Birds For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 99-65976
ISBN: 0-7645-5139-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6
1B/TR/QZ/QS/IN
Gina Spadafori is an award-winning author with two top-selling pet care books to her credit: Dogs For Dummies and Cats For Dummies (the latter co-authored with Paul D. Pion, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM). Her weekly Pet Connection column is offered through the Universal Press Syndicate and appears in some of the major newspapers in the country, as well as in the Pet Care Forum of America Online. Gina is a contributing editor and essayist for Pets.com, the leading pet store on the Internet, and she has also written extensively about pets for both pet-related and mainstream magazines.
The Dog Writers Association of America presented Dogs For Dummies with the President’s Award for the best writing on dogs and the Maxwell Medallion for best general reference book. The Cat Writers Association hailed Cats For Dummies as the Best Work on Responsible Cat Care, Best Work on Feline Nutrition, and Best Work on Feline Behavior.
Gina lives in Sacramento, California, with Patrick, a Senegal parrot; Andy, a Shetland sheepdog; and two flat-coated retrievers, Heather and Benjamin.
Brian L. Speer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (Avian Practice), ECAMS, is one of only a handful of veterinarians certified as an avian specialist in both the United States and in Europe. His specialty practice, The Medical Center for Birds, draws its clientele from all over Northern California, and he consults on cases around the globe.
A graduate of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Speer has limited his practice to birds since 1989, treating everything from budgies and cockatiels to storks and condors. Dr. Speer has lectured in the United States, Canada, and Australia to both veterinary and avicultural audiences. He is the author of many articles in both the academic and mainstream press and serves as an expert legal witness on avian matters. Active in the Association of Avian Veterinarians, he has served as chair of the aviculture committee, as a member of the board of directors, and is currently serving as the group’s president. He is an avian-medicine consultant to the Veterinary Information Network.
Dr. Speer lives on the fringes of the San Francisco Bay Area on a two-acre “bird ranch” populated with everything from a turkey named Margie to an ostrich named Bart Junior (BJ), with parrots, chickens, geese, emus, and more filling out the flock. He and his incredibly understanding wife, Denise, have two children, Robin and Cody, both of whom find birds quite boring but tolerate dad and his flock very well, all things considered.
Gina: To the amazing Margarets, Peggy Conway and Peg Gavel, true animal-lovers and even better friends, and to Patrick, the Senegal parrot who is my adored little muse.
Brian: To my wife, Denise, and our children, Robin and Cody, because so much of what I am and what I do is because they have made me whole in so many ways. To my parents, my instructors and mentors, my patients, and my clients — all of whom have taught me so well over the years and continue to do so every day. And to my first bird, Toby, a blue-and-gold macaw who showed me how cool birds are, and truly opened up my mind and heart to them.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions and Editorial
Project Editors: Christine Meloy Beck, Jennifer Ehrlich
Acquisitions Editor: Stacy S. Collins
Copy Editors: Linda S. Stark, Elizabeth Netedu Kuball
Technical Editor: William G. Porte, MBA, DVM
Editorial Coordinator: Maureen F. Kelly
Associate Permissions Editor: Carmen Krikorian
Editorial Managers: Mary C. Corder, Jennifer Ehrlich
Editorial Assistant: Alison Walthall
Production
Project Coordinator: Maridee V. Ennis
Layout and Graphics: Amy A. Adrian, Angela F. Hunckler, Kate Jenkins, Barry Offringa, Jill Piscitelli, Douglas L. Rollison, Brent Savage, Janet Seib, Maggie Ubertini, Mary Jo Weis, Dan Whetstine
Proofreaders: Joanne Keaton, Melissa Martin, Nancy Price, Marianne Santy, Toni Settle
Indexer: Christine Spina Karpeles
Special Help Illustrator: Jay Gavron
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Brice Gosnell, Publishing Director, Travel
Suzanne Jannetta, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Our first words of gratitude have to go to Paul D. Pion, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM (Cardiology), a brilliant and pioneering veterinarian, co-founder and CEO of the Veterinary Information Network and Gina’s co-author on Cats For Dummies. Paul decided that we would be a good team as co-authors, and he was right. Every day, in every way, Paul works to push veterinary medicine forward, and the lives of countless animals and people are healthier and happier for his efforts.
