaviors 255
Feather picking 255
Biting and other forms of aggression 260
Screaming 261
Deciding What to Do If You Cant Solve a Big Problem 264
Chapter 13: Living in a Multiple-Bird Household 267
Deciding Between Companion Birds and Breeders 268
Choosing birds for companionship 269
Deciding whether breeding is right for you 270
Understanding the Closed Aviary Concept: Rules to Live By 271
Choosing Compatible Birds 272
Species and gender issues 272
Size and temperament issues 273
Recognizing the Joys and Challenges of Breeding 274
Pair bonding: Til death do us part 275
Setting up your birds love nest 276
Taking care of eggs 277
Raising babies 279
Chapter 14: Caring for Chickens and Other Backyard Poultry 283
Chickens with Benefits: Seeing What Chickens Have to Offer 285
Considering Different Chicken Breeds 287
Buying Chicks or Chickens 290
Poultry Keeping 101 291
Setting your chickens up with a proper coop 292
Keeping predators at bay 293
Feeding your chickens what they need 294
Protecting your lawn and garden 296
Controlling waste 296
Keeping your chickens healthy 297
Providing your chicken with enrichment and training 299
Outfitting your chicken with diapers, sweaters, dresses, and more 300
Keeping Your Chickens Safe around Other Family Pets 301
Keeping Other Kinds of Poultry 304
Ducks 304
Geese 306
Turkeys 307
Guineafowl 308
Game birds 309
Peafowl 309
Part 5: The Part of Tens 311
Chapter 15: Ten Bird Myths Debunked 313
Birds Are Low-Maintenance Pets 314
Birds Are High-Maintenance Companions 314
Birds Are Fragile 315
A Hand-Fed Bird Makes a Better Pet 316
Seed is the Best Diet for Birds 316
Birds Get Mites and Lice Easily 317
Birds Catch Colds from People 317
A Sick Bird is a Dead Bird 318
Lovebirds Will Die of Loneliness If Not Kept in Pairs 318
All Parrots Talk 319
Chapter 16: Ten Steps to a Healthy Bird 321
The Physical Examination 322
Having Your Vet Review Your Caging and Husbandry Techniques 324
Feeding Your Bird a Healthy Diet 325
Performing a Behavioral Checkup 326
Introducing a New Bird to Your Household without Endangering the Birds You Already Have 326
Ordering Blood Tests 327
Screening for Bacteria, Viruses, and Fungi If Necessary 327
Testing for the Specific Causes of Some Diseases 328
Determining Your Birds Gender 328
Considering Vaccination 329
Chapter 17: Ten Questions to Ask When Buying a Bird 331
Where Do You Get Your Birds? 331
How Many Birds Do You Sell per Year? 333
What Are the Terms of the Sales Contract and Post-Purchase
Warranty? 333
What Are Your References? 334
How Old is This Bird? 334
Does This Bird Have Any Medical Problems, Past or Current? 336
Does This Bird Have Any Behavioral Problems? 336
How Have You Socialized This Bird? 337
What Have You Been Feeding This Bird? 338
May I Visit and Get to Know the Bird Before Buying? 338
Chapter 18: Ten (Or So) Must-See Avian Websites 341
Fun for Kids and Adults, Too 341
Behavior Help and Then Some 342
Enraptured over Raptors 343
Help Us Get Home 343
Meet Alex, the Star 344
Birds of a Feather, Flocking Together 345
Sources for Health Information 346
Helping Birds in Need 347
Chapter 19: Ten Best Birds for Beginners349
Canaries and Finches 350
Budgies (Parakeets) 352
Chickens 353
Cockatiels 354
Quaker Parakeets 355
Poicephalus Parrots and Parrotlets 357
Pionus Parrots 358
Pyrrhura Conures 359
Amazon Parrots 361
Peach-Faced Lovebirds 362
Chapter 20: Ten Common Dangers to Your Birds Life 363
Predators 364
Flying Free 364
An Open Door or Window 365
Inhalants 366
Toxic Plants 367
Certain Foods 368
Heavy Metals 368
Over-the-Counter Medications 369
Your Feet 369
Electrical Cords 370
Chapter 21: Ten Disaster-Planning Tips for Bird Lovers371
Consider the Possibilities 372
Make a Contact List 373
Make Sure Your Bird Carries ID 373
Make and Trade Bird-Care Files 374
Collect Food and Supplies 374
Keep a First-Aid Kit Fully Stocked 375
Plan, Plan, Plan, and Practice 375
Keep Your Bird Secure and Separate 375
Keep a Lost Bird Kit Ready 376
Be Prepared to Help Others 376
Appendix: Resources 377
Index 387
