ii8 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



weaned fi-oiii it, and feed themselves 



freely. 



We have referred to this possible feedini,' 



diflieiilty arising thus early, because it 



re(|uircs to be met at the 

 Cocks and 



the Young. 



outset, and is one of the 



iirst disappointments the 

 fancier may have to encounter. When all 

 is plain sailing, the business of the bird- 

 room will run on wheels, the birds will 

 take the reins in their own hands, and 

 astonish even the most sanguine breeder 

 by the way in which they will work out 

 the problem we are endeavouring to show 

 him how to solve. There are so many 

 phases in Canary life, as seen in the nursery, 

 that it is almost impossible to arrange the 

 various pictures in a very methodical 

 mannci', and our |)lnn will be to present 

 them as we think it probable they may 

 pass before the breeder's observation in 

 some cage or other in his room. So far as 

 wc have gone we have only dealt with 

 the nest in its very earliest stage, ]iointing 

 out the dangers which beset it, and indi- 

 cating the best methods of tiding over them. 

 The fancier will have noticed by this 

 time that the cock where he has been 

 allowed to lx> with the hen can usually 

 be depended upon as a feeder. This is 

 generally the case : the exceptions in our 

 own expiricncc have l)cen whci'c tlic 

 cocks jippearcd to be too ner\()us to carry 

 out their instinct of attcniion; though 

 their di'mcanonr and moxcmcnts told us 

 ])lainly Ihcy wanted to do so. There are. 

 of cour.sc, other instances where cock 

 birds will suddcnl\ fall sick, and in con- 

 sequence fail in this duty ; but with these 

 exceptions they are most dihgent in their 

 attention. 



,\|)|)ar(nl ly I he cock knows as well as pos- 

 sible when things arc not going on ])roperly, 

 and when he flics up to the nest with his 

 crop I'lill ol' I'ood, he will stand cm the edge 

 and say to his mate as plainly as a Canary 

 can sav it. " Von know you are not doing 

 vour dutv: tliose young ones under yon 

 are starving, and yun know it. No. it's 

 not a bit of use your fluttering in that 

 way ; I don't intend to give you another 



moullifui. If you don't mean to feed 

 them just turn out, and I will do it, but 

 don't sit there in that imnatural way. 

 starving the family, or there will be a 

 coroner's in([uest shortly." And then he 

 looks round and round the nest so wistfully, 

 the very ])icture of afTection and loving 

 attention, twittering and doing all he can 

 to induce some youngster to jiop its head 

 out. Presently one pops up from behind, 

 and in a moment the cock has him, and 

 stuffs him as quickly as possible, knowing 

 the value of every moment. And this he 

 will do all day as patiently as possible, 

 though every visit to the nest generally 

 ends in his ultimately giving the hen a 

 great portion of the meal intended for the 

 young ones. Perhaps he does so in the 

 hoj^c that she will disgorge some of it ; 

 but that hope is too often disa])pointed. 

 In eases where hens have neglected 

 their share of the duty to an inordinate 

 extent, wc have dealt with 



Refractory ^j^^j^j succcssfullv bv taking 



Hens. • • , "^ 



the cock away for six or 



seven days, and .so compelled the hen to 

 leave the nest for food. The young thus 

 get fresh air — which assists to revive 

 them — and their necks are outstretched for 

 food the moment the hen hops on to the 

 edge of the nest ; t)y this she is induced 

 to give them food, and gradually she be- 

 comes an attentive mother. When the 

 yoimg are seven days old the cock bird 

 may be returned, for by that time the hen 

 has become active, and the >oung have 

 grown bigger : they will not allow her to 

 sit so close on the nest. As a consequence 

 the two will attend conjointly to the 

 wants of the brood without further trouble. 

 Should the hen again show signs of lagging 

 in her duties, the cock must at once be 

 remoNcd. and the hen left to do the work 

 by herself. 



Wc will nut make Ihe picture more 



dismal than there is occasion for. but 



suppose that the hen is a model 



S*""^" mother, and that from the first 

 Food. 



she settles down to her work in 

 that earnest way the breeder likes to see. 

 The egg-food trough in that cage will 