Thanks also to our technical reviewer, William G. Porte, MBA, DVM, of Sacramento Veterinary Surgical Services, who also served on the team of Dogs For Dummies and Cats For Dummies. He epitomizes the qualities of cutting-edge knowledge and compassion that all good veterinarians possess. Thanks also to Christine Eckerman-Ross, who helped in the proofing of the manuscript.
We are again pleased to bring Jay Gavron’s outstanding illustrations to such a wide audience. Thanks also to Sharon Garsee of The Bird Shop in Sacramento, Julie Murad of The Gabriel Foundation, Dr. Michael J. Murray of the Avian and Exotic Clinic of the Monterey Peninsula, as well as to Laurella Desborough, Joe Carvalho, Cerise Duran, and Dr. Christine Sellers-Stalie.
The folks at Hungry Minds are an author’s dream and deserve to take a bow: Kathy Welton, Stacy Collins, Christy Beck, Jennifer Ehrlich, Linda Stark, and Elizabeth Kuball.
A very heartfelt thank-you to Brian’s staff at the Oakley Veterinary Medical Center, who made it possible for him to have time to write this book and maintain a busy travel schedule. Special thanks to veterinarians Scott Echols, Carla Weinberg, Julie Martin, Martin Orr, Diane Mitchell, and Susan Choy, all of whom came to learn from Brian and in so doing also taught him. Thanks to Drs. James Harris, Walter Rosskopf, Greg Harrison, Bob Altman, Branson Ritchie, David Phalen, Susan Clubb, Susan Orosz, Alan Fudge, Kevin Flammer, and Chuck Galvin. As Brian says, “You have directly mentored and molded my ‘bird brain’ over the years. It is truly an honor to have you all as colleagues in a profession and specialty that we love with such a passion as we do.”
Gina would like to acknowledge the contributions of Joan Frazzini, Jan Haag, J.R. Taylor, Tonya Machen, Pam Silva, KT Jorgensen, Christie Keith, Linda Batson, and Ginger Sanders. Literary attorney Patricia Crown of Coblence and Warner in New York City deserves special thanks for her kindness and her skill. Thanks, too, to editors Greg Melvin and Alan McDermott of the Universal Press Syndicate. Gina would also like to acknowledge the support of her family: Parents Louise and Nino, brothers Joe and Pete, Pete’s wife, Sally, and their children, Katharine and Steven.
As always, Bruce Rubin cannot be thanked enough for his business advice and encouragement. And finally, a special word of gratitude to a wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Carla Weinberg, who refused to euthanize a feather-picked little mess of a Senegal parrot when he was brought to her, believing she could make him healthy and find him a good new home. The home she found was Gina’s, and the bird is now Patrick, Gina’s cherished avian companion.
Falling in love with a bird can change your life. No one knows this better than I do.
I never figured when I was growing up that I’d end up as a bird-trainer, putting on shows all over the world and appearing with my birds on Late Night With David Letterman and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. But life takes funny turns sometimes, from teaching behaviors to my pet parrots to a TV appearance on The Gong Show to a phone call from Knott’s Berry Farm asking me to set up a show to where I am now, living a life dedicated to entertaining and educating bird-lovers of all ages.
My life is full of hard work and challenges, but it never lacks for excitement. And I owe a lot of the credit to my birds, my beautiful, inspiring partners. Time with them is always well-spent and always a pleasure.
Birds are wonderful companions, I’ll be the first to tell you, but too many people don’t know how to care for them properly or how to handle them. And too many birds suffer as a result.
That’s why I was excited to hear about Birds For Dummies. Talk about a dream team! How could you beat the pairing of one of the world’s top avian veterinarians with a talented and experienced pet writer?
The book you hold in your hand is the wonderful result of their collaboration, and reading it will provide you with the knowledge you need to realize the full potential of your relationship with your bird.
All that’s left to do is fall in love. And that part’s the easiest. Believe me, I know.
Joe Carvalho
President, Friends of a Feather
Danville, California
W elcome to Birds For Dummies, the only book you need to turn your admiration and appreciation of birds into a lasting, loving relationship with an avian companion.
This book is a labor of love for both of us. Brian is a pioneering veterinarian — one of only a few dozen full-time avian specialists in the world. He realized his interest in birds before he even entered veterinary school. While working for a large-animal veterinarian, he found himself being reprimanded for paying attention to peacocks and other farm birds instead of holding the horses for his boss.
