BIRD NEWS 



11 



THE CANARY, 



Pi'ac'tioal Notes on General Manage- 

 ment and Breeding. No. 6. 



If the nest is placed in tlie most 

 sheltered portion of the cage, the 

 hen will be constantly changing her 

 position, with the result the eggs will 

 be turned. If the nest box is placed 

 so as to catch the full glare of the 

 light, the hen will only sit in one 

 position and the eggs will not be 

 turned. 



It is not a bad practice to sprinkle 

 the eggs every evening for the last 

 five or six days of sitting with a little 

 warm water. This simple treatment 

 often secures the eggs being success- 

 fully hatched. 



Clear Eggs. 



"Clear eggs" are generally due to 

 lack of tone in one or both birds; 

 plenty of cuttlefish bone; clear grit 

 and a trace of iron in the water is 

 useful. The old custom of placing 

 an iron nail in the drinking vessel — 

 before the birds are paired — is not a 

 ^ad plan. If you can place a nest 

 of good eggs under the hen who has 

 the clear ones, let her hatch and 

 feed the young ones; good results 

 often follow. 



Singing Hens. 



Better never put these "suffra- 

 g'ettes" up to breed — they are almost 

 certain to act ugly just when most 

 "sense" is required. 



Breeding. 



It is best to breed from young 

 hens — first year; males from two to 

 three years. Run a hen in the breed- 

 ing cage for say three seasons and 

 the cock four, and you will probably 

 have got their best "output." Cock 

 birds act differently and when the 

 chicks appear, be watchful of the 

 actions of the father. If he is at- 

 tentive to the hen, bringing food and 

 not too assertive or "boring" into 

 the nest to get at the youngsters, you 



may probably leave him in the cage, 

 otherwise better remove him. Note 

 the actions of the hen, for she may 

 also be a faulty parent. Experience 

 and observation must be your guides 

 in the emergencies of the breeding 

 room. 



In aviary breeding, a dozen hens 

 with cocks will, with fair good luck, 

 produce a goodly number of young 

 birds. Of course you have constantly 

 to be on the look out for "family 

 feuds" — find the culprit and remove 

 at once. It is manifestly impossi- 

 ble to raise exhibition birds in an 

 aviary of mixed varieties; don't try — 

 you will lose time, money and pa- 

 tience. When the young birds are 

 l:atched, give a little more egg-food 

 than usual, (that is if you are a 

 believer in egg food — many fanciers 

 omit it altogether) ; also some soaked 

 seeds and green food. If the hen 

 is on the nest, let her alone. If 

 the birds are hatched, their plaintive 

 chirp will be evidence of the fact. 

 Don't interefere until time renders 

 it necessary. 



If a mother refuses to feed her 

 chicks, your troubles are not far off. 

 Try a foster mother if you have one, 

 if not, then think "soberly" before 

 you undertake feeding — for it is a 

 most wearisome pastime, and rarely 

 worth the trouble. The chicks will 

 need to be fed about every thirty 

 five minutes from sunrise; four to 

 six days old, every hour; then ex- 

 tend about three-fourths of an hour 

 until tenth day, when feed every 

 two hours. You can make a good 

 food which we have often used, by 

 simply grinding up some plain crack- 

 er with yolk of hard-boiled egg, 

 moistened with warm water to the 

 consistency of soft paste. 



When the chicks reach the age of 

 six or seven days, a little soaked 

 German rape may be added, well 

 ground and passed through a hair 



