Canary 
Breeding. 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
(120) 
Canary Breeding, 
By F, DUCKER, 
One of the Prize-winning Essays in a Competition 
promoted by the City and Suburban A.C.B. 
The breeding of Canaries is a 
fascinating study. To the uninitiated it 
seems to present many difficulties, but 
care and application will remove all 
obstacles, and almost invariably lead to 
success, as the following experiences 
tend to show. About three years ago I 
had presented to me two Canaries which 
were supposed to be cocks. After 
keeping them for some time, and finding 
they did not sing, I determined to get 
some expert advice, so I called on a 
friend who had a good songster, and 
showed him the birds. He declared that 
they were a pair, and said, “ Why not 
try your hand at breeding ? ” So, having 
heard a lot about “ Club Row,” I 
journeyed forth in pouring rain on the 
morning following, and after much 
bargaining eventually bought a London 
breeding cage and a couple of bags of 
nesting material. On my return home 
I immediately fitted up the cage, put the 
birds into same, and sat and watched 
their movements for the rest of the day. 
Hope Delayed. 
After a week had passed, they had 
not laid an egg, or even nested, so I 
myself made a nest in each box, in 
which they afterwards slept each night. 
Being disgusted, I got rid of those two 
hens , and sought out an experienced 
breeder,who told me that I could buy 
a couple of good hens and a cock for a 
“ ten pound note.” Not having a ten 
pound note to spare, I sent ten shillings 
to Norwich for a pair of Plainheads, and 
when they arrived put them into a double 
compartment breeding cage, with a 
cocoanut husk for nesting. After about 
a couple of weeks the hen made a nest, 
and laid four eggs, which, much to my 
delight, duly hatched out three cocks 
and one hen. 
When they were two weeks old I 
turned them out of the nest, and after 
another seven days put them into the 
other compartment, so that the cock 
could continue feeding them through the 
wires. I then gave the hen a clean 
husk, which she promptly filled, and 
laid another five eggs, one of which I 
broke, and of the remainder she hatched 
out two cocks and one hen, the other 
egg being unfertile. I treated these 
youngsters the same as those from the 
first nest. After four weeks the hen 
again commenced to nest, and duly laid 
four more eggs, which, however, proved 
to be unfertile. I was very pleased with 
the result of my first season, having bred 
seven birds, of which I eventually sold 
four cocks, keeping one cock and one 
hen for myself, and giving the other hen 
(which was rather small) to my young 
sister. This bird became very tame, and 
used to hop about the table, and would 
stand on my finger and eat out of my 
hand, so am sorry to say that it died not 
very long ago. 
A Fatal Mistake. 
Having been told to give the old hen 
plenty of hemp seed while feeding her 
young, I made the fatal mistake of con- 
tinuing to give it to her, with the result 
that she got feather rot, and had to be 
killed. The cock bird I sold. Seeing 
one day in the Club Notices in “ Cage 
Birds ” that a lecture was to be 
given to the members of the City 
and Suburban Association of Canary 
Breeders, and that all lovers of birds 
were invited, I persuaded a friend to go 
with me to the Marylebone Church In¬ 
stitute on the following Monday, and 
when the meeting was over paid my 
entrance fee, and went home with the 
