AVIARIES, BIRD-ROOMS AND CAGES. 53 



THE IDEAL BIRD ROOM. 



We now come to what some fanciers consider the 

 ideal bird-room that is, one facing south. The bene- 

 fits derived from such a room are: plenty of sunshine 

 and direct light, protection from cold east wind and 

 rough winds from the west. It sounds hardly feasible, 

 but in practice it will be found inconvenient to have too 

 much sun. It is beneficial in the winter, the early 

 spring, and in the autumn when the birds are moulting; 

 but o>n hot midsummer days it is necessary to have pro- 

 tection, and the only way to effect this is by a blind fixed 

 outside the window. An inside blind is of very little 

 use; it just shields the inmates from the direct rays of 

 the sun, but does not prevent the room from getting 

 stifling hot. An outside blind should be made to work 

 on rollers, so that it can easily be drawn up whenever 

 necessary. As soon as the sun is off the window the 

 blind must be raised or we lose quite an hour of precious 

 daylight in the evening, when the sun is in the west. 



Old fanciers know from experience the evils of an 

 over-heated room. In the stifling atmosphere, when 

 the thermometer registers between 80 degrees and go 

 degrees in the shade it is simply impossible to expect 

 highly-bred hens to fulfil their duties of feeding and 

 rearing young ones. So that although a southern 

 aspect has its advantages it also has its disadvantages. 

 The latter however can be easily overcome by judicious 

 management. 



I have known many fanciers very successfu/1 in 

 rooms facing the west. The light is fairly good all 

 day, and during the afternoon, when the sun is getting 

 low, there is actually more sunlight, and it is spread 

 farther over the room than it is in one facing due south, 

 while by that time the sun is losing a good deal of its 

 power and does not affect the inmates quite so much. 

 Most bird-keepers, again, are able to give an hour or 

 so to their pets in the evening, and can be on the spot 

 to counteract any overheating of the room, whereas at 

 midday few are able to gtve them the necessary atten- 

 tion. Of course, many variations of these points will 

 be met with, but enough have been gone into to help 

 beginners in. making a choice. Always remember that 

 to be successful one must have light and air. 



