Quick access to comprehensive information and expert guidance for parrot owners.

Parrots are loved for their intelligence, sociability, longevity and humorous, almost-human characteristics. These same attractive qualities demand serious consideration and commitment when acquiring a parrot.

The Parrot Companion provides practical knowledge gained from an expert's decades of experience with these birds. The author examines the 25 most common breeds, which include Greys, Amazons, caiques, conures, cockatiels and budgerigars. The data for each one compare principal characteristics such as voice shrillness, mimicry and potential behavioral problems.

The author emphasizes responsible ownership, with a focus on choosing the right bird and keeping it happy and healthy. Topics include: Socializing a parrotSafety tipsAvoiding behavior problemsFinding an escaped birdStep-by-step trainingTrimming flight feathers vs. clipping wingsThe right equipmentFeather plucking, biting and screamingFeeding, nutrition, health and groomingRe-homing a parrot.

This comprehensive reference is filled with color photos and will be welcomed by new and long-time parrot owners. (20081004)

Parrots are sensitive creatures whose intelligence is often grossly underrated and, as a result, frequently exhibit behavior that is misunderstood by their owners. This reference guide to owning a parrot answers questions about problems and tensions between these feathered creatures and their owners. The basic elements of parrot psychology are explained, as are environmental factors that can cause biting, screaming, and feather plucking. Case studies of specific relationships are used to illustrate both good and bad examples of the pet/owner relationship.

This authoritative reference, the first of its kind, is a necessary addition to the library of any practitioner or behaviorist who sees avain companion animals. Because of their beauty, intelligence, playfulness and ability in mimicry, parrots are the most widely kept companion birds. It is estimated that more than half of the psittacine cases presented to clinicians are the result of behavioral problems-problems inherent to captivity.

Bringing together a host of international experts on avian behavior, Manual of Parrot Behavior explores the many facets of psittacine behavior, both normal and abnormal. The book not only provides readers with a solid understanding of the basic principles of psittacine behavior but also offers useful techniques of diagnosis and treatment for specific problems.

* Covers both normal and abnormal parrot behavior

* Offers practical techniques on diagnosis and treatment of behavior problems

* Written by a team of international experts on avian behavior

* A necessary addition to the library of any practitioner of behaviorist who sees avian companion animals

Lovebirds are small, stout parrots with a curious and good-natured disposition. Written by an expert on lovebirds, this comprehensive book covers species characteristics and offers advice on how to look after these beautiful birds.

This is our ninth set of Happy, Healthy Pet titles. Like the others, they are books that pet owners can turn to for the essential information they need to raise a happy, healthy pet. All books contain information on:feedinggroominghousinghealth carewhat to expect from the petbasic trainingAs our series expands and focuses on different kinds of pets, the emphasis remains on making the pet a companion. Owners of more unusual pets will particularly appreciate the expert advice in these books because professional care for exotic animals can be hard to come by. As always, the instruction in the books is from experts (people who know their pets intimately but always remember what it was like to have one the first time). Happy, Healthy Pet guides are rich with professional quality color photos and are designed to be enjoyable and easy to learn from.Conures are entertaining and agile birds with stunning colors. The unique characteristics of this bird have made them soar in popularity in recent years. Julie Rach, from Carlsbad, California, was an editor at Bird Talk magazine for several years.

Your Happy Healthy Pet

The authoritative information and advice you need, illustrated throughout with full-color photographs—now revised and redesigned to be even more reader-friendly!

Outgoing, cheerful, inquisitive little acrobats, conures are entertaining companion birds. They're small in size, but big in personality. This guide helps you make your conure a part of your family, with information on:
* Choosing your conure
* Creating a safe, stimulating home for your bird
* Everyday care, including feeding and bathing
* Clipping your conure's wings—why, when, and how
* Training tips, from getting your conure comfortable with you to potty training to teaching tricks such as Ride in the Wagon, Nod Your Head, and Play Dead
* Teaching your conure to talk

Conures are often cuddly and almost always wonderfully affectionate, so you'll get a lot of love from your little feathered friend!

In this updated edition of the popular guide to parrot behavior, you’ll learn why your bird does strange things and discover positive techniques for modifying those behaviors. You'll get information on training and caring for your bird, normal behavior, and species-specific behavior. Don’t let your feathers get ruffled by a headstrong, beakstrong bird. Learn how to develop a mutually rewarding relationship with your parrot.

