Part 3

For one bird, the cage should not be less than 9½ inches long, 6½ inches wide, and 9 inches high. A larger size is to be preferred. The ordinary cages obtained from dealers in this country are made of wire and are open on all sides. Each is fitted with receptacles for food and water, usually at opposite ends. A fine-mesh wire screen may be bought from the dealer and fastened around the lower half of the cage to prevent the scattering of seeds and seed hulls. A common substitute for this is a simple muslin bag, held in place by a drawstring fastening tightly about the middle of the cage.

In a cage of ordinary size three perches are sufficient. One may be placed at either end at a distance that will allow easy access to the food and water receptacles, and the third elevated above the middle of the cage at its center. Another convenient arrangement is to run one perch lengthwise of the cage, in such way that the bird may reach the feeding receptacles from it, and to place the two other perches transversely above it near either end. A bird confined in small quarters is dependent for exercise on hopping about from perch to perch, and this arrangement will give the maximum freedom of movement. In larger cages four perches may be advisable. These should not be placed so that they interfere with the free movement of the bird, and for reasons of cleanliness one perch should not be directly above another. In small wire cages, if the swing perch usually found suspended in the center is removed, the bird will have more room, and in hopping back and forth will not be continually striking head or wings. In larger cages this perch may remain. Perches should be large enough for the toes of the bird to grasp them readily and encircle them for three-fourths of their circumference. If they are too small they cramp the foot, while if too large they may cause malformed toes or claws, especially in young birds. Perches should be elliptical in shape, about three-eighths of an inch in the long diameter, which should be horizontal. If those furnished with the cage do not meet these requirements, others may be made from soft wood without much trouble.

Cages in which canaries are to breed must be large and roomy in comparison with those intended for single occupants. An English authority gives the standard size for breeding cages as 22 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 16 inches high. Several types of open breeding cages made of wire may be obtained, or a box with a removable wire front may be made. If it is planned to use wooden cages for several seasons they should be enameled or whitewashed inside to permit thorough cleaning. Such cages should be smooth inside and any with cracked or warped boards should be avoided, as crevices may harbor dirt or mites. Though cages may be made of wire screen this is not advised, as cages so constructed become very dirty, and there is danger that birds may catch their claws in the wire and become injured.

Where numbers of canaries are kept box cages with wire fronts are convenient, as they may be placed in racks one above another or arranged on a series of shelves along the wall of the bird room. They are provided with a sand tray three-fourths of an inch deep that slides in and out from the front and facilitates cleaning. Perches for these cages may be adjusted in the following manner: One end is notched and the other has a brad driven in it filed to a sharp point. The sharpened brad is pressed against the back of the cage and a wire on the front is slipped into the notch. If made the right length the pressure of the wire will hold the perch in position.

For shipping birds the small wicker cages in which canaries come to dealers are best. These are fitted with deep, narrow-necked food and water receptacles that do not readily spill, so that there is a minimum of waste during the journey. A small packet or sack of seed should be tied to the outside of the cage in order that the bird’s supply may be replenished en route.

CARE OF CAGES.

Though canaries when acclimated can endure a great degree of cold without discomfort, they are susceptible to sudden changes in temperature, and cold drafts may soon prove fatal. This should be borne in mind in choosing a place for the cage. Direct exposure to a strong draft of cold air must always be avoided. A cage may be placed on a small shelf along the wall or suspended from a bracket attached to the wall or window casing. Swinging brackets are inexpensive and are convenient for use when it is impracticable to fasten hooks in the ceiling. When one or two canaries are kept as pets, it is usual to suspend their cages before a window, where the birds may enjoy light and sunshine, a good practice where the window is kept closed during cool or stormy weather and the joints are tight. It may be necessary to line the edges of the window frame and the junction of the upper and lower halves of the window with weather stripping to prevent drafts, and it is best to suspend the cage so that it will hang opposite or below the junction of the two halves of the window frame. The room must remain at a fairly even temperature day and night, and in cold weather it is well to cover the cage with a towel or other light cloth at night. A cage should never be suspended directly above a radiator, and it is best to avoid keeping birds in small kitchens, as the fluctuations in heat are perhaps more marked there than in any other part of the house. Exposure to damp air may prove fatal, another reason for avoiding the steam-laden air of small kitchens.

Wherever placed, the cage must be kept scrupulously clean if the canary is to remain in good health and free from vermin. The supply of water should be renewed daily, and the seed cup replenished at least every other day. The receptacles for these necessities should be cleaned and washed carefully at short intervals. Cages that have removable bases should have the tray in the bottom covered with several thicknesses of paper, or the heavy coarse-grained sandpaper, known as gravel paper, that may be secured from dealers in cage-bird supplies, may be used. This should be renewed whenever the cage is cleaned, and in addition the pan should be washed in hot water from time to time. Lime on the perches may be removed by means of a scraper made of a bit of tin fastened to a wire or tacked at right angles to a stick small enough to pass easily between the wires of the cage. Cages with bottom attached should be provided with a sand tray that slides in and out through a slot in the front. This serves to catch droppings, seed hulls, and other waste, and may be easily pulled out, cleaned, and refilled with fresh sand.

