Our  Canaries 
at  when  so  inclined,  and  thus  learn  to  feed  themselves.  Let  the  food  be 
always  perfectly  fresh,  and  give  only  in  small  quantities. 
TAKING  AWAY  THE  YOUNG. 
Do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  separate  them  as  long  as  the  parents 
continue  to  feed  them.  In  every  case  it  will  be  better  to  leave  the  young 
with  the  parents  a  few  days  longer  than  is  really  necessary  than  to  separate 
them  even  half-a-day  too  soon.  It  should  be  ascertained  without  doubt  that 
they  are  cracking  Canary  seed  fairly  easy.  If  a  supply  of  soaked  rape  was 
allowed  the  parents  in  feeding,  this  should  be  gradually  replaced  with  dry 
rape.  One  will  almost  invariably  find  that  the  first  seed  the  young  are  able 
to  negotiate  themselves  is  the  rape,  and  from  this  they  go  on  to  the  Canary, 
finally  to  the  slightly  cracked  hemp.  But  the  Canary,  which  is  to  provide 
their  staple  food,  is  the  one  they  must  be  able  to  crack  without  difficulty. 
Egg  food  will  still  be  forming  a  portion  of  their  daily  food,  but  it  should  be 
diluted  by  about  two-thirds  its  bulk  of  powdered  biscuit,  or  bread  crumbs. 
If  the  young  have  been  flying  loose  in  the  breeding  cage  with  their  parents, 
they  may  be  placed  at  once  in  a  flight  cage;  but  take  care  they  are  not 
turned  in  with  a  lot  of  other  birds  stronger  and  more  vigorous  than  them- 
selves. But  if  they  have  been  finished  off  by  the  parents  in  a  nursery  cage, 
they  should  be  kept  for  a  short  time  in  an  ordinary  breeding  cage  before 
being  placed  in  the  flight,  in  order  that  the)^  may  exercise  their  wings  and 
legs  a  little. 
AFTER  SEPARATION. 
Probably  the  most  critical  time  in  the  life  of  young  Canaries  is  the  first 
few  weeks  after  being  finally  separated  from  their  parents.  At  this  stage  the 
novice  often  has  a  most  disheartening  proportion  of  losses,  yet  given  a  proper 
and  judiciously  selected  diet  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  birds,  the  losses  after 
leaving  the  parents  and  being  able  to  cater  for  their  own  needs  should  be  an 
extremely  small  proportion.  In  almost  all  cases  of  birds  dying  at  this  stage 
the  cause  will  be  found  to  exist  in  dietetic  mismanagement.  The  first  point 
after  actual  separation  being  accomplished,  one  must  be  on  the  look-out  for  a 
day  or  two  to  see  if  any  of  the  birds  go  "thick"  through  being  separated  too 
early.  A  constant  plaintive  "  chip,  chip,"  beginning  a  few  hours  after  the 
separation,  is  a  sign  that  one  had  better  be  on  the  look-out  for  the  author. 
If  matters  seem  to  be  getting  serious,  such  a  bird  must  be  placed  in  a 
nursery  before  it  gets  weak,  and  hung  on  its  parents'  cage  again  for  a  few 
hours.  Here  again  it  must  be  watched  to  see  if  its  parents  feed  it.  If  they 
do  not  it  should  be  tried  on  the  cage  of  any  pair  whose  young  have  very 
recently  been  taken  away.  Hand-feeding  a  few  times  for  a  day  or  so  is 
the  only  other  remedy. 