"The Complete Guide To Raising Pet Birds For Profit, The Greatest Backyard Business Ever" is written as a practical guide for the pet lover who wishes to make an income breeding, raising and selling small pet birds. Author James McDonald made his living for 25 years with exotic birds and animals before retiring in 2000 at the age of 50. He raised tens of thousands of birds himself and built a nationwide distributorship that supplied pet shops with parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds, finches and other small pet birds. Through the years he has helped many people start their own successful backyard business breeding these small pet birds to help supply the pet industry with the millions that are sold annually. Now, for the first time ever he has put his proven methods of success in the form of a book. The book explains how to make an excellent income, either part-time or full-time breeding the most popular species of pet birds. Many breeders using these methods make from $500 to $2000 monthly on a part-time basis while full timers make much more. You will learn how you can live anywhere and ship your birds to the nationwide market. The book is actually 6 books in one. It completely covers both cage and colony breeding methods of parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds and finches, as well as marketing and shipping. Additionally, three chapters completely cover how to become a wholesale distributor of pet birds, which can be a very lucrative business. Although the book was written with the pet lover in mind that wishes to make an income breeding birds, there is a tremendous amount of information in the book that the hobbyist will find useful as well. Many management tips and pointers can be used by the beginner as well as the experienced person to increase yearly production, thus increasing profits. As a well known animal lover, author James McDonald sold approximately one million exotic birds before his retirement and he reminds the readers of the moral obligations and responsibilities of animal ownership and encourages the reader to always accept those responsibilities by providing humane and adequate care for their birds at all times. The book is not written in some far out technical jargon or academic terminology, but in an easy to understand style with plain and simple, down to earth language by someone who has actually "been there and done that." It is a must have book if you enjoy breeding birds and would like to make a profit while doing something that you truly enjoy.

During the past 29 years, author James McDonald has had the opportunity to visit some of the most successful bird farms from Florida to California and exchange ideas. As a bird wholesaler and owner of one of the largest bird breeding farms in the state of Texas, he had many opportunities to learn from other peoples’ mistakes as well as his own, and the designs included in How to Build Your Own Aviary, Cages, Nestboxes, Etc. and $ave A Bundle have proven track records. While the hobbyist raising a few birds may get by with doing things exactly like it was done 50 years ago, the bird breeders who wish to derive a profit from their bird breeding operations need the most up to date information that is available. Cage breeding has replaced colony breeding for many types of exotic birds. Bird watering equipment has dramatically improved. Convenience as well as the comfort of both the birds and yourself should be a factor in designing and equipping both commercial and hobbyist aviaries. By building your aviary correctly the first time, you will not only save money, but time as well.

This book was written as a practical guide for both the hobbyist and commercial breeders who want to save startup cost by building their own aviary and equipment. A great deal of money can be saved by doing it yourself. For example, the parakeet breeding cage described later in this book that holds two breeding pairs of birds, complete with tray, cost $10.20 to build. Manufactured cages of similar size and quality run from $50 to $70 each, plus freight. It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that you can build 5 to 7 cages for the same price that you would pay for a single store bought cage. A little more math will reveal that if you build your own cages, you can probably save enough money to purchase top of the line breed stock to put in those cages and still have money left over, resulting in what would seem like getting your birds for free.

While there are some skills needed to build practically anything, you certainly don't need to be a construction engineer in order to build the things included in this book. Almost anyone with basic carpentry skills can build a suitable building that can be used for an aviary, and practically everyone can build the cages, nest boxes, etc. that are covered in this book. It's not even necessary to have a well-equipped home workshop. The things included in this book were built with hand tools and simple power tools such as a power saw, jigsaw, and drill.

The book is written in an easy to understand, reader-friendly style and includes over 200 step-by-step actual photos, 3-D drawings and illustrations that will guide you through every step of the process. The large 8 1/2" x 11" sized format makes reading and following instructions easy on the readers eyes.

If you're interested in learning everything there is to know about how to raise happy, healthy parrots, then "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Raising a Happy Parrot" is exactly the book you're looking for!

In "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Raising a Happy Parrot", Janice Moretti takes you by the hand and leads you through everything you need to know, step by step, with absolutely nothing left out. All of the advice is simple and practical, and covers every aspect caring for and raising parrots, including...

