4i8 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



Loss of 

 Voice. 



fresh cases it is prelly eerlain to cure, and 

 chronic ones to ameliorate. 



Loss of voice is a coniiiion conijilaiiit. es- 

 pecially will) Canaries, and in our opinion nine- 

 tenths of the cases are caused liy 

 exposure to currents of cold air. 

 If birds are allowed to nioull in a 

 draughty place, even if nothing worse ha|)pens. 

 their song is affected, and attacks are not eon- 

 flned to the moulting season. Such cases, liow- 

 cver, are not difficult to treat ; at first give a drop 

 or two of castor oil direct into the beak, and 

 fill the drinker with a mixture composed of W 

 drops of glycerine in a wineglassful of water, 

 with a bit of gum-arabic the size of a large iiea, 

 and 5 drops of paregoric. .\ little i)ieee ot tat 

 raw bacon with the rind adliering lo ll.lixeil 

 between the wires of the cage for the iiiid lo 

 peck at. is also most beneficial. I^et the ilict lie 

 a little mure generous, hut not overdone wilh 

 dainties. 'I'lKie is nothing else required, unless 

 it be a small spray of fresh watercress or a 

 little seeding chiekweed. 



DiarrhcEa or looseness is usually brought 

 about by errors in diet, which cause irritation 



of the digestive canal. Green 

 Diseases of jy^^j jj- j,j^.^,„ j,j (y„ ].„.<jp 



the Digestive ii- i , > i 



^ quantities, too wet, or stale. 



Organs. '.,, , ,. , „, , 



will produce diarrlKca. Stale 



or unwholesome water is another fre([iient 



cause, and so are stale egg, and bread-and- 



niilk that has turned sour. Exposure lo cold, 



by sending the blood lo the internal organs. 



is one more source of diarrlKca; while, again. 



the disease is (dten induced from an o\-erllow 



of bile, which is a laxative naturally. 



The slools are generally watery, and conlaiii 



shreds of half-digested food. It there is iiuich 



irritation of the alimenlary canal, the fieees 



will have an unpleasant, sour odour. 'I'lils 



disorder is very weakening, and cannot pie\ail 



long willioiit causing emaciation, and pinlialils 



death. When a bird is attacked by diarrlma, 



if the cage has not been washed for some lime 



it is advisable lo put the bird at once inio a 



clean dry cage, and hang in a well-veiil Haled 



room, where it may obtain warmlh wilhoul 



being deprived of fresh, wholesome air. lis 



food ought lo be changed : if a (^anarx. plain 



canary seed should be given ; if a Hrilislur, a 



supply of its natural wild food if jiossible. or 



the nearest substitute other than il has been 



having ; liineheon or arrowroot biscuits soaked 



in new milk should be given fresh daily for a 



(lay or two, and the purity of the birds' drinking 



water seen to. 



,\s diarrhd'a is so ofleii caused by the lurking 



in the system of some olTending matter, which the 



looseness is merely an elfort of nature lo ( xpcl. 



a couple of drops of pure w.arm castor oil slundd 



begin llie treat inenl. ^\■hen I he oil has liad 

 time to operate, we must try by healing remedies 

 gently lo check the diarrluca. 'I'o this end 

 a teas|)oonful of lime water should he added 

 lo the wineglassful of drinking water. Should 

 Ibis tail to cheek the purging after a reasonal)le 

 time, say forty-eight hours, about !.'> drojis 

 of elixir of vitriol and 5 drops of tincture of 

 opium may be added to the water instead. 

 It the slools are very watery and offensive, 

 and an inflammatory or congested state of the 

 mucous membrane suspected, ijjecacuanha 

 and opium in eoiijunction will do good — say of 

 the tincture of laudanum .5 drops, of the wine 

 of iiK'cacuanha f) drops, with 'A or 4 grains 

 of nitrate of potash, to a wineglassful of drink- 

 ing-water. I^xlra care will be re(iuired after 

 the bird is luied <if diarrhtra. Plain canai-y 

 seed, and a little maw seed daily, a very small 

 portion of egg food every other day and half 

 a teaspoonful of split groats on alternate days 

 will be the most suitaljle diel for a while, and 

 a bitter tonic should be given for about a 

 week. (Gentian is extolled by some ; it is 

 an excellent bird tonic, but it should be nincm- 

 bered that it has a tendency lo relax the bowels, 

 and should therefore be avoided in treating litis 

 complaint.) We lind cascarilla bark do well. 

 The infusion is made by steeping half an ounce 

 of il in .") ouiict's of boiling water for an hour, 

 and afterwards straining. The dosi' is a tea- 

 spoonful to the drinking-wali'r. Other tonics 

 which we have used are the dilute nitro-hydro- 

 chloric acid, 10 dro|)s to the bitter water, and 

 Schacht's liquor of bisnuith ; and we should 

 not forget calumba infusion. II is made like 

 llu' infusion of cascarilla, only wilh cold waler 

 inslead of boiling. It is a capital tonic. 



This is an ailmenl from which cage birds some- 

 llnus sulTer, resulting in loss of appetite and 

 general dullness of the Inrd. 11 

 is usually caused l)y some error 

 in Ihe diet, and allbough in bad cases a lilllc 

 oil should be given lo cfTect relief, i)erinanent 

 iuvv of the comi)lainl should be elTected through 

 Ihe medium of liie food. Watercress and 

 oilier green foods may be given in the sunimer- 

 liine ; and Ihe lender leaves of young dandelion 

 lo the Canaries, and a liberal sup|)ly of Ihe 

 \arious wild seeds in their green succulent stale 

 lo Ihe seeil-ealing British, while a si)ider or 

 I wo is cxcelleni fm- insectivorous birds. In 

 winter give a slice of rii)e apple or a slice or 

 two of well boiled carrot. The waler ought to 

 be sweetened wilh glycerine which is an excellent 

 Ionic and laxali\e; and a leaspoonful of the 

 infusion of gentian also added. 



Termed by the medical i)iaclitioner enlerilis, 

 inllamination of Ilie howrls is one of the most 

 serious ailmenl s to which birds are subject. 



Constipation. 



