Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

Do not be in a hurry for the hen to lay. She will produce her egg at her own time and no sooner. As soon as it is laid, take it out of the nest with a teaspoon and place it in the small box you prepared earlier, replacing it with a dummy egg. Remove the second egg likewise. Turn the removed eggs daily. As a general rule an egg is laid every morning until a clutch of from four to six eggs is completed. There are occasions when a hen will produce only two or three eggs to a clutch, and many times she will skip a day between eggs. When the third egg is laid, remove the dummy egg, dust the nest again with insect powder, and place the other eggs back in the nest. The evening is a good time to do this.

When the hen takes to her nest entirely, separate the cock and hen by replacing the wire partition. The hen's bath should be withheld for the first eleven days she sits. On the sixth day you should candle the eggs. Cut an oval hole slightly smaller than the dimension of an egg in the bottom of a small cardboard box, and place an egg on the hole. From beneath, shine your flashlight through the egg. If the egg is clear it is infertile, but if slightly red with a dark spot it is fertile. If the eggs are all clear remove them and the nest, and after a few days start over, letting the cock run with the hen again. If there are fertile eggs, place them back in the nest, where the hen will continue through the setting period, which is fourteen days from the day she took to the nest steadily.

After the eleventh day allow her to bathe daily as the moisture from her feathers tends to soften the egg shells and is an aid to the chicks in picking their way through.

When the hen takes to the nest, it is a good plan, because of her inactivity, to restrict her diet somewhat--particularly the egg food and greens. She will likely leave much of this anyway, and she should never take any that has soured, as she may do if it is left in the cage partly uneaten all day.

AFTER THE HATCHING

Upon hatching, egg food should be given three times a day in addition to the regular seed mixture. The first feeding each day should be given as early in the morning as possible. See "Egg Food" under "General Care." Fresh greens may be fed daily. Newly hatched youngsters require very small amounts of food. "Feed little and often," is a good rule to follow. You will soon be able to judge the amount, bearing in mind that quantity should be increased as the youngsters grow. When the nestlings are about six days old their eyes will have opened, and when they are around ten days old the partition can be withdrawn and the cock allowed to rejoin the hen. However, if the hen is not feeding the young as she should, or if she doesn't stay on the nest sufficiently to keep the chicks warm, the cock should be allowed to return at once.

Many successful breeders prepare "soaked seed" for morning and evening feedings for the hen and nestlings from hatching time to six weeks later. Prepare by putting a little of your regular seed mixture to soak at the morning feeding. Then, at the evening feeding, stir this well, strain, and put to soak again in fresh water. On the following morning, stir, rinse in fresh water, strain, dry, and this "soaked" seed is ready to use. Soaked seed for the evening feed is started each evening, strained, put to soak again each morning, and in the evening strained, rinsed, dried between paper towels, and fed.

Soaked seed often does wonders for a nonfeeding hen, and it is valuable for chicks after they are separated from the hen. As the birds gain in age, gradually increase the seed proportion and cut down soft foods, until they are about six weeks old. At this age they are able to crack their own seeds, and the regular French's Bird Seed and Biscuit may be given them together with feedings of egg food about three times a week until they have completed their moult.

THE SECOND ROUND

Between sixteen and twenty-one days after the hatching, the hen will probably show signs of wanting to go to nest again. Place the second nest in the opposite corner of the cage, and stuff bits of fresh nesting material between the cage bars near the new nest. Be sure that enough is allowed, otherwise she will pull feathers out of the young birds. When the hen lays her first egg, it should be removed as before, and Round One repeated. As soon as she takes to her second nest entirely, the chicks from Round One and the cock should be moved to the other half of the cage, and separated from the hen by the wire partition.

Although a very vigorous hen and a good feeding cock can hatch three or four nests in a season, best results are had by not allowing more than two. If the nesting is finished early in June, the parents and chicks will be in condition for the moult in late summer. The added strain of more than two nests will likely make the birds unreliable for breeding the following season.

DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF

--A nestling falls out of the nest the first few days. When this happens pick up the young bird and warm it in your hands for a few minutes and then, if it is alive, place it back in the nest.

--One or more of the eggs do not hatch, though fertile. Sometimes a chick is too weak to pick through the shell which may be unusually hard due to excessive dryness if the hen does not bathe. Should many of the eggs turn out this way, put a few teaspoonfuls of common salt, or even rock salt in the bottom of the nest pan, below the lining, as this will attract (and retain) moisture from the air. There are many other reasons why fertile eggs do not hatch, most of them indicating a weakness in the embryo. However, one of the most common causes is chilling of the eggs due to the hen leaving the nest for too long a time. A sudden cold spell may have the same effect.

--One or more of the hatchlings are found dead in the nest. Remove at once. Accidental smothering or crushing by the hen is likely the cause, or if the eggs hatch out over a period of two or three days, the first hatchlings may be getting practically all the food. That is why you should remove the first two eggs, so that all hatch as nearly as possible at the same time.

--The hen you are expecting to lay again is found crouching in a corner of the cage, trembling and quite apparently in severe pain. She is probably suffering from egg-binding, and must be attended to at once. Take the hen very gently in your hand, and put three or four drops of olive oil in her beak. Carefully place her back in the cage, and after a short time the egg will be passed safely.

--The "sweating hen" problem occurs. Her breast feathers will have a moist appearance leading one to believe that she is sweating. What actually happens is that the hen loses condition, probably as the result of eating food that is sour, stale, or too sloppy, and this is passed on to the baby chicks. Diarrhoea results. Normally during the first week or so, the excreta from the young is expelled in a tiny transparent bag which the hen picks up in one piece when cleaning the nest. Being unable to do this if the young have diarrhoea, her feathers become sticky and matted.

--The hen starts picking feathers from the backs of the Round One chicks to provide nesting for the second nest even though ample nesting material is supplied. When this happens separate the cock and the chicks from the hen, using the wire partition.

THE NON-FEEDING HEN

It is normal for a hen to stop feeding her babies when she takes to her second nest of eggs. The cock bird can usually be depended upon to continue the job. However, a hen sometimes stops feeding at an earlier time, often because of an upset condition resulting from improper feeding--or from a fright. Such things as stale or soured soft foods, food deficiencies, or lack of sufficient fresh green food are most often the root of the trouble, although overfat and lazy hens sometimes seem to find proper feeding too much trouble. Try allowing the cock to carry on alone, giving the hen normal feeding until she resumes her duty. When the chicks are not being fed by either bird, it is advisable to divide the nestlings among the other nests if you have other pairs with chicks about the same age.

Otherwise, handfeeding is imperative. Chew either Pablum or oat flakes and when mushy, feed it to the babies from the end of a toothpick. In a day or two the parents may resume feedings. Should they not, the chewed food will have to be supplemented with greens, egg yolk, and after the chicks are ten days old, a little soft cuttle bone scraped from the soft side of the bone sprinkled over the mush. A few grains of table salt should also be added.

If a chick is out of the nest, it is likely to be afraid and refuse to open its beak for food. Take such a bird in your left hand, pry open the beak with the right thumb nail and hold it open with the nails of your left thumb and forefinger. Avoid injury either to the bird's eyes or through too firm a hold. Keep the head elevated for easy swallowing and feed from a toothpick. Always feed warm food. A little milk sop from toasted whole wheat bread makes a good change. The babies usually will begin to feed themselves a few days after leaving the nest and can then be given moist nestling food, sprouted rape seeds, and cracked seeds prepared from regular French's Bird Seed.

(_Continued on page 64_)

_A Canary Family_

(_Continued from page 59_)

SLIP CLAW

In slip claw the bird is unable to grasp the perch normally because the back claw is bent forward between the front claws. Treat by binding the affected claw back against the shank of the leg with adhesive tape. Let the binding remain for a week to ten days, but be sure that it is not so tight as to stop circulation.

