I received the DVD today and just finished watching it. Very nicely done. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I would like the topics since they seem kind of basic for someone who already has birds. But I’ve changed my mind after watching it.
The piece on specialty stores was very good. I only wish there were more stores in my area. But it covered what to expect and look for. The commercial store review was pretty interesting. I’m not a huge fan of the big chain pet stores, but it really said exactly what to look for and what to expect. I liked the fact it said to come back in a few days to see the bird at a different time and to also work with different staff.
The grooming section was well done. It even had some health stuff in there. I’d never seen or heard of the cauterizing tool before. Looked a little scary, but the segment said that pros should be doing it, which is good.
The DNA segment was just right. Not too technical, but enough to understand. I was surprised that there was no mention of just taking a blood feather to do the sexing. But I liked the part of using DNA as identification means.
I was also impressed by the credentials of all the speakers. Definitely all experts in the topics they spoke about.
There were only two things I wish I could have changed. In all segments there were very close up shots of the speakers. Panning in was okay, but it was distracting that it was so close up. (At least it was for me.) The other was the credits at the end. I loved the background music, but the credits rolled just a tad too fast to read them. I realize most don’t, but I’m one of those strange few that does, especially since the bird species are listed. It doesn’t need to go real slow, just a tad bit more.
Overall, it was well done and very informative. Looks and sounds much more professional than Volume 1 when you first started out. I would recommend it to both first time owners and also those who already have birds.
Sheryl Robinson, American Federation of Avicultural’s (AFA) Illinois State Coordinator
