THE WILD CANARY AND ITS NEST. 



CHAPTER XI 



HATCHING AND REARING 



In anticipation of the thirteenth morning 

 ushering in a successful hatch it should be 

 seen that the egg-food pan or drawer is 

 cleaned out overnight, and replenished 

 with a little fresh food in which the yolk 

 of a hard-boiled egg must predominate. 

 The question is often asked, " Which shall 

 I mix with the egg — biscuit or bread ? " 

 Many breeders use Osborne, tea, thin 

 lunch, or milk biscuits, whilst others use 

 good, sweet bread - crumbs with equal 

 success. But whichever is adopted should 

 be adhered to ; there should be no chang- 

 ing from one to the other unless matters 

 are not progressing favourably. 



Some Canaries feed their young largely 

 on seed, and give them but little or even 

 no egg-food ; in such cases it is well to 

 remove the seed for several hours each 

 day, and so compel them to feed more 

 freely on the egg-food, as it is rare that 

 nestlings make such good progress when 



The 

 Hatching 



fed on seed alone as they do on equal 

 parts of seed and fresh egg-food. 



On the thirteenth day of incubation, 

 when the breeder looks into the cage in 

 the morning, he will probably 

 see half a shell in the bottom 

 and will hear a little chirp. 

 In ordinary circumstances he will not 

 think of disturbing the hen, but we will 

 excuse him if, on this occasion, he takes 

 a peep, though we would strongly recom- 

 mend him instead to watch his opportunity 

 when she is feeding, as hens as a rule come 

 quickly off to any dainty bit of egg-food 

 put fresh into the pan. The curious breeder 

 can attend to the other birds and keep an 

 eye on the cage for the chance of a glance. 

 Then in the bottom of the nest he will see 

 something which looks like a cluster of 

 hairy caterpillars, and he is sure, as, in- 

 stinctively, he gives a little chirp on his 

 own account, to see the bunch open 



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