Customer Reviews

Conures Complete Owner's Manual

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is not very good. It basically repetes the same information many times. For example, it gives the species descriptions twice, but only has about five sentances on a proper cage for a conure. Even w/ the descriptions, it didn't talk about the specific conures traits and personality, only how big it is and where it can be found in the wild. Not even if it is readily available as a pet or if that species is on the verge of extinction, therefor you can not make any judgement at all, wheather that bird will make a good pet. I have read many parrot books and the is nothing specificly on conures in this one. In my opinion, the author just wrote about parrots in general, replacing the word "parrot" with the word "conure". The only interesting thing in this book was the pictures which gave it the extra star, otherwise it would have only gotten one.

This book was obviously written at a time when most Conures were imported from the wild and not captive bred or handfed. A large portion of this book deals with how to acclimate and taim a wild or unfriendly bird. Furthermore this book is not a good companion for the Conure owner looking to find information on a particular species. Many of the species covered in this book are not even avalible as pets or to be imported into the U.S. When I finally came to the section on the bird I was interested in purchasing all I found were the physical characteristics with nothing about its general temperment as a pet. This was hardly helpful as I knew exactly what the bird looked like but little else. Another topic of no use to me was the detailed information on the breeding of Conures. I am looking for a better source of information and would not reccommend this book to the average pet owner.

Perhaps because of his background as a breeder of various species of domestic (pet birds) and experience as a bird vet, I find Matthew Viends' books tend to slant toward the physical care and breeding birds. He maintains outdoor aviaries, which can be much more of a challenge than a simple cage in a third floor apartment. So, if you only read Vriends you might become overly concerned about health issues and nest boxes.

On the other hand Vriends' books are very informative,including this volume on Conures. He informs the reader about health matters, so that if you do experience a bird who is 'under the weather' you won't panic.

If you are seriously contemplating buying your first Conure, you might want to read Anne Watkins book on Conures and use Vriends book to complement topics dealing with Conure health and feeding issues.

To pellet or not to pellet...Vriends covers this topic and I find it timely as my new Conure (who was formerly owned by a kind lady) is fond of Zupreme Conure pellets (except purple..he apparently does not like grape). You can drive yourself crazy trying to feed your feathered pal all the correct veggies, egg yolk seed mix, minerals, cuttlebone, etc. (and I do this) or you can think about pellets. (My birds get a great assortment of greens and most of them also have pellets with or in lieu of their seed mix.) It is comforting to know that a vet and breeder of Vriends' stature is supportive of pellet use.

There is to much focus on breeding Conure's, the info there is about keeping a Conure as a pet is outdated, I would reccomend the book on Conure's by Julie Rach instead!
Hope this helps!

Conures, A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, was just that...a well rounded manual about Conures, their needs and behaviors. While focused a bit more on the aviary enthusiast, the book is still a valuable resource for companion bird keepers. Superior photographs! (But no species description for the Green-cheeked?)

If I may, I'd like to start off this review by sharing pertinent background information. First off, birds have been part of my life for 28 years. Birds varieties with which I am personally familiar include Amazon parrot, lovebird, cockatiel, and my all-time favorite, the budgerigar (better known as a parakeet). Second, I have a background as a writer. As a result, what you are about to read in criticism of "Conures: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual", does not reflect exclusively on the author, who is obviously very knowledgeable and competent, but primarily on the seemingly incompetent editors of this reference guide.

The editors of this work, which are not named, have failed to determine the angle (focus) they would like the author to concentrate upon, and hence this highly credentialed ornithologist and zoologist, Dr. Matthew M. Vriends, attempts to cover too much ground in too few chapters. The title page boasts that the reader will learn "Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition, and Behavior", but it just doesn't deliver. Instead, the author spends a great deal of time delving into a subject that few bird owners will find useful: breeding.

Initially, the book starts out very simplistically by addressing very basic aspects of bird care that will be of little use to anyone who has ever owned a bird (keep water dishes clean, provide toys, offer your bird a variety of fruits and vegetables, etc.). This is all well and good if the purpose of the book is to educate the pet bird newbie. With minimal transition, however, the author goes off on a tangent on conure courtship practices, which should have been reserved for the appropriately titled chapter, "Breeding South American Conures". Apparently it did not occur to the editors that the average bird owner will not become a breeder, or that if a bird owner opts to breed at all, he or she is likely to seek out dedicated reference material.

To illustrate the author's scattered but seemingly entrenched fixation on breeding, the subject is first broached in the second chapter, "Housing, Care, And Management" (regarding nesting boxes), and is visited again in the fourth chapter, "Understanding Conures" (regarding the aforementioned courtship rituals), and again in a dedicated chapter, "Breeding South American Conures". While the subject of breeding is not entirely without merit in a book that touts itself as an all-inclusive guide to conures, at a very minimum the former references should have been grouped with the latter.

