CANARIES 215 



During the first few days the hen sits closely on the 

 young, being fed by the cock and in turn passing it on to the 

 chicks. It is at this time that one of the most common ail- 

 ments of young canaries occurs. This is known as *' sweat- 

 ing," and is easily recognized by the sticky and bedraggled 

 condition of the chicks. It is not, of course, actually caused 

 by " sweating," but by looseness of the bowels of the chicks, 

 causing the excrement to be of a watery nature, and hence 

 not removable by the hen which normally performs this 

 function. The nest quickly becomes foul and the chicks 

 as well. It is customary to remove the cocks under such 

 conditions, thus causing the hen to leave the nest in order 

 to feed. The best remedy is to clean the nest and attempt 

 to check the diarrhoea. If this can be accomplished the 

 trouble will cease. 



If all goes well, the chicks grow rapidly, and when barely 

 three weeks old are ready to leave the nest. At this time 

 the hen is likely to be thinking of laying again. If nesting 

 material is not abundant, she may pluck the young birds to 

 line her new nest, and as she may decide to lay in the old 

 one, the best plan is to remove the young birds. If a par- 

 tition can be placed in the cage, they may be separated from 

 their parents in this way. If this is not practicable, they 

 can be placed in a small cage, so arranged that the parents, 

 or at least the cock, can continue feeding the offspring, 

 through the bars. This they will do until the little birds 

 are able to feed for themselves. 



From the first the youngsters must be furnished with egg 

 food and canary, rape and a little crushed hemp. They will 

 soon begin to pick at it, and when four or five weeks old 

 will be able to feed themselves. As soon as this is seen to 

 be the case, they may be separated entirely from the parents 

 and placed in a larger cage. If there are several broods of 

 approximately the same age, they may be placed together. 