COLOR BRED CANARIES

Ever since it was discovered some years ago that the hybrid chicks resulting from crossing the canary and the South American Black-hooded Red Siskin were sometimes fertile when bred back to canaries and that this crossing could produce a natural red tint in the canary feathering, there has been much experimentation by breeders all over the world in an endeavor to produce an all red canary. To date some beautiful tints of orange, copper, and pink have been produced and a truly red canary seems a possibility. This discovery of a fertile hybrid has proved a major contribution to canary breeding, and breeders today are reexamining some of the other crosses between canaries and related wild birds for fertility.

For the amateur who has gained a degree of proficiency in handling canaries, there is hardly a more fascinating phase of the hobby. We welcome questions from those who undertake this work.

DISTINGUISHING THE SEX OF CANARIES

We have seen many experts sex canaries, and have come to the conclusion that the best proof that a canary is a hen occurs when she produces an egg, and likewise, that her companion is a male, if the egg is fertile. However, there are many other characteristics associated with the sex differences of canaries.

For example, the cock canary:

1. Sings
2. Has a bolder eye and look about the head
3. When in breeding condition in the spring, has an elevated vent
which definitely protrudes like a wart.

The hen canary, by contrast,

1. Does not sing
2. Is not so bold about the eye and head
3. Has a flat, unelevated vent.

These characteristics are all subject to exceptions. We find good males that do not sing, good hens that do sing; males of one strain having a female appearance about the head when compared with hens of a heavy strain of birds, and vice versa. There are also cases where the vent areas of both male and female are very similar except when in breeding condition.

Errors are most likely when a breeder sexes spring hatched canaries in the fall. The breeder will separate the observed singers from the non-singers, as male and female. Then he goes through the non-singers for some indication in the appearance of the head or vent area, and makes a further tentative separation. Such division can only be moderately reliable, because only a few strongly sexed young males tend to come into breeding condition early. An error of as much as 25% is not unusual in fall sexing.

For your guidance a good indication of a young male canary is that he sings with a noticeable swelling of the throat. From January and February on through June the male in breeding condition will have a noticeably raised vent as well as strong song. In pairing birds it may be expected that any male in breeding condition will pair with any female in breeding condition, providing there is not a very great difference in size.

_Canary Accidents And Illnesses_

With good food and care, and barring accident, there is no reason why a healthy canary from healthy parents should live less than a normal span of 12 to 14 years before old age causes a breakdown. The ailing singer is not difficult to pick out. Usually the first sign is that he stops singing. Whether the bird is cock or hen, a sudden change from its normal sleek appearance and lively action bears immediate study.

BALDNESS

When two crested canaries are bred together some of the chicks will be permanently bald. Another cause, apparently, is the tendency for some birds to constantly rub their heads against the perch or bars of the cage. This condition is sometimes accompanied, or perhaps caused by the presence of lice.

Sometimes baldness is caused by an incomplete moult, the lost feathers not having been replaced during the regular moulting season. Sometimes severe changes in the weather during the moult, or food deficiency during the moult is the cause of incomplete feather growth.

There is no treatment for inherited baldness. If lice or mites are present, treat the bird as indicated under "Mites." See that the bird has a normal seed diet with plenty of greens, a cuttle bone in the cage, plus egg food and moulting food two or three times each week. Allow the bird to exercise as much as possible, and there is a good chance that during the next regular moult the feathers will return.

BLINDNESS

There is no cure for blindness. We have known birds to be totally blind for months before the condition was observed by the owner. There is apparently no pain, and blind birds sometimes sing freely. However, they move about very little, and while the variety and balance of their diet must be maintained, they should not be fed as much as normal birds.

