CAlSr ARIES: THEIR CARE AlsTD MAISTAGEMEK-T, H 



It is poisonous to most animals, including man, but seems to have 

 no effect upon birds. 



BATHING. 



Under normal conditions most birds probably bathe daily, and 

 canaries in captivity should be allowed the same opportunity. In 

 open wire cages in common use for singing birds the base is removed 

 and the cage placed over a small dish containing water. In open- 

 front cages in which the bottom is not detachable small bath cages 

 which fasten at the open door are used. These are only a few inches 

 wide but serve to hold a dish for water. Many birds are notional in 

 bathing and at times ignore the offered bath. Usually the small acts 

 of cleaning the cage and renewing the seed and water will excite in 

 them a desire for bathing, and often when a bath is not provided 

 the bird will do its best to perform its ablutions in the small supply 

 of water in the drinking cup. When individual birds obstinately 

 refuse to enter the water gentle spraying will usually induce them 

 to bathe. 



Birds brought into strange quarters usually refuse to bathe for 

 the first few days. When water is offered they either ignore it or 

 sitting on a perch go through the motions of bathing and drying, 

 fluttering wings and tail with a great whirring of feathers. The 

 bath should be offerfed whenever the cage is cleaned, and if left alone 

 the birds will act normally after a few days. 



Small china dishes that are not too deep make good bathing pans. 

 When a bird becomes accustomed to one dish it will usually refuse 

 to bathe in another of different shape or color. In winter the water 

 should be warmed until tepid. Even in warm weather too cold 

 water is not advisable. If the room, ordinarily warm, becomes cold 

 temporarily, birds should not be allowed to bathe. With the plumage 

 wet and bedraggled there is increased susceptibility to cold drafts. 

 During molt the bath should be given not more than twice each 

 week. If the bird is molting on color food, one bath each week is 

 sufficient. When breeding, the female canarj^ should not be allowed 

 to bathe from the time the eggs hatch until the young are three or 

 four claj^s old. 



MOLT. 



Canaries renew their covering of feathers once each year. In 

 adults this molt occurs late in summer, and the first sign of it is the 

 presence of a wing or tail feather on the bottom of the cage. These 

 feathers are shed in pairs, one from either wing or from either side 

 of the tail, dropped at approximately the same time. Never in ordi- 

 nary circumstances does the canary have the wing and tail entirely 

 devoid of large feathers. This provision is of no particular signifi- 



