120 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



Feeding 

 Experiences. 



some other breeder is at direet variance 

 with our own as regards the elTect of using 

 some particular diet. W'liat 

 succeeds in one bird-room is 

 certain failure in another, 

 and wliat one swears by another jiroclaims 

 to lie poison. The same remarks hold 

 good with respect to green food. One 

 gives chickweed and nothing else, avoids 

 groundsel above all things, and can tell 

 you stories by the yard of how it killed a 

 lot of young birds. Anotlier will walk miles 

 to find a few plants of groundsel, and will 

 pass acres of chickweed as worthless. 

 One eschews lettuce and gives dandelion, 

 and each gives a satisfactory reason why. 

 A reason, even if a poor one, entitles any 

 statement to respect. In the rearing of 

 young Caiiaries dogmatic assertion should 

 never be listened to. We ourselves reeom- 

 niend hemp-seed — in limited quantities, of 

 course as having been a good servant to 

 us, while another fancier will say it is 

 the forbidden fruit, the unclean thing, 

 the abomination of abominations, and he 

 would not have a grain in his room ; his 



diet is egg and , it matters not what ; 



we may have tried the mixture, and our 

 birds would not lonk at it. Our advice 

 is to use any of the mixtures we have men- 

 tioned, but not all at the same time, and 

 hold fast to tli:il which gives you the best 

 results. The way should be felt when 

 trving a fresh food : all the stock shoidd 

 not be plunged madly on to it : it should 

 be tried on on<' or two birds first, and the 

 result, whether sat isl'actory or otherwise, 

 carefully noted. 



To the egg-food can be added a jiineli 



of maw-seed (|)o])|)y). or a little (Jcrnian 



rape in its I'aw state. If the 



Preparation i^,.,^ j^ Inudilesome and is 



of Seed. 



lint ;it lending to her brood 



as she should, scald the rape seed well, or 

 boil it for [i\'c minutes. I lien strain it olT. 

 ;is dr\' as pnssiblc, and gi\'c to the bii'ds 

 when cold. .Some hens are |)assionaiely 

 fond of ra])e-sced given in this wa\' when 

 feeding the young: it is good i'or them 

 and they will often Iced on this and egg- 

 food when they will iced on nothing else. 



But whatever is used, let it be fresh and 

 sweet, and when <ine diet is found to be 

 working well, go on with it. and make 

 hay while the sun shines. Our ex|)crience 

 has ever been that when birds mean 

 feeding, they will feed if they have reason- 

 able attention and proper food given 

 them : and that when they do not intend 

 to feed, nothing will tem))t them to do 

 so freely: in short, it is a (|uestion of the 

 health of the hen rather than biscuit r. 

 hemp seed. 



.Sanguine men and born theorists will 

 say all this indicates defective knowledge 

 and wrong treatment. We 

 Dangers of .,^^,.,.| t),,,,'.,,, „„suitable diet 

 Unsuitable ,, , , , , , 



Digt will hring alxiut troiil)le, and 



thinking men of our acquaint- 

 ance, who dislike gro])ing in tlu' dark and 

 search dee])ly for the how and why. have 

 come to the same conclusion as ourselves. 

 The first ste]i. therefore, is to try to regulate 

 and improve the conilition ol' tlu- hen; 

 gi\'e a little cooling medicine, such as a 

 tcaspoonful of iliiid magnesia, in the drink- 

 ing water for a few days, and a teiii|)orary 

 entire change of diet is cajiable of working 

 wonders, and reviving all the lost \igour 

 and activity. The whole (|iiestioii linds a 

 solution in tlii' I'aet tli.-it the Canary is 

 neither wild nor lanu' ; we do our best to 

 reconcile the two conditions, and some- 

 times succeed, .and sometimes do not. 

 Kspecially is this latter the ease with the 

 ine\])criciiced I'aneicr. as a eoiii|>arisoii 

 between the number of eggs haiclic(l and 

 the Canary bills of mortality will show. 



Let us sup|)ose that everything has gone 

 on swimmiiigU under the usual method 



of feeding, and that we 

 " Sweating." , i . i i 



nave l)cen Noted a eroal<er 



i)\- the reader too fond ol' looking on the 



dark side ol' the |iietiire. 'i'lic birds arc 



now I'our or li\c dass old. .and are as lat 



as moles. ihil on looking at lluan one 



niorning. the breeder may liiid the down 



all tangled and matted with nioisture. 



This is the lirst indication of the lien 



lia\iiig begun to "" sweat '" them, as it is 



not very elegantly called in the vernacular 



of the fancy, which she does by sitting on 



