EXHIBITING AiND WASHING 



179 



sluicing in water is the work of hut a few 

 moments, and tlie cage soon dries. The 

 paint shovdd also be kept in good condi- 

 tion, and if tlie cage be given a fresh coat 

 of enamel just before each show season 

 it will look as good as new. Cages thus 

 kept set off the good condition of an exhibit 

 just as a dirty cage has a tendency to 

 detract from the bird's value. 



If the exhibitor is desirous of making 



his own show-cages, he can do so by 



following the directions 



"°^ *° "^^^^ given in Chapter V. relative 

 Show=Cages. ^ ' 



to ordinary cages. Those 

 for Norwich, Cinnamon, Norwich-type 

 Greens, Lizards, London Fancies, and 

 Crests and Crestbreds are all made with 

 loose or movable wire fronts, and when 

 first enamelled or painted will require 

 at least two coats, both inside and out. 

 When the first is thoroughly dry and hard 

 it should be rubbed down smooth with 

 fine glass-paper ; the second coat will then 

 cover with a smooth, even surface. It 

 should be remembered that enamel should 

 be applied thinly, as if it is put on thickly 

 it will run and give a bad finish to the 

 work. The cages shoidd be thoroughly 

 dry and hard before the birds are put in 

 them. We have known birds' plumage 

 to be literally ruined for the whole show 

 season through lack of this precaution. 



We said early in this chapter that a bird 

 must be at home and steady in its show- 

 cage, otherwise it will not 

 th ""B'^d" display its good qualities and 

 plumage before the judge to 

 the best advantage. This is where carefid 

 '■ training "" conies in ; that is, running the 

 birds into the show-cages frequently until 

 they become reconciled to them. Some 

 birds are born show birds, and from the 

 time they leave their parents can be run 

 into the show-cage and will move about 

 in it with all the grace and confidence of 

 an old show bird. Such sjiecimens give 

 practically no trouble. But there are 

 others — good birds, too — that have not 

 the same nerve with regard to strange 

 show-cages and faces, and require very 

 carefid handling mitil they gain confid- 



ence. Specimens for exhibition should 

 therefore not merely be run into the 

 show-cage, but accustomed to seeing 

 people in front of their cages, to having 

 their cages lifted and handled, and to be 

 "run" from one cage into another. The 

 last is very important, and is easily 

 taught, its use being to save unnecessary 

 catching, which soils the birds and fre- 

 cjuently damages their plumage. A good 

 plan to adopt is, when a friend calls to 

 have a chat and look at the birds, to 

 run all nervous birds out into the show- 

 cage and let him take them gently in 

 hand as well as yourself, and look them 

 over. It is surprising how soon even birds 

 that are nervous become steady with a 

 little such training ; the start, however, 

 should not be made about a week before a 

 show, but from the time they are able to 

 feed themselves, or soon after. Of course, 

 birds which are born steady show birds 

 will only require an occasional run into 

 the show-cage, as it does not do to make 

 them too tame, or they will want to 

 play instead of show off their good 

 qualities, a fault just as bad as not being 

 steady. What is wanted is that birds 

 should not flutter about in the show-cage, 

 but move about their perches with an air 

 and grace as if they were of some import- 

 ance. It is, of course, not necessary to 

 use newly painted show-cages for training, 

 so long as they are scrupulously clean. 

 Some large exhibitors reserve their new 

 cages exclusively for the exhibitions. 



At the beginning of the show season 

 most birds that have just finished their 

 moidt and have been kept in 

 a room by themselves and 

 sheeted down, as explained in the chapter 

 on moulting, will be fit for the first shows 

 Avithout being washed, as they will then 

 be in that spotlessly clean condition which 

 has very much to do with success in 

 exhibiting. A few weeks later, however, 

 the new coat becomes soiled, and hence 

 most light-coloured birds have to be 

 washed before being shown. " Tubbing," 

 indeed, is an absolute necessity in tliese 

 days of close competition. A few 



