Ratite Management, Medicine, and Surgery

Rating:
Summary: A book written by veterinarians for veterinarians.
Review: I bought this book seeking for practical information on how to successfully raise ratites, mainly Rheas and Ostriches. However, it deals mainly on Ostriches and Emus (has 2 to 3 paragraphs on Rheas and no pictures about this bird). Its section on reproduction focuses on artificial incubation in a serious and straight forward veterinarian vocabulary (as does the whole book) but it virtually ignores the natural incubation process, which is used by most small ratite farmers. I do recommend the book if you are interested in the feed composition area, it brings lots of tables, graphs and tips on ratite feeding. Its section on ratite anesthesiology is also very complete. I do not recommend the book if you are an average farmer who didn't graduate in veterinary medicine and are looking for rpractical advice on ratite breeding as it is written in a technical vocabulary directed for Vets and therefore carries the technical terms and conditions necessary for a serious (but not practical for the average farmer) veterinary assistance at a ratite farm operation. The only chapter written in an average vocabulary is the one on Anatomy of Ratites, including drawings of the internal organs of all ratite birds, again, if you are not a Vet you may find it pretty difficult going beyond this point of the book.

Rating:
Summary: A book written by veterinarians for veterinarians.
Review: I bought this book seeking for practical information on how to successfully raise ratites, mainly Rheas and Ostriches. However, it deals mainly on Ostriches and Emus (has 2 to 3 paragraphs on Rheas and no pictures about this bird). Its section on reproduction focuses on artificial incubation in a serious and straight forward veterinarian vocabulary (as does the whole book) but it virtually ignores the natural incubation process, which is used by most small ratite farmers. I do recommend the book if you are interested in the feed composition area, it brings lots of tables, graphs and tips on ratite feeding. Its section on ratite anesthesiology is also very complete. I do not recommend the book if you are an average farmer who didn't graduate in veterinary medicine and are looking for rpractical advice on ratite breeding as it is written in a technical vocabulary directed for Vets and therefore carries the technical terms and conditions necessary for a serious (but not practical for the average farmer) veterinary assistance at a ratite farm operation. The only chapter written in an average vocabulary is the one on Anatomy of Ratites, including drawings of the internal organs of all ratite birds, again, if you are not a Vet you may find it pretty difficult going beyond this point of the book.