i66 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



Ijoiled cpg. ch()p])C(l fine or passed throu^li 

 the egg-mill or sieve, with its equal bulk 



of a good ])lain biseuit or 

 How to Mix breaderuinb. mixed with 

 Colour=food. fill 11 



a tcaspoontui ol colour-lood. 



Of eourse, if more than one egg is required 

 to serve the number of birds to be fed 

 the bread or biscuit and colour-food nuist 

 he incrc'ascd in like jirojiortion. The 

 colour nuist be well mixed with the egg- 

 food tmtil it ))resents a. red tint through- 

 out, and each bird should be allowed a 

 small teaspoonful of the mixture pei' d.iy. 

 or this quantity per head where a grou}) 

 of birds are flying together. The strength 

 of the colour should be gradiudly increased 

 by adding more to the egg-food imtil it 

 presents a rich dcc]vred tint throughout. 

 To gain this depth of ct)lonr it usually 

 takes about two heaped teaspoonfuls of 

 the colour-food to one egg, and its cciuiva- 

 Icnt bulk 111' liisciiit or bread. Some eggs, 

 ol (•(iiiise, are a little larger than others, 

 and it may be necessary to add a little 

 more colour-food licfore the necessary rich- 

 red lint can be obtained. In mixing 

 Ihc food, the two tablespoonfuls of colour 

 shoidd be blended well with the egg-food, as 

 llic iiHirc it is worked into it the dccpci- 

 the tint becomes, and it is easy to add 

 a<lditi()iial coloui' if the lint is nol (piitc ol' 

 the rc(|nirrd dcplli. The birds should be 

 fed willi the mixture at this strength 

 right tliidiiuli the moult until their new 

 suit ol' I'lalhers is complelc. 



Another method is gradually to increase 

 the colour-food up to the projiortioii ol' 

 four teas))oonrnls ol' llir 

 colour -food lo one eL;g, and 

 it s (■(|iii\ alciil bulk ol' bread 

 or liiscuit, .-ind tlnii le gi\c the liinis lint 

 ]\:\\\ a, t easpoonl'iil ol' the more eoneeii- 

 Iratcd mixluic. ()ur experience of this 

 plan is that the birds thus get <|iute ;is 

 niiieli ol' lilt' coloui'd'ood into their systems 

 as they do by the previous method of feed- 

 ing. ^Moreover, as we have not to gi\c 

 so nuK'h egg-food it is of a(l\ ant;iL;e to the 

 health of main' birds, whieii iniist be our 

 first consideration. 



It is well for the birds I'or the food to 



An Alterna= 

 five Method. 



contain a j)creentagc of oil and sugar, as 



both are helpful to their feather and colour. 



The oil also keeps the bowels 



Oil and J.- jjj. whilst the birds are beuig 

 Sugar. '^ . . " 



fed on the stimulating colour- 

 food. Some breeders add the sugar and 

 oil each time when preparing the egg-food, 

 but l)y far the better and easier plan is 

 to mix them with the peppers in l)ulk 

 at the conuucncement of the moulting 

 season, so that all that has to be done 

 later is to add tlu- eolour-l'ood thus mixed 

 to the egg-food each day. There is really 

 no dillieulty in doing this, for supjiosing 

 that about ten pounds of colour-food are 

 required to moult the stock of birds, seven 

 ])ounds of the cold red pepper (also called 

 Tasteless or Royal Red ]>epper) and one ]iound 

 of Hot Natal should be jirocurcd and 

 placed in a large bowl or pan ; a pound and a 

 half of soft brown sugar (not Dcmerara) 

 should 1)C added, and the wlioli' well si iiixil 

 together through and through until they arc 

 evenly blended : then fourteen ounces of the 

 finest salad or olive oil should be added 

 and well mixed until it is e\enly distri- 

 buted. One mcdiiun-sizcd wineglassful of 

 good brandy should then be stirred in 

 tlioroughly : this keeps the I'ood sweet 

 and good. The mixture shoidd be stored 

 in a large covered earthenware Ncssel in 

 a cool. dr\ place. It is then ready I'or use. 

 and all that has to lie done is to aild the 

 rccpni'cd quant it \ to the egg-food d.iily. 

 This is a inueh belter |)lau than adding the 

 oil and sugar each day as required, as 

 the component parts lieeome far more 

 t ho|-oiighl\' blended, and the ll;i\'OUr of 

 the sugar in tiii'u impregnates the ]H'pper 

 and makes it \cry palat.-ible to the hirds, 

 besides giving most satisfactory icsults 

 as regards colour and the good eoiiditiou 

 of the birds. 



'I'he peppers supplied for eolour-fc-ediug 

 ha\(' a certain auiouul of natur.al ml. but 

 some of the s;imples we 



Oily Peppers. 



ha\c h;iil subuutted to us 



froui time to tiuic ha\'e coulaiued iiioi'e 

 than their own natural oil. so that should 

 a pcp|)er be found to lie ^■ery oily, it will 

 not be necessarx to add the full two ounces 