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR AVIARIES.

Those who keep birds for pleasure, and who do not care to breed them for exhibition or to maintain any particular standard, may receive much enjoyment from aviaries in which numbers of canaries are kept in one inclosure. The size of the aviary or bird room will be governed wholly by circumstances, as it may range from an entire room to a small screened inclosure or part of a conservatory. A room large enough for the owner to enter without unduly frightening the occupants makes an ideal indoor aviary, and where space permits it may be fitted up without great expense. The floor should be covered to the depth of half an inch to an inch with clean sand or sawdust. Small evergreen trees planted in large pots furnish suitable decorations, and may be replaced from time to time as they are destroyed by the inmates of the aviary. A branching dead tree and one or two limbs nailed across corners at suitable heights furnish more artistic perches than straight rods. In addition, pegs 4 or 5 inches long may be driven or nailed to the walls to furnish resting places.

Seed should be supplied in self-regulating hoppers, preferably attached to the wall, and water given in self-feeding fountain containers. These become less dirty than open dishes placed on the floor. Sand must be furnished in a box or dish where it is not used on the floor. Soft foods and green foods may be supplied on little shelves or a small table. At the proper season nesting boxes may be hung on the walls, and nesting material supplied in racks or in open-mesh bags hung to some support. A shallow pan of water may be kept constantly on the floor or, better, may be inserted for an hour each day for bathing. A screened flying cage may be built on the outside of a window and the birds admitted to it in pleasant weather. Perches, if of natural wood, should have smooth bark or should be peeled, as crevices often harbor mites. Plants and other decorations should not be placed so near the wall that birds may be trapped behind them.

Aviaries constructed out of doors, like bird rooms, may be made simple or elaborate, large or small, according to circumstances. Where there is sufficient ground available a small frame structure may be built and covered with strong galvanized wire screen of small-sized mesh. Part, at least, of the roof should be covered as a protection against stormy weather, and two sides should be boarded up to afford protection from cold winds. Where the winter climate is severe it is necessary to build a closed addition with board or cement floor and a connecting door, in which the birds may be protected during the cold season. Canaries when acclimatized, however, can withstand moderately cold weather as well as native birds.

The open portion of the aviary should have a board or cement base sunk to a depth of 8 to 10 inches around the bottom to prevent entrance of rats, mice, or larger animals. If a fence with an overhang at the top is not constructed to keep out animals, it is best to make the screen walls double by nailing screen wire to both sides of the wooden frame, so that birds clinging to the wire may not be injured by cats or dogs. Where space does not permit an elaborate structure a lean-to may be built against another wall to make an inclosure large enough for a number of birds. Where needed, the sides of the aviary may be fitted with windows that can be put in place in winter. The entrance to the outdoor aviary should be through a small porch or anteroom that need be merely large enough to permit entrance through an outside door, with a second door leading into the aviary itself. The outside door should be closed before the inner one is opened, so that none of the birds can escape.

The fittings of the outdoor aviary may be adapted from those described for the indoor bird room. With an earth floor it is possible to grow evergreen and deciduous shrubs for shelter and ornament. Where space permits a hedge of privet along the open side of the aviary furnishes a shelter in which birds delight to nest. To avoid overheating in hot weather shade should be provided for part of the structure.

In aviaries birds pair more or less at random. To avoid constant bickering or even serious fighting in the breeding season it is usual to regulate the number of males so that the females outnumber them two to one.

FOOD.

The food requirements of canaries are simple. Canary seed to which have been added rape seed and a little hemp is a staple diet that persons who keep only a few birds usually purchase ready mixed. Canary seed alone does not furnish a balanced food, but forms a good combination with hemp and summer rape. Much of the rape seed in prepared seed sold in cartons is of a species that even wild birds do not eat, as it is pungent and bitter in flavor, but all relish the mild taste of true summer rape. Seed is given in little cups that are fastened between the wires of the cage.

In addition to a seed supply lettuce or a bit of apple should be placed between the wires of the cage frequently. And those properly situated may, in season, vary this menu by the addition of chickweed, dandelion heads, thistle and plantain seeds, and the fruiting heads and tender leaves of senecio and shepherd’s purse. Watercress, wild oats, knot grass, and other grasses are relished, especially in spring and early in summer.

