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My experience teaches me that I can take extreme eases, and I will give you 

 two that happened, one in my aviary, the other in my loft : — I had a blaclc mottle 

 that picked up the tares, and fed well for three weeks ; but at five weeks it left 

 off feeding itself, and as it had lost all idea of being fed, it died. The other 

 happened in my loft where I flew my feeders, a pair of short-faced red agates, 

 bred from Almonds, which would not learn to feed themselves, although would 

 fly round with the feeders, they were fed by one or another in the loft, until they 

 would feed them no longer, and they both were starved to death at two months 

 old. These are not the rules but the exceptions ; sometimes it happens that vou 

 experience difiiculty in shifting a bird so old as three weeks. I am aware that 

 it is easier for the last shift, to shift them at seventeen or eighteen days, the 

 feeders taking to them more kindly. When you shift the birds that have grown 

 pretty old, comparatively speaking, do not let the old birds come and take a 

 sight of them, for here you would witness a strange scene at times, but put the 

 hen upon the young. And it is infinitely better to shift these large birds, at 

 dark, or as near dark as possible, and be sure to put the hen on, and in the 

 morning she will not discover the exchange, or else be reconciled to it ; it is very 

 important to change at dark and put the hen on. Should the colours of the birds 

 shifted vary much, my experience teaches me that it is not so much in the size 

 of the bird as the colour — was it it not for the fighting attitude the bird puts itself 

 into at about three weeks — therefore you will see the propriety in shifting these 

 large birds at dark. Generally speaking, it would not do to exchange under your 

 feeders a young white bird, where before they had a black one ; and the reverse 

 by shifting a black one, where before they had a white one ; the result would 

 very likely be, that a good tempered pair of feeders after looking ~at and going 

 from it many times, might at last take to it : while the ill tempered pair would 

 kill it at once. You will see the impropriety of shifting colours differing so 

 widely ; but endeavour to shift by giving the colour as near as possible. 



It is important in your shifting that your nest pans should be the same size 

 and height ; for if before your feeders had a nest pan only two inches high, and 

 in your shifting you gave them a pan four inches high, the one comparatively 

 they could walk into, while they would have to jump up to the other and would 

 cause them to be suspicious that all was not right, forsake the pan after killing 

 the birds, owing to a little neglect on your part. You will find it a good plan to 

 put the shifted birds into their pans,, till the feeders are reconciled to the birds 

 shifted, and then you can with safety exchange the pans if necessary, owing to 

 being dirty. 



I observed before, the young ones vary much as regards feeding themselves 

 and here I will inform you of my method of trteting the young birds to learn to 

 feed themselves. I have a penn two feet square and nine inches high, made of 

 strong wire, the wires not more than one inch and a quarter apart, for the birds 

 will get out if further apart, the wires up and down, and no bottom to it, the floor 

 will form the bottom besides being easier to clean. Let it be wired over the top 

 as it will give more light; I have mine made in two halves, owing to my aviary 

 being parted, but have an opening in the partition large enough to let a pigeon 

 through, by placing one piece on each side of the partition it again becomes a, 

 square, then forui within and without the wire-work a frame work of wood, one 

 inch and a half, making three inches together. There is not any need of its being 

 a fixture whether you have them in squares, or halves as I do, for then I can place 

 the half against the wall or any where else ; you will find the advantage in having 

 them made in halves. Let this frame work be one inch and a half high from the 

 flooring where the wire work rests, and it will form a kind of trough, fill it up 

 with the best old tares, and at the same time so constructed that the water from your 

 carboys, fountains or other proper vessels, shall come within the wire work ; now 

 make all the old birds come to feed and drink where you fix this penn. I informed 

 you before that there is not any fixed rule or time when the young birds will begin 



