Product Description

"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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #432247 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 250 pages

Review
Absolutely the best book available for the bird breeder who would like to make an income with their birds. -- Penrose Pet Review

Anyone who is serious about raising parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds or finches needs this book. I needed this information years ago. -- Lou Gillian, commercial bird breeder

Breeders and hobbyist alike have much to gain from this book. A wealth of information not readily available. Excellent book!!! -- Delaney's Wholesale Pets

From the Author
If You Love Pets, why not consider making an income doing something that you truly enjoy, either part-time or full-time? Small Birds Are Big Business!!! Consider raising parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds or finches for the pet industry. Millions of these popular little birds are needed yearly. The pet bird business is a little known, yet well-established business that is well over 100 years old. It is not a fly by night fad or get rich quick scheme, but a simple, legitimate business that has stood the test of time. Raising pet birds can be done virtually anywhere by almost anyone, border to border, coast to coast. You are not dependent on local markets since you can ship your birds nationwide via airfreight. What started out as a part-time business for my wife, quickly turned into a full-time family business that allowed us the opportunity to work at home, make an extremely good living, send our boys through college and take an early retirement. After retiring I made the decision to write a book to show others how to do what I and many others have successfully done. "The Complete Guide to Raising Pet Birds for Profit - The Greatest Backyard Business Ever" is over 250 pages of proven methods to enable you to succeed in the pet bird business.

About the Author
About The Author

James McDonald is a recognized authority with over 29 years of experience in the field of exotic birds and animals, having sold approximately one million birds during that time. Not only has he been successful in breeding many different species of exotic birds and animals, but he also built a very profitable nationwide wholesale distributorship of pet birds. He has given lectures on breeding and raising exotic birds to veterinary classes at Texas A&M University and has spoken at numerous seminars and events throughout the country, including symposiums at such places as Purdue University. James has authored many articles on the subject of exotic birds and has been written about in newspapers and magazines, and he has appeared on television and news programs featuring the exotic bird business.

Having been raised on a farm, his love for animals came naturally. But that farm background also taught him that it was extremely difficult to make a profit with animals that were sold by the pound, because most of those animals consumed so much costly feed that by the time they reached a marketable size, there was very little profit to be made. Hence, he looked for something that was not a fad, that had a good history with a proven track record behind it, that had a strong demand and could be sold by the head and not by the pound. Exotic birds were the answer. They had a high profit margin and could be sold when they were young.

Through the years he has helped many people in his local area start their own successful backyard business breeding small pet birds, both as hobbyist as well as on a commercial scale. Recognizing that others throughout the country would enjoy breeding these fascinating birds, James wrote The Complete Guide To Raising Pet Birds For Profit-The Greatest Backyard Business Ever (2003). James now concentrates much of his time on helping others to acquire the finest in breeder-quality birds.

Other exotic bird books by James McDonald include How to Build Your Own Aviary, Cages, Nestboxes, Etc. and $ave A Bundle:The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide.

Customer Reviews

Best book I've read in awhile !
After leaving a 20 year career with the government, I was hoping to find something more creative. While looking for information on buying a pet bird for my daughter , I happened across not only a great book about birds but also a new career. Although I will be starting at the hobby level at first , with the straight forward advice and information in this book I really feel I can expand this to any level. This book reflects 25 years of some one elses hard work and experience. Not only did I find the information on raising birds fascinating but there is a wealth of knowledge for anyone looking to start their own business.

A Must Have Book if You Are Considering Breeding Small Birds
This book is full of information on the breeding and raising of parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds and finches and includes several chapters on the marketing of pet birds, including how to ship birds via the airlines. It covers in detail both cage and colony breeding methods. It is essential reading if you are considering raising pet birds, and should be read cover to cover several times to absorb the information before you begin. Although I have raised birds for several years and consider myself an experienced breeder, I found much information in the book that I can use to make my small operation more efficient and profitable. For the beginner or the experienced, this book is extremely valuable and will enable one to benefit from McDonald's years of experience with exotic birds. He is quick to point out that while raising pet birds can be a profitable business or hobby, that a person must truly love and enjoy animals if they are to succeed in this business. There is no room for doubt that James McDonald is a true animal lover and puts the welfare of animals at the top of the list. In the closing part of the book he makes references to biblical scriptures, pointing to the fact that we all have a moral responsibility and obligation to the ethical and humane treatment of our animals. I recommend this book for the hobbyist as well as for the serious breeder of pet birds.

Excellent book on raising small birds
I was looking for a secondary income when I ran across this book. I found that the pet business is a huge business that I had never really thought about. I have always loved birds and animals and this book had the information that I needed to get started with a small business of my own. After reading the book through twice, I knew this was something that I would enjoy doing. I located a wholesale buyer in my area who agreed to buy my production. The book is well written, very interesting, and easy to understand. After reading the book you can clearly see that the author is an animal lover and is very much interested in the welfare of the birds, since he discourages anyone from entering this business solely for the financial rewards. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to breed the smaller types of pet birds, either for fun or as a small business.