Birds The Canary 
drops of salad oil. This will usually afford relief. 
If not, inject into the bird’s anus four or five drops of 
castor or olive oil with a pipette. A diet of fresh 
carrot is a great help in cases of constipation. 
In cases of diarrhoea, give boiled milk instead of 
water and give bismuth mixed with hard boiled 
egg. Five or six drops of brandy in the drinking 
water is also a remedy. 
Often the feet of canaries become scaly and diseas- 
ed, and the claws fall off. In this case the perches 
should be dipped in peroxide after they are cleaned, 
and a few drops of caraway-seed oil mixed in vaseline 
should be applied to the bird’s feet once a day until 
they are cured. Care should be taken that the feet 
are washed and wiped dry before the vaseline is ap- 
plied. Overgrown nails should be clipped at the 
tips but not deep enough to hurt. 
It seems a pity to keep one canary alone. Two 
are company for each other, even though they may 
be kept in neighboring cages, and thus give each other 
cheer without annoyance. 
NESTING 
A pair of birds will usually live quite happily while 
nesting. When this season comes, special care is 
needed. As soon as the hen begins to beg for food 
from her mate, and he begins to feed her, the nest 
box should be put in the cage near the top. This 
should be a box about 314 inches square and 2 inches 
deep. Bits of moss, wool, hair and dry grass should 
be put against the bars of the cage, where they can 
be pulled through bit by bit by the busy nest makers. 
The hen is likely to be fussy about her nest, and will 
place a mass of material in it only to dump it out 
again. If it falls to the bottom of the cage it will 
soon be soiled, and should be removed. 
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