Birds For Dummies

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: It’s Only Natural! 7 Getting to Know the History of Birds 8 Food, feathers, and (finally!) friendship 9 Humans’ enduring involvement 9 Deciding If You’re 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 You’re 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 Bird’s 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 Bird’s 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 Right 85 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 Bird’s 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 Can’t 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 bird’s-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 Bird’s Health 183 Understanding Why Preventive Care is the Best Care 184 What your bird won’t 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 Who’s 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 veterinarian’s 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 Pacheco’s 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 It’s 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 bird’s health 246 Being fair to your bird 247 Being consistent with your bird 251 Becoming your bird’s 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 Can’t 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 Bird’s 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 Beginners 349 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 Bird’s 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 Lovers 371 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