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The Essential African Grey
The Essential Guides have all the facts that the new or experienced pet owner needs for a successful relationship with his or her pet. Packed with interesting sidebars, the books discuss the special characteristics of the pet; bringing your new pet home; the optimal way to feed your pet; and how to properly groom your pet. Also included are comprehensive chapters on health care and how to train your pet like an expert.The many vibrant and descriptive photos in the Essential Guides are taken by a professional photographer, and each book contains perforated fact cards with lots of helpful care tips. Consulting Editor Ian Dunbar, Ph.D., MRCVS, is the founder and an ongoing member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. onsulting Editor Pamela Leis Higdon, an aviculturist of long standing, was an associate editor for Bird Talk magazine and the first managing editor of Birds USA.
96 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 1999
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 14, 2015
Okay, can I just roll my eyes at this book?
Not because it didn't have useful information, because it did.
Not because the information it contains doesn't cover enough topics regarding living with an African Grey.
But because it was super basic information. Information that nowadays you can easily get from just skimming one article on the Birdtalk website about African Greys (well, okay, maybe 2 articles).
I really would've liked it had there been a more in-depth discussion about the illnesses that African Greys are prone to (and how they're transmitted/what their original causes are, etc.). Granted, Higdon did point the reader in the direction of an avian veterinary manual.
I also wish that Higdon had gone into the pros and cons of wing clipping rather than just blanket-statementing it and saying "no matter what, clip your Grey's wings."
I guess my real problem with this is that it's very, very basic information. Which really isn't a problem if you want a source for basic information. But for people nowadays (keep in mind, this was published in 1999), basic information is just a Google search away.
That being said, this definitely does do a good job covering the basics of owning an African Grey. So based simply upon that and not my own personal issues with that, I'm bumping up my rating from a 3/5 to a 4/5. And I did find the sections on avian anatomy helpful as well, since it's very different from mammalian anatomy and that does impact things that owners need to know regarding handling their birds (e.g., birds have hollow bones that are more prone to fractures; birds don't have diaphragms to help them breathe so constricting their chests in any way when handling them is NOT good).
Not because it didn't have useful information, because it did.
Not because the information it contains doesn't cover enough topics regarding living with an African Grey.
But because it was super basic information. Information that nowadays you can easily get from just skimming one article on the Birdtalk website about African Greys (well, okay, maybe 2 articles).
I really would've liked it had there been a more in-depth discussion about the illnesses that African Greys are prone to (and how they're transmitted/what their original causes are, etc.). Granted, Higdon did point the reader in the direction of an avian veterinary manual.
I also wish that Higdon had gone into the pros and cons of wing clipping rather than just blanket-statementing it and saying "no matter what, clip your Grey's wings."
I guess my real problem with this is that it's very, very basic information. Which really isn't a problem if you want a source for basic information. But for people nowadays (keep in mind, this was published in 1999), basic information is just a Google search away.
That being said, this definitely does do a good job covering the basics of owning an African Grey. So based simply upon that and not my own personal issues with that, I'm bumping up my rating from a 3/5 to a 4/5. And I did find the sections on avian anatomy helpful as well, since it's very different from mammalian anatomy and that does impact things that owners need to know regarding handling their birds (e.g., birds have hollow bones that are more prone to fractures; birds don't have diaphragms to help them breathe so constricting their chests in any way when handling them is NOT good).
Displaying 1 of 1 review