As a veterinarian, he took a big risk after a few years in traditional practice and decided to focus solely on birds. Some of his clients disagreed with his stand, to the point that one family even taped chicken feathers to their dog in a lighthearted effort to get him to treat the animal — to no avail. Brian’s love is birds, and he has treated a great many of them, from pet parrots to barnyard fowl to exotics such as flamingos and cassowaries.
Other than a couple of cats who are very aware of their minority status, you can find no animals except birds on his Northern California mini-ranch. And what birds they are! Brian’s avian family includes not only chickens, geese, turkeys, and ducks, but also several pairs of beautiful macaws, emus, and ostriches.
Gina’s flock is limited to one bird, a Senegal parrot named Patrick with whom she shares her office, her life, and her heart. Patrick sat on the desk (and sometimes on the keyboard) during the writing of this book, checking the words on the screen, looking down his beak at Gina’s three dogs, and occasionally demanding a snuggle.
As you can tell, we love birds, and we can think of few better ways to show it than with a book to help others adore them, too.
A big problem with pet ownership originates not with the animal but with the animal caretaker. No one wins when someone picks a pet for the wrong reasons or harbors odd ideas about what it takes to properly care for the new family member. Although you may think that folks are inclined to do some homework before dropping up to a couple thousand dollars on an exotic bird, we’ve seen enough to know that common sense is all too often neither common nor sense. People purchase birds for their status, for their beauty, for their song — and even for how well they match the furniture.
But birds aren’t simple creatures. They have needs and desires (some call them demands!), and many are highly affectionate and social. Some can also test your tolerance when it comes to noise and mess. You need to know all this going in, along with which bird to buy, where to buy one, and how to deal with the inevitable behavior problems that challenge nearly every bird-owner from time to time.
Successful bird-lovers are knowledgeable, realistic, flexible, and possessed of a good sense of humor. For their efforts, they share their lives with a marvelous companion. We want you to be among the successful ones, and every line in this book is part of our heartfelt effort to help you.
Birds For Dummies is divided into five parts. If you’ve never had a bird in your life and are just starting to entertain the idea of adding one, you may want to start at the beginning. If you already have a bird, you can skip around, checking out the chapters that address your needs at any given time. Is your bird eating as well as he should? Want to add another bird? Thinking about getting into breeding? We have it all covered, along with what you need to know to deal with health and behavior problems.
We’ve packed so much information into Birds For Dummies that we’re guessing you’re probably going to want to read every page eventually, in any order that pleases you. After all, you do want to make the most of your relationship with your bird, right?
No matter where you choose to start, jump to, or pause within this book, here are the basics of what you can expect to find in Birds For Dummies.
Everyone seems to fall in love with those flashy macaws and handsome cockatoos, but is either of those really the right bird for you and your lifestyle? We help you sort it all out, explaining why people are drawn to birds and exactly what you’re getting into when you decide to bring any particular member of the species into your life. Time and money factor into your decision, but there’s more — and we share it all, because we know an educated buyer has the best chance at being a successful bird-owner.
After you decide that you’re a Bird Person, what sort of bird is right for you? A colorful canary, with his lovely song? Bright and active finches? Affectionate little parrots, such as budgies and cockatiels? Or are you destined for such lovelies as the eclectus or sun conure, or the clever Amazons and African greys? You can find dozens of birds to choose from, including a few lessor-known species that we think make fantastic pets.
You need to know more than what kind of bird you want: You also have to know where to find a healthy, well-socialized companion. We walk you through the minefield of buying a bird and tell you how to find that one perfect pet.
Finally, something you can’t find in any other bird book: an exclusive ...For Dummies guide to avian Internet resources — how to get the most out of your online experience while avoiding the inaccurate, misguided, and even deadly information.
What kind of cage is right for your new pet? What about bowls, perches, carriers, and toys? What do you really need, what’s nice to have, and what isn’t worth spending money on? Part II is where you find all that good information. What about your bird’s first veterinary examination? And how should you introduce your new pet to your kids, other birds, or pet cats or dogs?
Part II also helps you to bond with your bird and understand how to handle him in a way that prevents behavior problems as he settles in as a family member. Good husbandry gets its share of attention here, too, with detailed instructions on how to groom your bird and keep her environment clean and safe.
You also find one of the more important chapters in Part II, on good nutrition. Here’s a hint: Forget the seeds! Dispensing with the myths, we provide a cutting-edge course on how to feed your pet bird, along with timesaving tips.
