68 Canaries and Cage-Birds. 



him well all over the cage, has made it up again, and is comfortably settled on a nest of eggs, the 

 first will be thinking of chipping. The cock can now either be returned to cage No. i, or confined 

 in the middle box till it is seen how the hen feeds. All that has been previously written will now 

 apply to the future management. The cock may either be allowed to take part in feeding, or 

 not ; if the hen feeds badly, run in the wire slide, and it need not again be explained how the 

 arrangement will work. He will be equally ready for any other emergency, and can be run in, 

 first to one and then to the other, to assist in feeding, and will eventually take charge of one or 

 both nests in the centre cage, from which they will in due time be transferred to the larger flight 

 below, and the business begun again de novo. This method of working may have suggested itself 

 if the reader has carefully read our previous instructions; but we give it in detail, because it is a 

 useful plan when there is but one cock of any particular variety and it is desired to make the 

 most of him. We have mentioned two hens only, but he may be paired with several, by simply 

 running him through a set of cages night and morning. When this is done he should not be 

 called upon to take any part in rearing the young, except his co-operation should be required for 

 carrying out any of the little schemes for assisting hens which have been before referred to. 



From the time that the young Canary leaves the nest, it makes I'apid strides towards 

 independence. It must of necessity spend some days in a nursery-cage before being turned into the 

 flight to shift for itself, as it has to pass through a sort of intermediate stage, and undergo what is 

 equivalent to a weaning process. To carry this out the utility of spare cages, in which groups of 

 young birds, equally advanced, can be placed, will be obvious. Hitherto their food has consisted 

 entirely of the egg-mixture, which must still be continued, though the quantity of egg must be 

 gradually decreased, the object to be attained being to get the birds on hard seed as speedily 

 as possible. As soon as they are on the perch they will begin to pick at the soft food, though at 

 first they will not be able to attend entirely to their own wants, hence the value of the nurseries 

 attached to the breeding-cages. It is not, however, desirable to keep them in leading-strings a 

 day longer than necessary, while at the same time they must not be allowed to starve. If the 

 seed-trough of the nursery be supplied with such egg-food as they can manage to eat, they will 

 make a very respectable attempt ; but after a while comes the noisy chirping and begging. If 

 not attended to they soon feel the ill effects of neglect, and ruffle up their feathers in a way 

 indicative of much discomfort. Just in proportion as they have still the craving to be fed will 

 they evince but small desire to assist themselves ; and when once they feel the pinch and begin 

 to clamour, they will refuse to help themselves. Hunger at this stage of their lives ivill not drive 

 them to search for food, but to beg for it ; and the demand must be satisfied. By degrees, 

 and rapid degrees, they clamour less and help themselves more, and every hour then makes 

 the matter easier ; but up to the last, no young bird must be allowed to cry for food without 

 the cock being at once permitted to give it a meal. When its hunger is satisfied, it is much 

 more likely to visit the egg-food than before ; and the philosophy of the whole thing consists 

 simply in the bird being ultimately able of itself to keep its appetite in check, and hence it cries 

 no more. But remember that so long as it does cry, it must have that cry attended to in the 

 way Nature intended it should be, the cry being indicative of a still existing necessity. The 

 whole process does not last long, and the visits of the faithful cock will soon be few and 

 far between. It will be seen that we have all along been supposing a nest to have been removed 

 from the breeding-cage at a comparatively early age, in consequence of apprehended ill-treatment ; 

 but this is not the invariable rule by any means. The hen, as frequently as not, goes to nest 

 quietly, and the cock has then nothing to do but to continue his attentions to the young ones 

 in the original cngc ; indeed, it is a very genera! practice to allow one nest to remain with t!ie 



