HATCHING AND REARING 



i^ 



JD 



is satisfied, it is much more likely to visit 

 the egg-i'ood than before ; and the 

 philosoijhy of the whole thing consists 

 simply in the bird being ultimately able 

 of itself to keep its appetite in check, 

 and hence it cries no more. But remember 

 that so long as it does cry, it must have 

 that cry attended to in the way Nature 

 intended it should be, the cry being 

 indicative of a still existing necessity. 

 The whole process does not last long, 

 and the visits of the faithful cock will 

 soon be few and far between. 



It will be seen that we have all along 

 been supposing a brood to have been re- 

 moved from the breeding 

 A Variable Q^aQ ^t a comparativelv 

 Rule. 1 • <• 



early age, m consequence oi 



apprehended ill-treatment ; but this is 

 not the invariable rule, by any means. 

 The hen as frequently as not goes to nest 

 quietly, and the cock has then nothing to 

 do but to continue his attentions to the 

 young ones, either in the nursery or in 

 another cage, so that the hen may sit in 

 peace, and also for the safety of her eggs, 

 and by the time the cock has educated 

 the previous brood to provide for them- 

 selves the hen will be on the eve of hatching 

 the next. 



This is the way to make fine birds ; 

 they never want for a moment, and ne\cr 

 seem to feel the isolation which attends 

 their being put on the other side of the 

 front door, while poor old paterfamilias 

 tells them as he drops the portcullis : 

 " You see, there is a second family coming 

 on. If you require anything, call to me 

 and I will supply you ; but j-ou must 

 do your best to shift for yourselves en- 

 tirely as soon as possible." Canary life 

 has its parallels. 



Canary-seed is, of course, the staff of 



life, but a variety of other seeds can 



be used in moderation with 



Preparation ]-,p„pfit The cofTee-mill 



of Seed. 



will come into use now ; it 



can be set to grind fine, or merely to crush, 

 doing, in fact, little else than crack the 

 husk — a feat the young bird cannot accom- 

 plish for itself for the first week or so, 



even though it is feeding freely on the egg- 

 food. Some fanciers crush all the seed — • 

 canary, rape, and hemp alike ; but we 

 have never adopted such a method, as 

 if the canary and rape are crushed they 

 usually go to a meal, and in this condition 

 it simply lies in the seed-hopper, a,nd the 

 young birds only pick over the top of it. 

 Indeed, they do not like the hemp-seed 

 even crushed into a meal, but prefer it 

 with the husk just cracked, so that they 

 can nibble out the kernel. 



Our plan is to give the canary-seed 

 with a pinch of German rape uncrushed, 

 and just crack the husk of a little hemp- 

 seed as described. It should be crushed 

 fresh each day, as, if a quantity of it is done 

 at a time, it is liable to become rank, and 

 so set up infiammation of the bowels in 

 the birds. We sprinkle a little crushed 

 hemp-seed fresh daily over the top of the 

 canary and rape — though some fanciers 

 we know give it in a separate vessel. 

 We have, however, found our method 

 excellent for inducing youngsters to learn 

 to crack whole seeds, as, after they have 

 devoured all the crushed hemp in the 

 hopper, they go freely on to the canary 

 and rape, and from almost the first 

 day peg away at it until they manage to 

 crack it. 



In the event of a small coffee-mill or 

 other seed crusher not being among a 

 breeder's possessions, the husk of the hemp 

 can be cracked by sjireading some seed 

 on a table, and passing a stout, round 

 glass bottle or the good hou:iewife's 

 rolling-pin, over it, using a little pressure. 

 A few split groats may also be added to 

 the seed at this early period ; in fact, they 

 will do no harm if continued in modera- 

 tion. 



One lesson is sufficient for the youngsters 

 to learn at a time, so their egg-food 

 and seed should be placed in a prominent 

 place, and the water vessel, though himg 

 on the outside, should be placed in a good 

 light and where the birds can get to it 

 without difficulty. After a couple of 

 weeks' careful treatment in this way in 

 a cage of the size of a single breeding 



