96 CANARIES 



Aphtha. 



This complaint is one which any good fancier would 

 be ashamed to admit was troubling his birds, because it 

 is generally produced by the carelessness of the aviary 

 attendant. Some fanciers allow the drinking vessels 

 used in the aviary to become very foul. The sides then 

 become covered with foreign substances, which cause 

 ulceration of the throats and tongues of the birds com- 

 pelled to drink therefrom. When a bird is suffering from 

 this complaint the sides of its throat will be covered with 

 small ulcers, and unless speedily attended to will die of 

 starvation, owing to its being unable to swallow its food. 



The best treatment for this complaint is the following : 

 Ten grains each of chlorate of potassium and borax should 

 be mixed in each ounce of drinking water. The same 

 quantity should be mixed with one drachm of glycerine, 

 and the bird's mouth wiped out with this three or four 

 times a day, a very fine camel-hair brush being used for 

 the purpose. The food should be of a soft nature, and 

 not harsh or irritating. All seed given should first be 

 soaked for twenty-four hours. 



Apoplexy. 



This is one of the most distressing and fatal diseases 

 that cage birds are subject to. The cause is usually the 

 rupture of one of the blood-vessels of the brain, and the 

 consequent flow of blood which follows therefrom. 

 There are some who say canaries are not subject to 

 apoplexy. They may be correct, but, from the symptoms 

 before illness, during its progress and after, I conclude 

 that apoplexy is a disease from which canaries suffer. 

 Birds that are fed on a highly stimulating diet and allowed 

 little exercise are most liable to attacks of this complaint, 

 proceeding, as it generally does, from fatty degeneration 

 of the heart, disease of the liver and kidneys, also from 

 sudden or violent excitement. 



The symptoms of an attack are a kind of drowsiness 

 caused by the congested state of the blood in the head, 

 whilst the bowels are generally constipated. A little 

 attention at this time will often ward off an attack. 

 A couple of drops of castor oil should be administered 

 from the point of a knitting needle. A little carbonate 



