Correspondence.


CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.



247



REARING DEMOISELLE CRANES UNDER HEN.


Sir,—M y Demoiselle Crane is now laying for the first time, and, as I

think the eggs will be fertile, I shall be glad of information as to whether

or not it is possible to rear these birds with a hen.


I think that Mr. Hubert D. Astley, when writing in the Avicullural

Magazine about Cranes, a year or two since, said that in was the custom in

some parts of Europe to collect the eggs of these birds for the purpose

of rearing under hens.


On the other hand, I understand that Mr. St. Qnintin, who has

reared young Demoiselles with the parent birds, says that the young do not

flourish unless the parent birds can find them plenty of natural food for the

first twelve days.


My Crane has at present only laid one egg, but I suppose I may

expect another; I doubt if she will sit well.


I should be glad of information as to whether it is possible to rear

with a hen, and as to how long the eggs take to hatch, and how the young

should be fed. Are earthworms, maggots, etc., good?


C. Barney Smith.


The folloiving reply has been sent to Mr. Barnby Smith:—


I do not think you would have any difficulty in rearing j'oung

Demoiselle Cranes under a hen ; the incubation period is about four weeks.

The hen should be a gentle, quiet one, as the young Cranes will need to be

fed by hand for the first week or two. I should give earthworms and

maggots (well-scoured), with mealworms, crickets, and cockroaches if

procurable, but artificial food, such as is given to young Pheasants, can

also be used, since you, and not the old ones, will do the feeding.



YOUNG BLACK-CHEEKED LOVEBIRDS DYING IN SHELL.


Colonel Henry Fortescue would be much obliged if he can be given

any explanation regarding the following case. He has had a pair of Black¬

cheeked Lovebirds since last December. They have been kept in a large

cage in a conservatory with an average temperature of 50 p to 55 p during

the winter months.


Both birds seem in excellent health. I11 January the’hen laid seven

eggs in a large cocoanut shell. She sat hard for fourteen days, then less

regularly for three days, and then left the eggs altogether.


Inside the eggs the young birds were fully formed and apparently

almost ready for hatching.


In the second half of April the hen again laid three eggs. .She has

sat for fourteen days. Yesterday one egg was thrown out of the nest and

replaced, and again thrown out this morning. It contained a dead chick

nearly ready to leave the shell.


The hen shows every inclination to desert the remaining eggs.


Colonel Fortescue would be grateful for any information to account

for this behaviour on the part of the birds.


P.S.—Colonel Fortescue has a large outdoor aviary, roofed with

glass and sheltered.