BROKEN BONES

Wing, upper leg, and toe breaks should be allowed to heal with no assistance other than seeing that the bird is not disturbed. Breaks in the lower leg can often be set and splinted successfully with thin cotton padding on the leg and pieces of toothpicks bound snugly with cotton thread, but not so tightly as to cut off circulation.

Always remove the swing and all high perches from the cage, and arrange food and water so that the bird can get at them with as little movement as possible.

BROKEN FEATHERS

When tail and flight feathers are broken, they will grow in again at once if they are carefully pulled out. If it is near the regular moulting season, it is advisable to let them be shed naturally.

CHILLS AND COLDS

A chill or a cold in a canary is recognized by the bird sneezing and sitting with its feathers puffed up. Sometimes there is hoarseness, and if the nasal discharge is very heavy there may be complete loss of voice, temporarily. The cold will usually work itself off if the bird is given reasonable care. Sometimes, however, if the bird is in a more or less rundown condition and the infection is strong, a more serious condition such as pneumonia will result quickly.

Keep the bird free from drafts, and locate the cage where the temperature is as even as possible and warm rather than cold. Return to a regular diet with plenty of green foods. If the room cools off at night, cover the cage and avoid awakening the pet at night. Test for the presence of mites. If some are found, treat as directed under "Mites." Observe the droppings and make adjustments in the food if they are not normal as explained under "Constipation and Diarrhoea" below.

In addition to ten drops of French's Iron Compound in the drinking water daily, feed a teaspoonful of egg food, fresh each day.

CONSTIPATION AND DIARRHOEA

Constipation is a digestive disturbance usually caused by feeding an insufficient quantity of green foods. The correction is to give a variety of green foods, including sprouted seed, regularly. Lettuce, sweet apple, Chickweed, watercress, and dandelion are beneficial. Green food should always be crisp, clean and fresh. When a bird is being fed generous amounts of fresh green foods, the natural result will be more liquid droppings. This should not be confused with diarrhoea, a condition in which the droppings are usually excessively watery.

There are many possible causes for diarrhoea. The diet itself may be unnatural for the bird, or it may be inadequate to the seasonal needs of the bird. For example, in the breeding and moulting seasons freshly prepared egg food should be given. Diarrhoea may also be merely an accompaniment of an active disease. The bird should be kept warm. A change of diet will usually afford relief. Temporarily, eliminate rich and stimulating foods from the diet. Supply as much of the following mixture daily as the bird will eat:

1 slice whole wheat bread
3 tablespoons steel-cut oats or Quick Mother's Oats
1 teaspoon poppy seed
1 teaspoon scraped cuttle bone
Toast bread until thoroughly brown on both sides and quite dry inside.
Then crush it to small seed size particles and add the
remaining ingredients.

Give buttermilk or tea in place of drinking water for 3 or 4 days.

If the disorder persists, or if the droppings are off-color and evil smelling, write us for further guidance, describing the conditions and what you have done.

CUTTING BEAK AND CLAWS

Overgrown nails and claws should be trimmed, using a sharp nail clipper or small nail scissors. In the case of the beak, just trim off the overhang--to a point, if possible. It is usually only the larger rear and the middle front nails that become overgrown. Holding the claw up to the light, cut between the end of the nail and the red vein. There will be no bleeding unless you accidentally cut into the vein, in which case touch the end of the claw with a styptic pencil or a spot of iodine.

FITS--PAROXYSMS

Fright, sudden chills or overexposure to hot sunlight may upset a bird severely. When no more than fainting is involved, a few drops of water sprinkled on the bird's head will bring it around, after which see that it is allowed quiet, and treat it with extreme gentleness.

Under other conditions, a bird may suddenly drop off his perch, unconscious, in the midst of a song or other normal activity. In these cases the cause is usually quite different, and no treatment other than correct diet can be offered. The pet may survive one or two such attacks and live for years afterward.

LOSS OF SONG

Fright, poor health, or loss of sexual vigor are generally the cause of loss of song.

