The Marquess of Tavistock—Facts and Figures 85


the most remarkable feature being, perhaps, the absence of loss from

liver and kidney troubles—one case only, a hen Adelaide kept in one

of the fixed aviaries. It is possible that this rather unusual degree of

immunity may be due to the provision of minerals, especially Iodine

Nibbles. Only two species did very badly—Bock Grass Parrakeets,

all four of which got ill and died at one time or another ; and New

Zealand Parrakeets, of which the breeding pair and one of their four

young ones were lost.


About thirty-eight birds fell ill and recovered. The majority showed

symptoms of ordinary enteritis, but two—-a Barnard and a Blue¬

bonnet, both new arrivals—were cases of catarrhal enteritis, the seed

passing through them undigested. They were cured by being fed on

soaked seed and being kept at a temperature of 85° F.


A cock Layard, which became badly paralysed, made a slow but

remarkable recovery and the same was true of a young Swift which

lost the use of its wings and to some extent of its legs and breathed badly

with open beak. This latter case is the first instance I have ever known

of a bird recovering when it has begun breathing with its beak open.


There were four cases of ordinary egg-binding—three Bingnecks

and a Mealy Bosella. All these hens were saved by heat (no oiling),

and all sat, though some were in hospital many days. Two reared their

young ; one hatched but lost her young ; and one had her egg acci¬

dentally destroyed when near hatching.


An Ultramarine Lory twice had trouble with a soft-shelled egg,

not being in the best of condition when she insisted on trying to breed.

As she proved unable to lay the egg naturally, it had to be removed,

a difficult and dangerous operation which my aviary attendant was

fortunately skilful enough to perform successfully.


One case of a 44 captivity vice ” occurred—feather-plucking in a

young Mealy Bosella, for no obvious reason.


As already indicated, an experiment has been tried for the first

time in providing all the birds with an abundant supply of minerals in

the form of rock salt, cuttle-fish bone, charcoal, and Iodine Nibbles.


The latter seem to be appreciated to a greater or lesser degree by

almost everything in the collection, with the exception of the Lories,

adult Derbyans, Hooded, Queen of Bavaria Conures, and Lovebirds.



