Birds Parrots 
with the other. She would play with her favorite 
with every sign of enjoyment; he would paw her 
feathers ruthlessly, and yet she seemed always to 
like it, the while every other dog on the place stood 
in mortal terror of the bird. 
HOUSE 
The parrot’s cage should not be circular. It 
should be at least two feet high, and one foot six 
inches to two feet or more in either diameter. 
There should be two perches, the top one thinner 
than the lower one. The thinnest should be at least 
a half inch in diameter. If the parrot prefers a ring 
to swing on, this may be substituted for the upper 
perch. It is best to have a door slide up and down 
rather than to swing on hinges. The cage should be 
made of galvanized wire, and flat on top. The food 
dishes should be removable from the outside. 
The cage should be placed in a warm room in win- 
ter, although it may be kept outdoors during the day 
in summer; but the bird must never be exposed to a 
cold draft. The cage needs to be cleaned every day, 
and the floors should be covered with clean white 
sand, or else with dried soil. If possible, each day 
the parrot should be allowed to come out in the 
room and move around, and should be given an 
opportunity to sun itself if possible. A brass cage 
should not be used. 
FOOD 
The parrot is chiefly a seed and fruit eater, the 
food varying somewhat accordingly to the species. 
A suitable food is a mixture of hemp, sunflower 
seeds, unhulled rice, and cracked corn. Some ripe 
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