Our  Canaries 
hen's  condition  and  from  the  fact  that  she  has  got  over  the  first  strangeness 
of  being  a  mother.  The  first  step  in  the  production  of  this  condition  seems 
to  be  over  anxiety  and  nervousness  on  the  part  of  the  hen  together  with  some 
disorder  of  her  digestion  or  metabolism.  She  feels  sluggish  and  sick,  and  when 
she  comes  off  the  nest  for  food  thinks  she  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  get  back 
as  quickly  as  possible  to  keep  the  youngsters  warm,  forgetful  that  on  the 
second  and  third  days  she  has  probably  given  them  enough  food  to  keep  them 
going,  and  that  in  the  natural  order  of  things  a  certain  amount  of  droppings 
must  be  formed  ;  or,  feeling  as  she  does  that  she  cannot  fancy  an  unsavoury 
meal,  she  leaves  the  excrement  where  it  is,  flops  down  on  the  nest,  and  takes, 
no  notice  of  the  young  rising  for  food." 
AN    ELEMENT    OF  VICE. 
"  Once  this  is  started,  a  vicious  cycle  is  produced.  Sitting  tight  on 
the  nest  which  has  become  slightly  soiled,  is  like  putting  a  frame  on  a  heap 
of  fresh  manure — heat  and  moisture  are  created,  and  the  young  are  kept  in 
a  sort  of  hot-house,  which  makes  them  soft  and  limp,  and  they  do  not  rise 
of  themselves  to  feed,  even  if  the  hen  is  now  become  very  willing ;  and  thus 
they  do  not  get  sufficient  food  and  liquid  by  the  mouth.  At  the  same 
time  the  hen's  breast  feathers,  where  they  touch  the  soiled  nest,  become 
moist  and  light  brown  in  colour,  and  some  amount  of  good  might  be  done  by 
letting  her  have  a  bath,  which'  not  only  cleanses  but  also  gives  her  more  time 
off  the  nest,  and  the  young  get  aired  and  refreshed.  It  also  gives  the  cock 
an  opportunity  to  coax  the  young  to  take  food. 
"  Things  usually  go  on  from  bad  to  worse  from  this  point ;  the  nest 
becomes  more  pasted  over  with  the  light  brown  manure  and  as  the  young 
do  not  get  sufficient  liquid  and  food  the  excretions  now  become  altered  in  quality 
and  quantity.  Less  copious  and  not  now  of  a  gelatinous  coherent  quality 
(which  is  advantageous  to  the  hen  especially  in  reference  to  her  cleaning  opera- 
tions), the  excretions  become  thinner  in  calibre  and  more  friable,  so  that  if 
she  tries  to  get  it  away  it  v/on't  come.  As  the  young  have  now  less  strength 
the  vent  is  not  thrown  up  towards  the  side  of  the  nest  as  it  used  to  be  and 
in  addition  the  vent  itself  becomes  stuck  together  by  the  heated  excrement. 
A  violent  effort  is  made  and  a  little  possibly  expelled  through  a  narrowed 
orifice,  which  only  runs  down  the  abdomen  wall  and  soils  the  nest  still  more. 
Through  the  lack  of  liquid  by  the  mouth,  that  present  in  the  tissues  is  rapidly 
absorbed  in  order  to  get  an  evacuation  at  all  and  the  young  become  shrivelled 
up  with  protruding  bones  and  a  reddish  yellow  colour  of  the  skin.  Also  the 
curve  in  the  neck  appears  accentuated,  the  head  being  more  thrown  back,  and 
with  this  there  is  hardly  strength  to  lift  the  head  or  open  the  beak.  All  the 
time  the  hen  still  sits  on  the  young,  heating  them  more,  she  having  starved 
them  at  first,  and  now  they  have  not  the  strength  to  feed. 
