CANARIES: THEIE CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 19 



BROKEN LIMBS. 



In case of bad fractures or injuries it is perhaps best for all con- 

 cerned to end the troubles by killing the bird. If a valuable bird 

 breaks a leg, a slender splint of wood held by a bandage may be 

 applied with care. This support must not be touched for two or 

 three weeks, but then it may be removed entirely. When the break 

 occurs in the lower leg (tarsus) a small quill makes a simple sup- 

 port. The quill is split and cut down until it fits snugly around 

 the part affected. It is then padded inside with a few shreds of 

 cotton and tied carefully in place with silk thread. 



Broken wings should be allowed to heal without outside inter- 

 ference." All high perches should be removed from the cage, and 

 food and water made easily accessible. A bird with a broken wing 

 must be kept as quiet as possible in order that the fracture may heal. 



LOSS OF FEATHERS ABOUT HEAD. 



Baldness is sometimes occasioned by mites or bird lice and may be 

 treated best by removing the cause. Loss of feathers about the head, 

 however, may indicate old age or general debility. At the natural 

 time of molt the growth of feathers on the bare spots may be aided 

 by warmth and a well-regulated diet. In addition to the usual food, 

 twice a week give a little bread moistened with milk which has been 

 dusted with a mixture of two parts of sulphui' tO' one of potassium 

 chlorate. At the same intervals rub a little carbolized petrolatum on 

 the bare places. 



DISEASES. 



With ordinary care in cleanliness, freedom from drafts, and a well- 

 regulated food supply, canaries are subject to few ills. In fact, most 

 troubles may be traced to some untoward circumstance in handling 

 them. Their diseases are very little understood, and correct diag- 

 nosis is difficult. When birds become sick, care should first be taken 

 in regulating the diet and general sanitary conditions. A sick bird 

 must be removed at once to a separate cage, since its companions will 

 continually peck and worry it. When numbers of canaries are kept 

 it is best to remove ailing birds from the bird room. This precaution 

 may prevent the spread of some contagious or infectious disease. It 

 is always Avell to move a sick bird to a warm place. Heat and pro- 

 tection from drafts work wonders with ailing canaries and often are 

 sufficient alone to restore them to health. 



When medicine is necessary it is best to administer it in the drink- 

 ing water. If this can not be done it may be given directly in the 

 bill by means of a quill or a medicine dropper. In administering 

 medicines it must be remembered that a canary is small and that a 

 single drop in most cases is a large dose. Indiscriminate dosing of 

 birds with various remedies is to be avoided. 



The few instructions that follow are not to be regarded as in- 

 fallible, but they may be of assistance in simple ailments. When a 

 bird is seriously ill there is usually little chance of its recovery. 



RESPIRATORY TROUBLES. 



The fact that canaries are susceptible to cold drafts can not be 

 too strongly emphasized, and it may be said that a large proportion 



