Part 5

In judging age the feet offer the only characters easily seen, but even these can not always be relied upon. Birds a year old or less usually have the skin and scales covering the feet and tarsi smooth and of fine texture. In older birds they appear coarser and roughened. Very old birds usually have had the claws trimmed until they appear blunt or rounded rather than sharp and pointed (see p. 19).

Canaries have lived many years when cared for regularly. Dr. C. W. Richmond, Associate Curator of Birds in the United States National Museum, relates that two birds, hatched in the same brood and kept entirely separated after they left the nest, lived 18 years, dying within a few weeks of each other. Another case is on record in which a canary was known to be at least 34 years old when it died, and even this advanced age may have been exceeded. Usually with advancing years birds molt irregularly or lose part of the feathers entirely. Often their eyesight is impaired. It is said that canaries that have not been paired live much longer than those allowed to breed.

VERMIN.

Canaries are affected by two forms of external parasites. The larger of these, a bird louse known usually as the gray louse, is an insect with a slender, elongate body and a large head armed with strong jaws. This pest feeds upon the feather structure of the bird’s outer covering, and though it does not suck the blood of its host, its sharp claws irritate the skin and cause discomfort to the bird. The eggs of the gray louse are attached to the feathers by a gum and are not easily removed. The young insects resemble the adults and in a few weeks after hatching are fully grown. They are best combated by blowing insect powder (pyrethrum) into the plumage of the affected bird with a small bellows or blower. This treatment should be repeated two or three times at intervals of a week to insure the destruction of any young lice hatching in the meantime.

The other parasite of canaries is a small mite, a minute spiderlike creature that when fully grown is barely visible to the unaided eye. Its natural color is whitish, but nearly always it is filled with blood sucked from the body of the unfortunate bird harboring it, so that it appears bright red. These mites are nocturnal, and except in cases of severe infestation are seldom found upon the body of their host during the day. They are often found in the slits at the ends of the perches or in the round piece of metal forming the support at the top of the ordinary wire cage. In wooden cages they hide in cracks, nail holes, or crevices, and their presence is betrayed upon close examination by minute white spottings. If unnoticed, they multiply rapidly and sap the strength of the bird by sucking its blood. When their presence is suspected a little coal oil, or kerosene, applied freely to the cage with a brush may be sufficient to kill the pests. Or the bird may be removed temporarily and the cage cleaned thoroughly with a solution of 1 ounce of commercial carbolic acid in a gallon of water, applied with a small brush, taking care to reach all crevices. In severe infestations it may be necessary to immerse the cage for several minutes in water that is boiling hot. Insect powder may be used as for the gray louse.

Where facilities for frequent bathing are offered and the cage is kept clean, there is usually little trouble with either mites or bird lice. When a bird is sick and neglects its customary bathing, cleaning, and preening, it is surprising to see how rapidly these pests multiply. With care, however, they may be completely eradicated, though fresh outbreaks are likely to occur when new birds are obtained. In wooden cages cracks in the boards that have harbored mites may be closed with glue to prevent a return of the pests.

FOOTNOTES:

Docophorns communis Nitzsch. Order Mallophaga.

Dermanyssus avium De Geer, closely allied to the chicken mite D. gallinae De Geer.

CARE OF FEET AND BILL.

As a canary grows old it will be noticed that its claws become long and catch on the perches and wires as it hops about the cage. In a state of nature the activities of the bird as it moves about on the ground or among twigs and limbs keep the claws properly worn down. Confined in a cage the canary is less active, and while the claws have the same rate of growth they are here subject to much less abrasion. It is necessary, therefore, to trim them with a pair of sharp scissors every few months. It is important to watch the condition of the claws carefully, as by catching they may cause a broken leg. In each claw a slender blood vessel extends well down toward the tip. This is indicated in Figure 6 by the letter A, and may be seen on close examination through the transparent sheath of the bird’s claw. In trimming cut well beyond this canal (at the point B in the figure) and take special care not to break the leg while handling the bird.

FIG. 6.—Diagram of foot of canary with overgrown claws. A, Terminal blood vessel; B, point at which claw may be trimmed without injury. ]

In cage birds the horny covering of the bill, as well as the claws, sometimes becomes distorted through growth without sufficient wear. The tips of the mandibles may be pared down with a sharp knife, but care must be taken not to cut deep enough to reach the quick.

DISEASES AND INJURIES.

