YVRSHIRE CANARIES.

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 May 1906, Page 1

YVRSHIRE CANARIES.

From the NZ. Fcttllrj Journal 11 is will) pleasure I pea those few linos fur |ho hoiiolil: of ymni" fanciers r.lii lit. tu Inko up tho Viirkshiro canary, with, further, tho hope that (hoy may lie of sumo use to those who arc just making a start in our delightful liohhy. THE CAGES. 'Micro arc many different ideas as to the ideal breeding cage. In my opinion (.no 24in. long, 15in. high, and 12in. wide, with a movable wire front, makes a nice roomy, suitable cage. It sh; add possess a good sand tray (drawn) not less than one inch deep at the front, with a half-inch head round the inner edge, so that it will hold a good supply of sand. One perch sh.otld run from end to end in front of (water and seed holes, half-inch sipiare, with the top edge just rounded off; also tw/o or three similar perch s from back to front, arranged to suit the position of nest pan. The latter is best, to my liking, when it C'.mes half way above I lie perch. The ca :e should he painted, and then it can he cleaned out without much : trouble, and also he cleaned thoroughly. PAH) STOCK (NOT SHOW) BIRDS. 1 should avoid birds with broad shoulders, that, skulls and short legs. These faults' want a lot of breeding on -allowing that they can he; up to now I have never succeeded when I have tackled them. Frills on the hr as! and c-arse feathers generally y. a can hived out by the mating of year birds. 'I he cock bird f like to breed from is i tie that is built on the strung side, well upon his legs, good in wing carriage. and tail not less than Coin, in length and of line feather. The hen should be as nearly true to type as yen can get. as the hen is the parent we have most to look to. She should not be under inches in length, stand well up on her legs, have a small, round head, nice slim build, be good in wing carriage, body nice and round, and possess close and e ■ feathers. I wish it to be unders; d her that the above pair is not a ti| lop. pair of Yorkshires, but it sin uld breed something that "'ill land you on (he right road. WHERE TO BUY.

'1 his is what, a good many fanciers like to know. Where can they hay their stock birds' i\ly advice is te Imy from u man who now and again hr.cds a'winner Jiimself, and,who lias two or three pairs to sell—not. the breeders who have hundreds fur sale, and all prize bred. It, is very disappointing when you get your birds, 1 air them, and find out they are useless to y/.m, and then have them to " look at” during the breeding season. Have them on approval if you 'can. BREEDING. . i Wo will assume that you have got ; your cages and stock pairs, according J ■ to the length of your purse, and are I ready to pair the latter up. 1 like | J to put lotto or two pairs together about j j 151.1 iof September if it should be I j mild, but as a rule it is a case of j ( " more hasto less speed.” So to be safe, it is much belter to wait till Gc(ober before pairing birds up. Give j , them the usual egg food, with a little j ( new seed sprinkled over it every other j i day and a little N'iga seed two or three . j limes a week until the hen has laid , - In r first egg. Then do n|.)t give her anv more of (lie Niga seed. When the hen has laid her third ; e<:g I take the rock away, and leave the hen to hatch. The eggs are removed each morning as laid ami a , dummy egg placed in the nest. \\ lion (he third is laid, in the evening I put all of them back in the nest again and give them a good sprinkling of Keating’s insect destroying powder. .Inst, shade the hen from sight with a piece of paper while she is sitting and also until the yfonng nro live days old ; then take it from the cage front. Keep the lien when she has hatched well supplied with egg “food, good canary seed, hemp, rape and also plenty of sharp sea sand (if you can get it). A piece of old brick mortar stuck between the cage wires is valuable, too, during the breeding season. When the young are five days old I ! give them, |>r put in the cage, plenty of chick-weed, which is ripe and well- 1 seeded, as I think that it is the best : green fond of all to give birds- When tho young arc about sixteen or seven- , teen days old I tako them out of the . breeding cage for safety and put j them in a small cage to hang in front of the breeding cage. The door of the latter should be left open. Use a Yorkshire show cage, and slip a piece af card-board through the wires at the bottom, about two inches high,'so that it keeps the hen from pecking out the breast feathers and tails of her progeny when she is thinking of going to nest again. Tho young birds hold their heads over tho top of tho card-board to bo fed, and are safe. I let them remain in the “nursery” : until they can feed themselves, when they are removed to larger cages. Feed them then with egg food, crushed hemp seed and canary seed, but no green food. Place a few hemp corns on a sheet of paper and pass a stone ginger beer bottlo over them. Tho latter makes an excellent “hemp mill," and never gets out of order. When I remove tho young birds from their parents I use the canary ! marking rings, and make an entry or i each hir'd in a stud hook—its number, (and also what pair it was bred from, as at this point you do not want to lose'the run of how your birds arc

bml. The informations is most useful when you want to pair your stock up the following year, or know what they have done after the breeding season is over; in several other little

ways it, is useful to ring them. I : , might say that .1 do not remove any of i I my rings from my stock pairs, and . they do not do any harm to either ,eggs or young. , When the young birds are eight weeks old the most likely looking birds from the show bunch I put in

pairs to moult, the very best 1 put entirely by themselves to make certain they do not get plucked. (To bo continued.) It is mistaken kindness to pamper your birds with all kinds of delicacies. When in health and not breeding all they need is plain canary seed and about three dimes a week a pinch of German rauo seed. NEWLY-CAUGHT GOLD FINCHES. I may say that the safest way of dealing with the newly-caught Goldfinch is to put him on a diet of crushed hemp seed and crushed Osborne biscuits and maw seed, the latter two moislctied and given together in an egg pot. 'After two or three days begin to introduce canary seed, teazel and whole hemp seed. 1 may say I have great faith in hemp seed ami give it liberal supply daily. As the time comes round 1 gather plenty of dandelion heads and give about five or six heads each, also a few thistles cut about six inches from the stalk daily. OBJECT OF A CAGE BIRD SOCIETY. Some people who perhaps wonder what the object of a Cage Bird Society wtis. If t was asked I should say it was to promote interest in a most interesting hobby. In the old country it was usual for every man to have a imhhy of somo sort, and indeed a man without one was generally found to be a very morose member of society. Such a hobby as the keeping and breeding of cage birds was one that was altogether titling for a working man, as ho could always liml a suitahlo corner in his house where he could indulge his hobby. To such a man tho winning of a prize or challenge Cup by a bird of bis own breeding must he a source of great pride and gratification. NEW IMPORTATIONS.

Air A, Contis (of Auckland) has received per the s.s, Kiimara, on (he 21st inst., 1 pair of Norwich Plain heads, also .Mr B. Lees received 1 pair of Lizards, J pair of Yorkshires. The above arrived in splendid condition. They aro from the well known bird specialist, AY. Rudd. I wish them every success with them.