- How to choose a healthy parrot from the store - there are little known things to look for that the pet store owner's don't want you to know!
- What species of parrots are more likely to learn to talk than others.
- How to easily and effortlessly teach your parrot to talk.
- How to feed your parrot properly (not only to avoid health conditions, but emotional problems as well).
- How to set up your parrot's cage so that it's the ideal parrot habitat.
- The 5 things you must do before placing your parrot in his new home. How to care for a single parrot and more than one!
- The surefire signs of parrot illness that will tell you if your parrot needs medical attention (including an entire chapter devoted to parrot illnesses and cures).
- The one location you should never place your parrot's cage.
- Put his home here and you're nearly guaranteeing that he'll develop emotional and physical problems.
- A crash course on parrot behavior. Knowing what's normal and healthy behavior (and what's not!) can help you provide the best possible care for your parrot.

...and much more!

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Raising a Happy Parrot" is written in plain, easy to understand English (you won't find any complicated technical jargon here), and covers every aspect of owning and raising parrots, so you can get started right away, no matter what your current level of experience may be.

So if you've always wanted your own parrot, but don't know where to get started, then "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Raising a Happy Parrot" will show you how to have the happiest parrot in town.

Get your copy today!

With his signature shoulder mascot, Harry, a scarlet macaw, perched proudly on his shoulder, Marc Morrone, Martha Stewart's resident pet keeper has his unique bird style in this new book, Ask the Bird Keeper. In this funny and entertaining book, Marc offers bird owners answers to more than 100 questions on subjects ranging from baths to birdseed, cages to cuttlebones, and much more! With additional tales from decades of bird-keeping and fun illustrations by the gifted illustrator Jason O' Malley, this book is a must-have for any bird owner in search of a creative new way to find all the answers to their feathered friend's problems.

Before Martha Stewart named him her “pet keeper,” and before millions of people turned to him for advice, Marc Morrone had a simple dream: to learn everything he possibly could about every kind of animal and share that knowledge with others. In this lively, colorful memoir, Morrone offers a heartfelt and candid look inside a life well-lived with creatures great and small, from the domestic to the exotic, from frisky ferrets to renegade reptiles to rare parrots. Morrone is an enthusiastic champion of all animals—furred, feathered, or scaled, domestic or wild—and his lifelong adventures take us from his internationally renowned pet store, Parrots of the World, to his home and personal menagerie, covering his media roles on both television and radio. Inspiring, informative, and frequently amazing, Morrone’s story is a memorable tribute to one man’s passion for the world of animals and his enduring commitment to their care.

In A Man for All Species, animal expert Marc Morrone weaves thrilling, inspiring, strange, and often hilarious experiences with practical advice gleaned over his forty-year career, revealing a world of adventure and anguish, humor and heart, that every pet owner and animal lover will recognize.

Parrots make a wonderful alternative to the traditional pet. They’re as loving, intelligent, companionable, and entertaining as a cat or a dog but they surpass them by far in many other ways. They don’t require walks around the block, they’re perfect for apartment living, most have long life spans, and they’re full of personality. Besides, when was the last time you saw a vibrant blue cat or had a conversation with a talking dog?

Whether you are just thinking about buying a parrot or you’ve had parrots for years, Parrots for Dummies is full of helpful information about how to be the best parrot guardian you can be. Parrots for Dummies is packed full of useful tips, hints, reminders, and warnings about everything related to parrots and their care, including: Picking a parrotBringing a new parrot homeParrot behavior made simpleTaming and training your birdTravel tips

Author Nikki Moustaki, avian care and behavior consultant and author of Parakeets for Dummies, gives you all of her experienced advice about owning, caring for, and loving parrots. She draws on her professional knowledge as well as her personal familiarity with the bird to show you how to make the most of your parrot-guardian relationship. She includes information on: Purchasing and adopting a parrotProper housing and foodParrot illnesses and diseasesCorrecting behavioral problemsLiving in a multiple parrot householdBreeding and showing parrots

In addition to all the help and guidance, Parrots for Dummies comes with a full-color insert with pictures of over 25 different kinds of parrots to help you choose a new pet that catches your eye or find your existing pet’s nearest relation. So whether you’re buying your first parrot or looking for some advice about an old friend, Parrots for Dummies has something for you.