Sudden fright is one of the chief causes and may occur through the cage being accidentally upset, or an attack by a cat. Some aviary birds are so lacking in contact with people that they seem severely frightened if a stranger approaches closely. Be gentle with canaries and endeavor to protect them from such frights. The loss of song may last from a day or so to several weeks, but it can usually be overcome through playing the radio or phonograph. Sometimes the noise of a vacuum cleaner provides the stimulation needed.

Poor health is indicated when a cold has persisted for several weeks, when feathers are shed out of season, when the digestive system is upset, when the bird is overfat, or when the bird is troubled with mites or sore feet. Treat for such ailments first, and then provide the song stimuli as mentioned above.

Song is a strong secondary sexual characteristic of the normal male canary. Old or weakly sexed males usually do not sing as often or as vigorously as normal males, even though in perfect health.

When a canary has never sung, there is always the possibility that it is a normal hen and will never do so. Hen canaries have been known to inherit rather strong male characteristics and to sing frequently but usually without the vigor and fullness characteristic of normal males.

When a canary is apparently in good health and all other stimuli have failed to secure the return of song, try placing a good singing canary in an adjoining room where it can be heard but not seen by the silent bird.

MITES

There are many different kinds of mites and lice which live on birds as their natural hosts. The biting grey lice live on the scales of the bird's skin, feet and legs, or upon its feathers. Red mites suck the blood of the host and generally leave the bird in daylight and return to it at night. The biting lice seldom leave the bird, and are most difficult to find. They are sometimes removed when the bird combs out his feathers with his beak. Red mites are more easily located. Place a white cloth over the cage at night, and if the mites are present, they will be found as little red specks on the cloth in the morning. Run a hot iron over the cloth to destroy them.

Lice cause discomfort and weaken the bird. The one rule to follow in correcting the condition is routine and complete cleanliness. Dismantle the cage and stand, and scrub every part thoroughly with a hot, strong suds. Dust the bird with a good lice powder and see that it is allowed to bathe regularly. This program may not rid the bird of lice completely or all at once, but it will keep the number of lice below the danger point.

In aviaries where many birds are housed in a special room, a poultry type spraying technique can be used effectively along with regular cleaning practice. We will be glad to make suggestions if you write us about your specific problem.

MOULTING--LOSS OF FEATHERS

It is normal for a bird to replace its feathers with new growth each year. Moulting usually starts in July, but the actual date may vary in different climates. A complete moult may take about three months. It is not a disease, but the drain on the vitality of the bird requires that he be given particular care and special supplementary feeding. The first symptoms to be noticed are a general lassitude and drowsiness followed in a few days by a loose feather or two on the floor of the cage. In order that this normal yearly occurrence will proceed as uneventfully as possible, we suggest the following procedure:

Keep a French's Bird Biscuit and Cuttle Bone in the cage at all times, and add eight to ten drops of French's Iron Compound to the drinking water occasionally. By way of supplemental feeding, add about ¼ teaspoonful of either flaxseeds or niger seeds to the French's Bird Seed daily. Two or three times a week give a portion of hard cooked egg that has been mixed with toasted bread crumbs, etc., see under "Egg Food," in "General Care" section. About half a teaspoonful should be sufficient with each feeding. In addition, feed French's Moulting Food in place of French's Song Food two or three times a week and continue the cultivated and wild green foods. It is normal for most males to lose their song during the moult. They usually start singing again within a few weeks after the new feathers appear.

When song is first resumed the adult bird may sing much like a baby bird. However, the volume should increase to its full capacity within a short time.

Spring hatched canaries going through their first moult usually shed only the soft body feathers. Only after a canary is a year old does it shed the tail and wing feathers as well as the body feathers.

Birds have been known to skip the entire moult and apparently be none the worse for it. Also, some canaries continue to sing right through the whole process, with no interruption.

