28.5 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

 THE DISEASES OF CANARIES. 



BY W. GORDON STABLES, M.D., CH.M., R.N. 



The ailments to which Canaries are subject are happily very few. Indeed, when properly 

 attended to, these birds are among the healthiest and hardiest we possess ; while, on the other 

 hand, it may be safely stated that quite nine-tenths of their illnesses are induced by neglect 

 of some kind or by over-pampering. The most common causes of disease are (i) exposure to 

 currents of cold air; (2) the want of fresh air, as from the birds being placed in badly 

 ventilated rooms, or high up where they are distressed by the hot burnt gas of sitting-rooms ; 

 (3) too much food, and an abuse of dainties ; and (4) sour or unwholesome food, or bad water. 



The medicines used in the treatment of Canary complaints are few and simple, yet to arrive 

 at a correct diagnosis of any given case is sometimes far from easy, and a careful examination of 

 the little patient and all its surroundings will be necessary. First and foremost, find out how the 

 ailing bird has been fed, and note the presence in, or the absence from the cage, of green food ; if 

 it be present, examine its condition. Then see what state the bird's bowels are in — whether loose 

 or constipated ; and next turn your attention to the bird itself, and before you attempt to handle 

 it, observe the position in which it sits or perches — that alone often gives a clue to internal 

 troubles. Listen to any chest-sounds it may emit, such as coughing, panting, or wheezing. You 

 may next handle the bird, for the purpose of examining the vent and abdomen. Canaries 

 ought to be handled as gently as possible. Do not, if possible, alarm it, or cause it to flutter all 

 round the cage ; approach the hand gently, then seize it with one quick pounce, and hold it with 

 the necessary degree of firmness. 



The medicines you administer ought to be of the best quality procurable. There are two 

 kinds of castor oil for example ; and while the best is one of the safest and most effectual 

 aperients we possess, the coarser kind may set up irritation of the bowels, which it will be difficult 

 to subdue. 



DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORV ORGANS. 



Consumption, the phthisis of medical practitioners, is probably the most surely fatal of any of 

 these, and although it may be cured in its first stage, it always produces death if neglected. It is 

 brought on, in the first instance, from exposure to cold or draughts, and especially damp draughts. 

 Or the bird may have caught cold after its bath ; and this is very Ukely to happen about the 

 moulting season, when, being in a weakened condition, too much care can hardly be taken of a 

 Canary. Some birds are more prone to consumption than others, and there is no doubt at all 

 that the disease is hereditary. The illness may be confounded with asthma, but in this latter 

 complaint the attacks are more periodic in their nature. 



The symptoms of phthisis in its earlier stage are those of a common cold ; and this teaches us 

 never to neglect the trifling ailments of the chest our birds may suff"er from. There is cough or 

 wheezing in phthisis, and the bird is less lively, more languid, than usual. When such symptoms 