With ordinary care in cleanliness, freedom from cold damp drafts, and a well-regulated food supply, canaries are subject to few ills. In fact, most of their troubles may be traced to some untoward circumstance in handling them. Their diseases are very little understood and correct diagnosis is difficult, and though much has been written regarding them this has served mainly to reveal general ignorance on the subject. Present knowledge does not warrant an exhaustive account of diseases, but in the following notes information is given on the more usual complaints of canaries.

When canaries become sick the first care should be to see that the diet is proper and to examine into the general sanitary conditions under which the birds are living. If canaries are confined in company with others, sick birds must be removed at once to a separate cage, since their companions will continually peck and worry them. Where numbers of canaries are kept, as a precaution to prevent spread of contagious or infectious diseases ailing birds should be removed from the bird room. It is always well to move a sick bird to a warm place. Heat and protection from drafts work wonders with ailing canaries and often are sufficient alone to restore them to health.

When medicine is necessary it is best to administer it in the drinking water. If this can not be done it may be given directly in the bill by means of a quill or a medicine dropper. In administering medicines it must be remembered that a canary is small and that a single drop in most cases is a large dose. Indiscriminate dosing of birds with various remedies is to be avoided.

The few instructions that follow are not to be regarded as infallible, but they may be of assistance in simple ailments. When a bird is seriously ill there is usually little chance of its recovery.

BROKEN LIMBS.

In case of bad fractures or injuries it is perhaps best for all concerned to end the trouble by killing the bird. If a valuable bird breaks a leg, a slender splint of wood wrapped in a slight wisp of cotton and held by a bandage may be applied with care. This support must not be touched for two or three weeks, but then it may be removed entirely. When the break occurs in the lower leg (tarsus) a small quill makes a simple support. The quill is split and cut down until it fits snugly around the part affected. It is then padded inside with a few shreds of cotton and tied carefully in place with silk thread.

Broken wings should be allowed to heal without outside interference. All high perches should be removed from the cage, and food and water made easily accessible. A bird with a broken wing must be kept as quiet as possible in order that the fracture may heal.

LOSS OF FEATHERS ABOUT HEAD.

Baldness is sometimes occasioned by mites or bird lice and may be treated best by removing the cause. Loss of feathers about the head, however, may indicate old age or general debility. At the natural time of molt the growth of feathers on the bare spots may be aided by warmth and a well-regulated diet. In addition to the usual food, twice a week give a little bread moistened with milk which has been dusted with a mixture of two parts of sulphur to one of potassium chlorate. At the same intervals rub a little carbolized petrolatum on the bare places. Baldness is said to arise at times, particularly in spring, through failure to provide the canary with lettuce, apple, or other green food. In such cases improvement may be made by supplying this need.

RESPIRATORY TROUBLES.

The fact that canaries are injured by cold drafts can not be too strongly emphasized, and it may be said that a large proportion of their common ailments come from such exposure. In many cases exposure is followed by congestion in the intestinal region, and death ensues in a very short time. In ordinary colds there is difficulty in breathing and some liquid discharge from the nose. Frequently this is accompanied by coughing. A bird thus affected should be kept in a warm room free from all drafts and protected from irritating dust, vapor, or tobacco smoke. The symptoms are increased as the cold progresses and becomes acute, and the bird sits with feathers puffed out, seeming really ill. Breathing is difficult and rapid. If there is enough catarrhal secretion partly to block the respiratory passages a slight bluish tint is noticed beneath the transparent sheath of the bill. As a remedy, place in the drinking cup 1 ounce of water to which have been added 20 drops of sirup of tolu, 10 of sweet spirits of niter, and 10 of glycerin.

Pneumonia in cage birds often follows exposure and is nearly always fatal. The symptoms, rapid and difficult breathing with little catarrhal discharge, appear suddenly. The bird becomes very weak at once and usually dies in from two to seven days. Little can be done beyond sheltering the bird, as noted above, and providing an easily assimilated food, as egg food and bread moistened in milk.

Asthma is a chronic affection, in which there is difficulty in expiration of air in breathing. In severe cases a contraction of the abdominal muscles is evident in forcing the air from the lungs. Asthma is more in evidence at night, and often birds apparently free from it during the day will wheeze when at rest. There is practically nothing that can be done for it. Sometimes a semblance of asthma is caused by indigestion from overeating. Fanciers consider asthma hereditary and do not recommend birds so affected for breeding purposes.

INTESTINAL COMPLAINTS.