73



Correspondence, Notes, etc.



CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.



THE ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES TO BIRDS.


Sir, —In Mr. Gill’s report on Mr. Mason’s Nonpareil in our November

number I note that lie makes some remarks on the above subject. I may

say en passant that the “some people” could not have been intended by

Mr. Gill to refer to myself, though I plead guilty to being somewhat in

accord with the views that he was evidently alluding to.


Mr. Gill says that “some people” do not understand the treatment

of the lower animals, and then goes on to give us his own plan of giving

medicine to a bird. For “ two or three consecutive days ” we are to carefully

note the amount of water the sick bird takes and then we are to add to the

average amount daity consumed (ascertained by the above method) the

proportion of medicine that will give the required dose. In order that the

bird’s whims and fancies may not defeat us, we have then to watch

whether the bird drinks more freely or less freely than heretofore, and either

to take out the water glass from time to time, or else to add more medicine

as occasion may require. This is to a certain extent an improvement on

“ giving a course of iron by dropping an old knife in the well,” but it

seems to involve the necessity for constant supervision of the patient, which

I am afraid would hardly be possible in the case of most people who have

daily duties to perform.


But given that this question can be satisfactorily arranged, what I

want to know is whether, if the case is one that medicine can benefit, is it

wise to delay its administration for three days while we are deciding the

capacity of the bottle that is to hold it ? Such a measure of expectancy

would not commend itself to us in the case of a sick child, and taking into

accouut the difference between a child and a bird with regard to both size

and longevity, the delay of a day means several times more to the latter

than the former.


Mr. Gill goes on to say that “ to catch up and administer medicine to


a nervous bird.is courting disaster.” In this I perfectly agree with


him, and I should think everybody else does likewise. I certainly cannot

call to mind that I have ever seen or heard such a course recommended,

and should have thought it was needless to warn us against such a

practice.


I may add that I hope to shew later on that the very obvious

difficulties that exist in the way of administering remedies to sick birds are

of not much practical account.



W. Geo. Cresweee.



