MANAGEMENT OF CAPTIVE BIRDS. 195 



DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 



If birds are given plenty of room, kept clean, and 

 suitably fed, they will practically never be ill ; but if 

 under these circumstances, they do get out of sorts little 

 or nothing can be done. At the same time cases occasion- 

 ally happen which can easily be set right by simple 

 treatment. The bill and claws, for instance, often over- 

 grow, and should in such cases be cut back to their proper 

 length with a sharp pair of scissors. A hen bird when 

 breeding may suffer from egg-binding be unable to lay 

 her egg, in this case a little oil applied to the vent with a 

 feather will probably give relief. A broken leg, if the 

 fracture be a clean one, may be bound up with splints 

 made from a quill, that being the method recommended 

 by Dr. A. G. Butler. 



To avoid disease and accidents the great requisite is not 

 to overcrowd and not to put strong and weak birds 

 together. A bird, the size of a Canary, as noted in the 

 treating of small cages, needs a square foot of floor-space, 

 and this rule should be rigidly adhered to in stocking 

 aviaries and large cages. Most people crowd far too many 

 birds together. 



Secondly, birds of different sizes should not be put 

 together as a general rule, or there will be trouble sooner 

 or later. Of course, this rule must be modified with 

 reference to the strength of birds' bills ; a strong-billed 

 small species may be more than a match for one with a 

 bigger body and smaller beak. Insectivorous birds, if 

 large, have a carnivorous tendency and are particularly 

 untrustworthy with smaller companions. 



