MOULTING AND COLOUR FEEDING 83 



well through the skin of the chest. Another sign of the 

 approach of the moult is the dull listless appearance 

 that comes over the birds and the rough open look of the 

 plumage, this state is accompanied by an aimless pecking 

 about the floor of the cage, and a desire to sleep in the 

 daytime. When these things are seen you may know it 

 is time to commence colour feeding, and until you see 

 them you should follow the advice of those well-known 

 soap advertisements — Don't Worry. 



Keep the Moult Going. 



Once the moult has started you must keep it going. 

 If you want your birds to come out of the moult one even 

 colour you must not only feed regularly, but you must 

 see to it that nothing is allowed to interrupt the free 

 run of the process from start to finish. Any exposure to a 

 draught, or neglect to feed at the proper time, or to 

 mix the colour food properly may have disastrous results 

 so far as the result is concerned, but most to be feared 

 is the first named, because, whilst the others may only 

 affect the evenness of colour that means a derangement 

 of the health of the birds. A chill at this time very often 

 means death or impaired health generally, and both 

 of these are serious matters. 



A check to the moult comes sometimes because the 

 liver is upset, and the bird goes off its feed, in such cases 

 it is wise to put ten drops each of whisky and glycerine 

 in the drinking water. The one acts as a stimulant 

 and the other as an aperient, and between them often 

 sets the machine working smoothly again. In the case 

 of a bird going wrong through a chill the whisky and 

 glycerine may be given, and instead of the egg food a 

 little milk sop sprinkled with salt. 



Light — Its Influence on Colour. 



I have mentioned the fixing up of a curtain in front of 

 the cages whilst the birds are moulting. This is ab- 

 solutely needful if you wish to secure the very best results. 

 The new feather growth is very sensitive to light, and if 

 the sun is allowed to pour its rays upon the birds it will 

 be little use to colour-feed them. The effect of the sun's 



