CARE OF CAPTIVE ANIMALS — WALKER 327 



when used as food for birds that are accustomed to feeding on the very 

 small kinds, should be crushed or ground and given in shallow water. 

 Dried shrimp can be obtained from dealers in pet foods. 



Crabs, crayfish, and other Crustacea of numerous kinds, including 

 lobsters, are eaten by many animals. They can be fed fresh, or the 

 dried meat can be soaked or mixed with other foods. Crab scrap, 

 the refuse remaining from the commercial packing of crab meat, con- 

 tains some meat mixed with a considerable quantity of crab shell. 

 This material is used by some zoos with success. It is probable that 

 the chitinous material of the shells contains valuable constituents 

 necessary for certain animals. In particular, it may assist in keeping 

 pink in the plumage of flamingos and roseate spoonbills. This mate- 

 rial when fed to such birds must be finely ground and placed in water. 



Fish, canned, dried, or frozen, is extensively used on fur farms and 

 is an excellent food for foxes and other fur bearers. The livers of 

 some fish are known to be as valuable as cod livers as a source of 

 vitamin A. 



PLANT PRODUCTS 



There are probably only a few kinds of plants that do not produce 

 material consumed by one or more animals at some time during the 

 year, and practically every portion of the plant is used — buds, flowers, 

 seeds, seedpods, leaves, twigs, bark, roots, and the various fleshy roots 

 and modified underground stems that are rootlike in appearance. Such 

 material is generally readily accessible and for the most part can be 

 freely offered to animals. If animals generally have had a satisfac- 

 torily varied diet and do not have some particular craving due to a 

 dietary deficiency that prevents them from using customary good 

 judgment, they will rarely eat plant products that are not good for 

 them. 



Bananas are perhaps the most universally accepted of all foods. 

 Many animals that have never had an opportunity to become 

 acquainted with them eat them freely at the first opportunity. Bananas 

 should be well ripened, preferably to the point of the skins becoming 

 freely marked with brown or black. Most animals do not eat the 

 skins, but there is no harm in giving the animal the whole fruit. 



Oranges, prunes, apples, figs, grapes, plums, melons, apricots, and 

 practically any fruit that is available will be eaten, fresh or dried, 

 by some animals. Raisins are particularly convenient. 



Seeds of a great variety are excellent food, and relished by many 

 animals. The seeds most readily available in the United States are 

 the common grains — corn (cracked), wheat, oats (whole, crushed, or 

 rolled), rye, barley, Kaffir corn, milo maize, hemp, canary, millet, and 

 cooked rice. Sunflower seeds are especially enjoyed, but are too rich 



