DISORDERS OF TAME BIRDS. 15 



without tlieir feathers beyond the proper time ; a tepid bath 

 removes with such success the dryness of their quills, that in 

 twenty-four hours after replacing them damp in their nest 

 they are in general covered with feathers. I shall end this 

 ])aragraph with showing at what time it is best to remove 

 young wild birds from their nest when intended to be reared. 

 It is when the quills of the tail feathers are come out, and the 

 other feathers are begun to grow, the eyes not being quite 

 open. If removed earlier, their stomach will be too weak to 

 support their new food ; if taken later, it will be very difficult 

 to make them open their beaks to receive a food which is 

 unknown to them. There are some species, however, that are 

 so easily reared, that any time will answer. 



DISORDERS OF TAME BIRDS. 



All tame animals are much more subject to disease than 

 wild ones ; and birds so much the more, as they are often shut 

 up in very small cages, where they can take no exercise. It is 

 often supposed that birds, in their natural free state, have no 

 diseases ; but people who will take the trouble to observe, will 

 soon perceive the falsehood of this assertion. I have often 

 found hedge-sparrows full of pimples, particularly in the naked 

 parts, the feet, and round the beak. Their diseases are often 

 increased by the delicacies of all kinds which are given them, 

 such as biscuits and sugar, which injure the stomach, and cause 

 a slow decay. 



The principal diseases and their cures, according to my 

 experience, are as follows ; not, however, that different bu'ds do 

 not require, according to their food, different treatment. 



I shall mention, under each bird, what must be done to cure 

 those diseases which are peculiar to it, when general remedies 

 fail. 



THE PIP. 



This is a catarrh, or cold, by which the nostrils are stopped 

 up, and the membrane covering the tongue is hardened by 

 inflammation. In large birds it is common to remove this 

 skin, taking it off from the base to the tip : bv thi* means this 