Bread moistened in scalded milk, given cold at intervals, is beneficial. Soft foods must not be made too wet. With bread, enough liquid to soften the food but not to run or render it a paste is sufficient. Supplies of moist foods must be kept strictly fresh and clean or sickness may result. Special dishes, known as food holders, or slides that slip through the wires of the cage are often used in giving softened bread and similar supplies. Cuttle bone should always be available.

When canaries do not seem to thrive it is well to crack open a few of the seeds to make certain that empty husks alone are not being fed. Hemp, while a valuable addition to the diet, should not be given in excess, as it is fattening and may make birds so lethargic that they cease to sing, or in exceptional cases may even cause death. When canaries cease to sing from the effects of overfeeding it is well to supply some of the stimulating foods known as song restorers, or other prepared foods that may be obtained from dealers.

During the time of molt a few linseeds added to the seed supply are believed to give gloss and sheen to the new feathers. Linseeds should be given in small quantity, as they are injurious if eaten in excess. Meal worms fed occasionally are beneficial for birds that are not thriving. A craving for animal food may be satisfied by bits of raw steak, but it is not well to continue feeding raw meat for any length of time, as it may cause a foul odor about the cage. Delicate birds may be fed canary, rape, and hemp seed soaked in cold water for 24 hours, rinsed, and then drained. Maw seed (poppy seed) is favored by English canary fanciers as a stimulant, but its use must be guarded, as it may be poisonous to other animals, including man.

During the breeding season egg food must be given daily as soon as the birds are paired. This is prepared by mincing an entire hard-boiled egg or passing it through a sieve, and adding to it an equal quantity of bread or unsalted cracker crumbs. This may be given to unmated birds as well at intervals of a week or so. When female canaries begin to incubate, egg food may be fed every three or four days or even less frequently. Addition of brown sugar in small quantity to the egg food is supposed to prevent egg-binding in young females. When the young hatch, egg food should be supplied at once. Some recommend that the yolk of a hard-boiled egg be given alone for the first day. Bread crumbs are added to this daily until on the third day egg food as ordinarily prepared is supplied. Attempt should be made to regulate the supply of egg food or other soft food so that it will be eaten without waste. The actual quantity will vary in individual cases. The usual seed supply should be present, no matter what other food is given. Egg food must be given until the young are fully grown and able to crack seed for themselves. Cracked seed may be fed to lighten the labor of the parents, but it is well to eliminate hemp from such a supply, as the hull of hemp seed contains a poisonous substance that occasionally kills young birds. Drinking water should be available to canaries at all times.

BATHING.

Under normal conditions most birds probably bathe daily, and canaries in captivity should be allowed the same opportunity. In open wire cages in common use for singing birds the base is removed and the cage placed over a small dish containing water. In open-front cages in which the bottom is not detachable small bath cages which fasten at the open door are used. These are only a few inches wide but serve to hold a dish for water. Many birds are notional in bathing and at times ignore the offered bath. Usually the process of cleaning the cage and renewing the seed and water will excite in them a desire for bathing, and often when a bath is not provided the bird will do its best to perform its ablutions in the small supply of water in the drinking cup. When individual birds obstinately refuse to enter the water, if enough clean sand to cover the bottom is placed in the dish they bathe more readily. After the bath the water may be drained carefully and the sand left to dry in the dish for use another time.

Birds brought into strange quarters may refuse to bathe for the first few days. When water is offered they either ignore it or sitting on a perch go through the motions of bathing and drying, fluttering wings and tail with a great whirring of feathers. The bath should be offered whenever the cage is cleaned, and if left alone the birds will act normally after a few days.

Small china or earthenware dishes that are not too deep make good bathing pans. When a bird becomes accustomed to one dish it will usually refuse to bathe in another of different shape or color. In winter the water should be warmed until tepid. Even in warm weather very cold water is not advisable. If the room, ordinarily warm, becomes cold temporarily, birds should not be allowed to bathe. With the plumage wet and bedraggled there is increased susceptibility to cold drafts. During molt the bath should be given not more than twice each week. If the bird is molting on color food, one bath each week is sufficient. The female canary should not be allowed to bathe from the time the eggs hatch until the young are 3 or 4 days old.

MOLT.

Canaries renew their covering of feathers once each year. In adults this molt occurs late in summer, and the first sign of it may be the presence of a wing or tail feather on the bottom of the cage. These large feathers are shed in pairs, so that one from either wing or from either side of the tail is dropped at approximately the same time. Never in ordinary circumstances does the canary have the wing and tail entirely devoid of large feathers. This provision is of no particular significance in a cage bird, but enables wild birds to maintain their powers of flight. The bodily covering is renewed piecemeal as well, so that except about the head there is normally no extensive area wholly devoid of feathers at any time. Some birds drop a few of the body feathers all through the year, a symptom that need cause no anxiety.