Avian medicine has come a long way in a comparatively very short time, leaving many bird-lovers (and some veterinarians, sadly) in the dust. In this part, we provide you with a short course in keeping your bird healthy, from identifying signs of illness to finding and working with a good veterinarian. We tell you what you need to know about anatomy and what’s normal for your bird, and we familiarize you with the tools your veterinarian uses to diagnose and treat illness.
We cover common diseases, too, along with nursing skills, giving you the information you need to medicate and otherwise care for a recuperating bird.
Finally, although no one likes to think about such things, we cover pet loss, offering practical help for grief and related problems. Of course, your bird may outlive you, and you can find no-nonsense advice on how to prepare for that situation, too.
What can you do about biting? About screaming? About a bird who chews off all his beautiful plumage? In Part IV, the emphasis shifts to developing a relationship with your bird that will last for life, starting with help for the behavior problems that drive owners crazy — and make some birds homeless.
After you experience life with one bird, you may fall prey to what some bird-lovers call “NEB disease” — Never Enough Birds. If you find yourself afflicted, we can help you deal with it via advice on compatibility issues, on caging and aviaries, and on health concerns for multi-bird households.
And if you get the urge to try your hand at breeding, we can help you there, too, with information on breeding birds and raising babies. You don’t want your precious youngsters sold to just anyone, so we share with you tips on how to find good homes for your birds.
A little bit of everything here — some chapters just for fun, and others dead serious. In The Part of Tens, we tell you what questions to ask when buying a bird, as well as the ten best birds for beginners. Take a tour of the World (Wide Web) without ever leaving home — we tracked down some fabulous stops on the Information Superhighway that any bird-lover is bound to enjoy. Avoiding common household dangers is another chapter within this part, as is an explanation of common diagnostic tests your veterinarian may suggest.
We top off the book with a bit of whimsy, with jokes about birds. Our Additional Resources appendix provides you with the information to find everything you need for your bird, along with references to bird clubs and charities you may want to contact.
The beauty of birds can’t be appreciated without color, which is why we’re pleased to bring you a full-color section in the center of this book. In it, we give you a basic lesson in bird anatomy and show you how to choose and equip a cage for your bird. The rest of the section consists of pictures of various popular species, along with information to help you make an intelligent choice for your avian companion.
Every ...For Dummies book has little pictures in the margins — we call them icons — to help you navigate through the book, and Birds For Dummies is no different in that respect. A little twist on the norm, though: Many of our icons are unique to this book, and they celebrate our feathered companions to boot! Here’s a rundown on what each icon means:
If you’re in a hurry, give him a pass. But come back, please, for that little bit of extra information. We think you’re going to find it’s worthwhile.
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In addition to advising people about their pets, Gina has made her living as an editor, so she’s pretty fussy about the “correct” use of language. In one little area, however, she disagrees with the experts: the use of the pronoun “it” for referring to animals.
We don’t like the use of “it” to describe our animal companions — and what’s more, we refuse to use it!
Although many bird-owners don’t even know the gender of their birds — you find out why in Chapter 3 — we think using “it” for any living being sets up an association that’s just not right. A chair is an “it.” A bird cage is an “it.” But animals are not “things.” They are living, thinking, loving beings: “hims” and “hers,” even if we don’t know which is which. And so are they alternately described in this book.
The use of “him” or “her” in any given reference applies to both genders, unless specifically noted otherwise.
We invite you to tell us about your bird and your tales of living with an avian companion. You can read the exploits of Gina’s animals — as well as up-to-date information on animal health and behavior — as part of her weekly column, “Pet Connection,” which is provided to newspapers by the Universal Press Syndicate and also appears every week in the America Online Pet Care Forum. (The keyword PET CARE takes you there if you’re an AOL subscriber.) She also writes a weekly essay for Pets.com. You can e-mail us at WriteToGina@yourpetplace.com, but snail mail is just as nice to get, at the following address:
Gina Spadafori/Dr. Brian L. Speer
PMB 211
5714 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95819
In this part . . .
This part gives you the information you simply must have to make an intelligent and lasting choice of an avian companion. The relationship humankind has had with birds goes back thousands of years and was largely based on an appreciation of the beauty and song of these fascinating creatures. Nowadays people are realizing that pet birds, especially parrots, are intelligent, affectionate, and rewarding companions. When it comes to selecting your own bird, we tell you the good and the not-so of the many species available as pets, and we also tell you what to look for in a reputable seller — and what to avoid at all cost. After all, you can expect to have your bird for a long time, so starting out right is very important.