ii6 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



itself out, and untwist tnnr lit Ik- lieads 

 on lour idnjT necks out of a knot in tlie 

 iniikUc. which will raise themselves up 

 and open out I'our little months. If he 

 then looks kirther he will probably sec 

 that each little neek has a yellow spot of 

 egg on its side, which shows that already, 

 almost before the down on the youngsters 

 is dry, the hen has given them their first 

 meal — a good omen for the future. The 

 breeder must not allow this to act as an 

 incentive to interfere with the hen more 

 than possible ; for, strangely enough, most 

 hens w'ill feed their brood for the first 

 three or four days: it is after that time 

 when many begin to fail in this respect, 

 and interference has not a little to do 

 with this neglect. 



The breeder should now add a little 

 German rape and heni)) to the canary- 

 seed, and gi\e the egg-food in small 

 quantities, Jir.sh. twice a day, or even 

 three times if convenient to do so. From 

 the time the young are three days old. 

 the white of the egg may be used as well 

 as the yolk in the comjiosition of the egg- 

 food, and a little fresh grceii food should 

 be su|>plicd daily: and if the mother is 

 attentive the young will grow apace. 



All stale food should be taken away 

 when fresh supplies are given, excepting 

 the seed, which only I'dpiires the husks to 

 be l)lown olT and the vessel rei)lenislicd 

 each morning. Once a week the seed 

 should be sifted so as to free it from an\ 

 dust that may lia\c accunuilated. 



I'Vom the time the young birds arc a 

 day old, or cxcn a! hatching, the breeder 

 can indulge in a little specula- 

 tion as to the colour of the 

 young. If lie notes that tiic 

 down on one \oiiiigslrr is dark il will 

 (lc\(ln|) into a gr'cen or else a hca\il\' 

 marked bird : or if the parents arc, sav. 

 Crested Canaries, and he sees thai a nestling 

 has a dark ci'owii. it will turn out, in all 

 jjrobability. a daik crested bird. Of conrsc 

 there are dark cappi-d Crest-breds as 

 well. 



Among its other maternal duties the 

 hen frees the nest of an\- excreta which 



Nest 

 Cleaning. 



Colour 

 Identity 



the young have passed, which at this period 

 is practically undigested food. 'I'his 

 the mother swallows, and. 

 with other food, gi\es again 

 to the young ; she continues 

 to do this until the chicks are seven days 

 old. After the seventh day it is only 

 waste which passes through the young, 

 and this the hen instinctively ignores. 

 At this age the nestlings are able to expel 

 their excreta over the edge of the nest, 

 and the hen, after feeding them, usually 

 stands on the nest edge until they have 

 done this, and then tucks them in beneath 

 her, and so makes them comfortal)le for a 

 nap. The mother, e\en if a bad feeder, 

 will usually keep the nest free from the 

 droppings of the young, but should she not 

 then the excreta must be removed from 

 the nest each time the nestlings are fed, 

 so as to prevent their vents from becoming 

 covered b\- adhering excreta. No young 

 bird will thrive, however well fed, unless 

 it is kc|)t clean either l)y the mother or 

 the breeder. The adherinee of excreta 

 round the top of the nest is of no im- 

 ])ortance, for all nests get into tliis con- 

 dition before the young l)roods lea\c them; 

 it is the cleanliness of the interior of tlu' 

 nest that is essential. 



These are the actions of a good mother, 



but there is no guarantee that it will be 



continued. It is a \ery dis- 



The Feeding ..oTccable trulh, but it is 



Question. "^ ,,1,11 



oid\ too t rue. II all should 



go on well, the young birds will grow under 



the eye almost hourly, and the nt-\t 



morning will liiid tliem iiearl\ double the 



size, ])lump and fat, and like little balls 



of down. J{ut it may be that the mother 



will positively refuse to feed them at all, 



or only al such long intervals and in such 



a half-and half sort of wav. that the 



experienced breeder can tell at the end i>f 



a (lav or two what are the futui'e pros])cets 



of the nest. If in place of full crops, 



plump breasts, and hca\y abdomens, he 



llnds every halure dwarfed, it is then time 



for him to slc)) in and assist by artitieial 



feeding, in the hojie that the want of at ten- 



tion on the part of tlu' mother which can 



