on diseases of birds, and their treatment and cure. 193


thing wrong; this is because the disease is upon them before we

know anything of it.


It must not be imagined that because birds are kept in cages

or aviaries that that is the cause of disease attacking them at times.

Oh dear, no! Birds in their wild state are also attacked. I have

picked up occasionally birds suffering from “going light,” too weak to

ffy off the ground, with their breastbone nearly protruding through

their skins, and this in the months of May and June, when their

natural food was abundant. These birds, ill in tbe wild state, would

be certain to die, as they would be unable to find anything medicinal

which would remove the cause, whilst those in captivity can receive

medicinal treatment that will remove the cause; and as soon as the

cause is removed, the bird naturally begins to recover at once.


I do not profess to be a doctor. I am not, and have never

had a medical education ; but common-sense, keen observation, and

living among birds all my life has taught me much.


A sick bird should be taken in hand at once. It is no use

saying, “Well, he may be better to-morrow”; he won’t, he will be

worse; the longer the disease is allowed to play upon the bird, the

longer the cure will take. This is easily understood.


Birds are not subject to many kinds of diseases. The most

often met with is —


Going Light.— This disease will attack young birds in the

nest as well as adults; many nests of young canaries are often lost

through it, and it is caused, I believe, by birds picking up something

that has become stale and sour.


In young canaries I am convinced it is often the hard-boiled

eggs used for feeding purposes. This is a fine food if eaten up

cleanly by the birds as soon as cooked; but it is thrown out of the

feeding-vessel and soon becomes sour and contaminated by microbes

in the air, it is picked up and eaten, and then follows the trouble.


Symptoms . — Going light is easily detected. The attack is

often quite sudden. A bird to-day is looking beautifully sleek in

feather and bold in eye; to-morrow he is slightly puffed out, his

feathers do not lie so close to his body, his eye is not so bold and

bright—in fact, although he feeds and hops about, he is not the bird

of yesterday.