Overall, this reference presents a disjointed mixture of simplistic and advanced information with little attention paid to intermediate questions or concerns (paying comparatively little attention to the number of illnesses and environmental hazards to watch out for, for example).

Most notably, the book failed to answer the most basic of question: How long, on average, do conures live?

The second critical flaw is in not advising would-be conure owners to buy a hand-fed or hand-raised conure whenever possible to ensure that the bird will bond with humans, and will not be overly fearful or aggressive (inclined to bite).

The third flaw is that the book advises in the first chapter, "Acquisition of Stock" to turn to the last chapter, "South American Conure Species", for information related to "which types are best suited to be kept as household pets without too many difficulties". Unfortunately, there is very little information in this section to satisfy this promise, and with respect to many species the answers are entirely ignored.

The fourth flaw takes place in the fourth chapter, "Understanding Conures". If it were to remain true to its title, the chapter should have included more on the psychology of conures. The book leaves virtually untouched, for instance, causes or solutions for screaming, how to prevent birds from becoming finger biters (effective training methods), the suitability of these birds around other pets or children, what is considered dangerously hot/cold for an indoor vs. outdoor conure, the dangers posed by bacteria from cats or human saliva, aerosol sprays, air fresheners, nonstick cookware, West Nile virus, etc. (To the author's credit, there is a sidebar on toxic indoor and outdoor plants, however.)

The fifth and last chapter dedicated to "South American Conure Species", contains the final glaring omission. I fully expected to see specific notes on how to identify gender or approximate age -- relevant because my new family member is a Half-Moon Conure that flew up to a neighbor who, in turn, gave it to me -- and yet there were no comments on age determination, and very little sexing information beyond various invasive methods such as endoscopy or DNA testing, which are described in chapter four. Devoting an entire chapter at the conclusion of the book to species-specific information -- which consists mostly of trivia-like tidbits pertaining to native habitats -- while neglecting to mention gender clues such as male vs. female coloration patterns, for example, was a poor judgment call, in my opinion.

In all fairness, a book of this length, at 106 pages excluding the index, cannot be all things to all people.* That reality, in particular, underscores the value of choosing a focus and sticking to it -- yet Barron's Educational Series, Inc. editors failed to target the book to a specific type of reader or market.

None of this is to say that this book neglects to impart valuable information. In fact, it touches upon almost every remaining issue of interest -- from identifying a healthy bird (e.g. healthy conures generally sleep on one foot), to the difference between an outdoor aviary, indoor aviary and a "bird room", to what size of perch is best suited for their feet. Unfortunately, this work misses some of the obvious questions and over-emphasizes some of the matters that are of less interest to non-breeders or new owners. Finally, I found at least one aspect of the author's advice questionable: bathing a bird in dish soap in preparation for a bird show. If you are going to forcefully wash a bird at all, why not advocate less harsh or toxic cleansers, or at least those that are less likely to sting or burn, such as baby-safe products?

In conclusion, I am sorry to note that the Internet is a better resource for information about conures, which is a sad reality because reference book sales will increasingly suffer in this Internet age until, that is, publishers figure out how to offer reference material that is more informative and engaging than the average Website posted by amateurs or volunteer experts. With stiff competition from armchair enthusiasts, often at no cost, publishers must take extraordinary care to ensure that their subject matter is exceptionally well organized, carefully targeted, and clearly written by a professional writer who has anticipated the questions readers will ask so as to avoid the meandering or repetitive style associated with novice writers, be they academic experts who have a tendency to come across as impersonal, overly technical or dry (without proper editorial oversight), or Website-running hobbyists who are often conversational and informal in tone, yet lacking in credible credentials.

Bottom line? If you want an introduction to specific information about breeding conures, this book will offer more information than you might otherwise expect from its all-inclusive title, "Conures: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual". If, on the other hand, you wish to learn generalized information about training techniques, or the ownership pros and cons of specific conure varieties (including lifespan), look elsewhere.


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* As of this writing, Amazon's description states that the book is 64 pages, which is incorrect. There are a total of 111 pages in this guide.

I have to agree with most of what's been said here. I have two wonderful hand-reared black-tailed conures as pets - now this species is virtually unheard-of in captivity, so I bought this book on the strength of the 'detailed species descriptions' advertised. What a slap in face! Apparently my birds are simply 'similar to maroon-bellied conures, but ...not as interesting' (exact quotation). The book is written from a breeder's point of view, and a breeder stuck two decades ago for that matter. There is a strangely impersonal tone to the whole book, which some pet owners who don't see their birds as liquid assets may find off-putting. I certainly did. However, the many photos are good, which earns it the extra star.