CARE OF SICK BIRDS. 



Pigeons when sickness takes hold of them, gen- 

 erally show it at once by their actions, and require 

 the best attention possible of the owner, as to their 

 feed, and water, for when at liberty they can gather 

 such articles as nature required them to have, but 

 when housed up they of course must eat what is 

 given them. 



It is here that many diseases originate, in the 

 negligence on the part of the fancier; either in the 

 use of poor or impure food, or in the management. 

 The daintiest and most nutritious diet such as hemp, 

 canary, caraway-seeds or stale bread (soaked) should 

 be put before them to tempt them to eat, if in any- 

 way possible, and give oat-meal water for their drink. 



Occasionally one finds birds that care not to eat. 

 In such cases examine the crop and notice if any 

 stale or decomposed food still remains in it. If so 

 then remove as much as possible without injuring 

 the bird, for if this stale food should remain in the 

 crop and is allowed to become putrefied the gases 

 and poisons thrown out thereby, would cause an ir- 

 ritation or inflamation and a violent enteritis or diar- 

 rhoea, which might be the means of causing other di- 

 seases of a more serious nature. After removing con- 

 tents of the crop in a few hours time allow the bird 

 some soaked bread, then next day give the seeds etc. 



Occasionally after the above operation the bird 

 is too weak to eat. Here many fanciers cause the 

 death of their birds, where if a little judgment and 

 precaution were used in the way of feeding, the bird 

 would oftimes have recovered. Many of these fan- 



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