CAGE BIRDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22867, 23 October 1937, Page 11 (Supplement)

CAGE BIRDS

RECENT budgerigar notes concluded with additional tips on the care of the parents until the young birds had just left the nest. After the youngsters have been about ten days out of the nest, they are completely weaned. Be sure, however, that you count the ten days from the time the last young one left the nest. They are deserted bv the cock bird, and the hen is more concerned with the second nest of eggs than she is with the progeny she has faithfully tended for so many weeks. Catch the young ones now, carefully put numbered aluminium rings on theii legs and take a record of the numbers and description of their parents. * In addition, some fanciers put a coloured celluloid ring on the othci leg to indicate the colour of the mating that produced them, so that later on, in the young bird flights, the parentage can easily be distinguished. Should you he using sealed rings, that is, those which have to be put on when the bird is young, .as they have no joints in them, this needs to be done before they are a week old. Some fanciers prefer the fourth or fifth day, and go to the trouble of putting on rings every other day as the birds get to that age. Keeping Records The keeping of true records is essential if you are going to breed pedigreo birds and endeavour to produce quality. Should you want a talking budgerigar, take one that has just become independent, that is, a week out of the nest, keep it by itself some distance from all other birds, feed millet sprays, hulled oats and a little rolled oats as well as a small dish of tho usual mixture. It needs to be watched so that it does eat, and if not, returned to the parents for a day or two, and then removed again. It is not essential to take a bird from the nest before it is independent, and go to the trouble of hand-rearing for a week or a fortnight to produce a talker. Certainly, artificial feeding makes the bird tame, but you can attain almost this degree of tameness bv taking the bird a little later when it is independent. Let one person only attend to the bird, and keep on repeating to it one word only. Sometimes in a few weeks, sometimes in a couple of months, the bird will respond and try to imitato you and ultimately you will find it repeating the word. The art of talking has then been acquired and you can slowly increase tho vocabulary. Necessary Exercise Remember with your young birds that exercise is necessary to develop their chest muscles and internal organs, and whether you breed in cages or in aviaries a large flight for young birds in which they can grow and develop from the time they arc independent until they ar; twelve months old is definitely necessary. Naturally, more care must be given to the young bird which you are endeavouring to teach to talk. Keep it in a cage at, least two feet long, eighteen inches deep and about the same in height. Offer the bird the needs of annual poa grass and thistle heads. These can both be gathered now. Let the bird gain confidence in you, and gradually you will be able to get it to take green seeds from your fingers. Perseverance will enable you to handle the bird.

By TAILFEATHERS

Letters requesting information regarding the care of cage birds will be answered in this column each week. Readers are invited to write to Tailfeathers, New Zealand Herald Office. Auckland.

For safety's sake, cut the flight feathers of one wing only. When repeating the one word, such as its name, allow the bird to rest its beak against a pencil or piece of stick, as experience has proved that it commences to talk quicker with its beak in proximity oi touching an object, than when it is standing alone on its perch. Why this should be does not appear to be known. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 8.8., Epsom: French Moult.—Cod liver oil is not a cure for French moult. If the birds are badly affected, it is kindness to destroy them. S.P., Grey Lynn: Budgerigar.— The cage ill which you are keeping the birds may be infected with red mile, which live in cracks and crevices. Make sure that there are no sharp projections in the cage on which the bird could damage itself. The bird may be commenc.ng (o moult earlier than usual. I am inclined to think that it has contracted the habit of rubbing its head on a projection in llie cage. The bare patch will soon be covered with now feathers. Give tho bird a bell, a little pebble or a ball to play with. Titirangi: Canary.—lt is possible that mice still have access to the cage and are fouling the seed. Even if he is moulting, lie should not appear sick and, in any case, it is too early to expect a moult. It is probable that lie has been frightened during the night. It will take a fortnight before you see the new tailfeutliers appear. A little saffron dissolved in the drinking water loosens feathers. You would be well-advised not to let him moult now, but let hun moult naturally later on. A little iron chemical food in' the water would probably bo more beneficial, and arrange to protect him from mice, cats and moreporks. It you get some quassia chips from a chemist or grocer, boil them and put a little of the solution in his bath water, you will ultimately free him of any insects. G.C., Waitoa: Budgerigar.—The bird is probably moulting nil the time owing to exIronies of temperature where he is kept. Occasionally, budgerigars will go into a partial moult for no accountable reason. A month or two's residenco in a small, outdoor flight where the bird is exposed to the natural elements, would put him right. Spray him with water two or three times a week. It. is presumed that you are giving the bird seashell sand or somo kind and some form of iodine tonic, (jive him something to play with—a bell, a celluloid ball or even a pebble. Be sure that he has a piece of cuttlefish bono. E.L., Avondale: Greenfinch. —The birds are more likely to breed out-doors in a small aviary. Feed ample supplies of soaked seeds in addition to the usual mixture, canary rearing biscuit meal, amplo supplies of green grass seeds, thistle-heads, etc., and offer gentles and mealworms in addition. Be sure to include dandelion seed and leaves in their diet. Linseed, teasel and hulled oats should also bo given. J.L.K.. Hamilton: Chaffinch.— They do like gentles and mealworms and, hi fact any insects in addition to tho seed mixture. Feed also seeding green grasses as available from now on. Wild birds should not bo caught after the beginning of September. If vour bird is wild, try covering the front of 'its cage with a piece or sacking, partly darkening the interior. It would be lust as wild in an aviary. Finches will kill any shrub in their aviary, as they eat the oaf buds before they have time to develop. Roses climbing on the exterior of the aviary are advised, and' inside bamboo in tubs. A clump of lucerne is also very good. Olaria Fosterii is a good shrub for inside an aviary. You can also use. many native shrubs, such as wincberry, whitewood. etc. " Goldv." Opotiki: Goldfinch.- Full name is required when forwarding questions. Horsehair and rootlets such as from cocksfoot, fine cowhair, and moss, would all be necessary for the nest. You are more likely to be successful in an aviary than in a cage. Feed largo quantities of dandelion seed heads, sow thistle, chick-weed, green rape seed, in fact, any small grass seed you can obtain. Feed also quantities of soaked nigcr, teasel and hemp seeds, as well as offering canary rearing mixture. Bo sure and give Scotch thistlo seed when available. I'ho cock goldfinch has a longer and flatter head than the hen, which has a shorter head and much rounder at the top. Tho beak of tho hen is finer. The butt of the wing in the cock is jet black, but that of the hen is brownish. Usually, the hairs rouud the nostrils of the cock bird are much longer than those nf the lien.