Canaries: Their Care and Management. 11 



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

 birds will act normally after a few days. 



Small china or earthenware 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 very 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. The female canary should not be 

 allowed to bathe from the time the eggs hatch until the young are 

 8 or 4 days 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 may be 

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

 These large feathers are shed in pairs, so that one from either wing 

 or from either side of the tail is dropped at approximately the same 

 time. Never in ordinary circumstances does the canary have the 

 wing and tail entirely devoid of large feathers. This provision is of 

 no particular significance in a cage bird, but enables wild birds to 

 maintain their powers of flight. The bodily covering is renewed 

 piecemeal as well, so that except about the head there is normally no 

 extensive area wholly devoid of feathers at any time. Some birds 

 drop a few of the body feathers all through the year, a symptom 

 that need cause no anxiety. 



With breeding birds the molt usually comes immediately after 

 the breeding season and may begin as early as the latter part of July. 

 Normally it comes during August, and on the average should be at 

 its height in September. Young birds molt the ju venal body plum- 

 age after leaving the nest, but retain the first growth of wing and 

 tail feathers for a year. In healthy birds the entire molt requires 

 about two months. 



Canaries usually need no special care during molt. Though in an 

 abnormal bodily state at this time, healthy individuals will come 

 through the period in good condition. Birds are somewhat dull and 

 stupid when molting and should be disturbed as little as possible. 

 Bathing may be permitted once or twice each week, but if birds do 

 not wish to bathe they should not be sprayed with water. It is well 

 to add egg food or moistened bread to the ordinary fare once or twice 

 each week during molt. For ailing birds a very slight quantity of 

 sulphur may be added to the egg food, or a weak saffron tea given 

 instead of pure drinking water. A few linseeds in the seed supply 

 give a gloss and sheen to the new feathers not otherwise obtainable. 



When canaries fail to molt at the proper season molt may some- 

 times be induced by covering the cage with a dark cloth and placing 

 it in a warm protected place where the bird will not be disturbed. 



Old birds or those weak in physical vigor often fail to renew their 

 entire feather covering, a condition for which little remedy may be 

 offered. Usually this incomplete molt is a sign of extreme age or 



