NURSING. 



33 



hospital box on a bed of hay in a warm place, 

 and let her be very warm and quiet. The treat- 

 ment for constipation is the same as for egg- 

 binding. 



Cases of Collapse. — Nothing- is better than a 

 little very weak brandy and water given with the 

 toothpick, but only give a drop or two at a time 

 or the bird might choke through being unable to 

 gets its breath. You will probably need more help 

 than this. Keep the patient in your hands, for the 

 live heat will help to restore it, and if your aviary 

 stove is going, heat several pieces of flannel by 

 laying them on the top (being careful they do not 

 scorch), and wrap round the sick bird. 



As fast as one flannel cools get another off the 

 stove and put your cold one to re-heat. In this 

 way you have a constant succession of warm 

 cloths. Do not get the flannels too hot ; I mean, 

 do not harry the restoring of the bird — let it come 

 gradually and naturally. Remember it is in a 

 very weak state, and if you apply too strong 

 remedies you may finally quench the little spark of 

 life left in it. It is wonderful how far a bird may 

 collapse, and yet live. I have had birds cold, 

 unconscious, and limp, and yet they have come 

 round. If you have no stove (though I think ever)' 

 large wooden aviary should have one), or if it is 

 in summer, when there is no fire on, you can heat 

 the hot water bottle, and, placing the bottle inside 

 the hospital box, lay the patient on it, wrapped 

 in flannel. 



. Over-grown Beaks and Nails. — These usually 

 come either in very old birds, or in weakly young 

 ones. In both cases they must be trimmed, and 

 here your strong nail scissors will come in handy. 

 Hold out the bird's foot as I described whilst you 

 were ringing it, and clip the nails off firmly, being 

 careful not to cut into the quick, a little pink line 

 that runs down the nail. 



It is easy to cut a bird's claws by oneself, but it 

 really needs two people to shorten a beak. Have 

 someone just to hold the bird for j'ou, then with 

 your left hand hold the head steady, putting your 

 hand over the bird's head, with a finger resting on 

 each side of the beak. Shift your fingers a little 

 forward, gradually forcing the beak gently open, 

 then firmly grasp whichever half of the beak you 

 want to clip, and cut it with your right hand. 



Be sure and do not cut it into the quick. It is 

 better to take off too little at the first snip, and 

 then to cut off a little more, than to take off too 

 much straight away. Round off the corners nicely, 

 and try the beak closed to see if the two parts fit 

 properly over each other. Don't hurry, take your 

 time over it, and hold the bird's beak firmly, or it 

 may twist it. 



When you spend a quiet ten minutes, standing 



quite still amongst your birds, you may notice far 

 more than in many a hurried look round. The 

 birds will soon learn to take no notice of you and 

 will look on you as a friend, and not as a natural 

 foe. It is at such a time as this that you must 

 keep a sharp look out for such things as over- 

 grown beaks and nails. Passed unnoticed, they 

 may mean starvation in the one case, through 

 inability to pick up the food, and a broken leg in 

 the other — as indeed was, I believe, the cause of 

 death in one of my Violet doves years ago — 

 through the nail catching in a branch, and the 

 bird not being able to free itself, for some over- 

 grown nails grow quite hooked and curved. 



Fits. — I have only known this happen once or 

 twice amongst my doves. Generally it is brought 

 on by shock or fright. In one case the bird rolled 

 over and over, and then went stiff and rigid. I 

 dashed cold water on the head, gave it a very little 

 to drinlc, and put it in a darkened cage and, of 

 course, kept it away from the other birds to ensure 

 great quiet. This is where a passage or spare 

 space in an aviary comes in so usefully. It can be 

 turned at once into a hospital, besides many other 

 uses. In a few hours the bird was quite restored. 



Tumours on the Head, and Affected Eyesight. — 

 This is a terrible disease, and fortunately- rare 

 amongst doves. Possibly in the pigeon I am 

 speaking of the mischief was started by the bird 

 knocking against the wire netting. I do not mind 

 attending to small hurts in my birds, but to cut 

 open a tumour was more than I could face, so I 

 sent away the bird to a skilled operator, who has 

 most kindly operated on birds for me at various 

 times. He told me the operation was very easy. 

 You simply cut a slit in the skin with a penknife, 

 when the tumour will be found, not adhering, but 

 loose underneath, like a little white pea. I believe 

 the bird had several tumours removed in this way, 

 one so close to the eye as almost to press on the 

 eyeball. The operation was most beautifully done, 

 not a scar left, and the head, which was all 

 swollen, became a proper shape again. Before, 

 the face was a mass of lumps under the skin, 

 making the bird's head look a peculiar shape, but, 

 strangely, the plumage was never affected, but 

 always smooth and glossy. 



I do not know if the tumours were partly the 

 cause, but some time later this same bird's eyes 

 began to fail. Little by little his sight went, till 

 at last he was so blind he could not see to rise 

 from the ground. Then his strength began to 

 fail, and also that sure sign of weakness in a dove, 

 a contraction or crookedness of the toes, as if the 

 circulation were weakened, began to show. 



I put down a bed of hay and some food and 

 water near, and thought I had better leave the 



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