Some Hints on Parrot-Keeping.



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better results from the use of a stove or gas radiator than from any

system which involves the employment of hot-water pipes, which

are usually most ineffective and troublesome. When turning birds

into an aviary for the first time it is a wise precaution, where an

inner compartment exists, to shut them up for the first few nights.

It may also be advisable, especially if the nights are cold, to give a

little artificial heat, even though they may not previously have been

kept in a warm room.. Parrots, when first placed in unfamiliar

quarters, have a perfect genius for selecting the draughtiest and

most exposed places to roost in, and it is most disheartening to turn

a valuable breeding pair into a new aviary and then to go out next

morning to find the cock or hen dead of enteritis. I have more than

once experienced this calamity in the case of species reputed to be

extremely hardy.


In concluding these hints on aviary management, it will be

well to say something about the important art of bringing birds into

breeding condition. This is chiefly a matter of feeding, and with

Parrots, more perhaps than with any other class of birds, are satis¬

factory breeding results dependent on the judicious provision of extra

dainties at the right moment. Green food must be supplied ad

libitum , and it is particularly important to continue giving it after

the young have hatched. Grass, chickweed, shepherd’s purse>

dandelion, sow thistle and lettuce are all good, as well as the shoots

and leaves of non-poisonous trees. Lettuce is sometimes said to be

bad for Parrots, but I have given it to Cockatoos, Amazons,

Platycerci, Eclecti and Grass Parrakeets and never found it in the

least degree injurious; it must of course be perfectly fresh and

unfrosted. When at liberty in this country the Australian Parra¬

keets feed their young largely on the leaves and flowers of the

common daisy, and although I cannot say I have ever offered the

plant to my aviary birds, I have not the slightest reason to suppose

that it would prove harmful. Fruit, particularly apple, is an

important item in the menu during the breeding season, and meal¬

worms may also be offered, though not all Parrots will eat them.

A full ration of hemp and sunflower should be supplied in most cases,

though this can generally be reduced again, with advantage, after the

moult is over.