Loss of feathers at other than the regular moult indicates a weakened condition and is not normal or desirable. Sometimes referred to as soft moult, this condition may be due to interruptions of the bird's sleep when a light in the room is turned on and off at night. Wrong feeding is an important cause, and keeping the bird in a hot, steamy atmosphere will also lead to this trouble.

Feed freshly made egg food, as above, daily for two weeks or so, and place French's Iron Compound in its drinking water (10 drops daily) for the same period. See that the cage location is changed if it is in a room that is too warm, even for brief periods, as is usual in a kitchen. The cage should also be moved if it is where the bird might be disturbed several times during the night. Examine for lice and make sure that mice are not keeping your bird awake by climbing into his cage for seed and water.

NERVOUS TICS

Cage birds sometimes develop annoying habits as a result of excess energy and playfulness. They may get in the habit of tugging at the paper on the cage floor; or if they have a band on their leg, they will sometimes pick at it until their leg becomes very sore. Ridding a bird of such annoying or harmful habits will be a good test of your ingenuity. In the case of a leg band, the easiest thing to do is to remove the band. A change in the location of the cage might help. Sometimes a new cage of different shape or color will turn the trick. Some owners allow their birds the freedom of a whole room and this usually is beneficial--providing windows and doors are kept shut.

OBESITY

When a canary eats more than it requires for energy, some of the excess eventually accumulates as fat. Birds differ individually in the amount of food necessary. Some do much better in a large cage where they have more chance for exercise and all birds benefit by free flying.

A bird usually eats from daylight to dark and in some homes "lights out" comes rather late. Try to let the bird keep a natural day, dawn to dusk, and if he is to be kept awake during the evening, cover his cage part of the day.

SORE EYES

Sore and inflamed eyes or lids should be treated with 2% yellow oxide of mercury ointment, obtainable from your druggist in a long necked metal tube. Squeeze a tiny amount beneath each lid and wipe the excess on the outside of the lids. Cover the perches with a wrap of soft cloth tied in place in order to prevent irritation when the bird rubs its eyes on the perch.

SORE FEET AND LEGS

As with many conditions that differ from normal, sore feet and legs are generally only the end result of conditions which may have no apparent connection. However, if the cage and perches are not kept clean, if the bird does not bathe regularly, or if the perches are the wrong size or are coated with gravel, it becomes necessary to correct these obvious errors in management. When a bird is ailing it will often refuse its bath, and its feet are likely to become quite dirty. The corrective measure here is to put the bird on a normal seed and green food diet with rich additions such as egg food only during the moulting and breeding seasons.

In older birds, scales on the legs and toes will very often build up rather than slough off, causing an unsightly and sometimes a painful condition. These can be softened with a little olive oil and gently removed without injury to the bird. Heavy callouses on the bottom of a bird's feet may be due to improper perching or to a fungus growth. In hot, humid climates the latter is a possibility, and it is suggested that you ask your druggist for a small amount of one of the new fungicides for trial. Perches should be made of soft wood and should never be gravel coated.

If the sore feet are accompanied by overgrown claws it may be that a joint was strained due to the claw catching somewhere in the cage. The remedy, of course, is to keep the claws properly trimmed.

WHEEZING

Wheezing in a canary is not an uncommon disorder and is usually due to the effects of a cold. It may also be due to an overfat condition. If either of these conditions are present, treat as indicated. Otherwise, write us giving full details.

If you have a particular canary problem not fully covered in these pages, write to us explaining in detail what the problem is, what you are doing for your canary, and what you have been feeding him. We will send you our best advice without cost or obligation. Please enclose stamp for reply. Address: Bird, The R. T. French Company, Rochester 9, N. Y.

_Index_

B
Baldness 66
Bathing 10
Bird gravel 9
Blindness 66
Breeding cages and nests 55
Breeding problems 58
Broken bones 67
Broken feathers 67
Buying a canary 5