CAGE BIRDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22955, 5 February 1938, Page 6 (Supplement)

CAGE BIRDS

INTEREST in British birds has increased rapidly, particularly since the formation of a club specialising in this department of bird-keeping. Not only are the hardbills, that is, the finches, popular, but now there are many taking an interest in some of the soft-bills, such as blackbirds and thrushes. In the Old Country, much more interest is taken in the English birds than is shown at the present time here, although in years to come it is quite certain thai; the British bird section of our shows will be equal to those in the Homeland. We have in Now Zealand several British bird fanciers who have had experience with their specialities in the Homo Country. Mr. A. Howe is one of tho foremost, having had twenty years' experience in exhibiting British birds, winning prizes at the Crystal Palace shows in keen competition, and in New Zealand is always in request as a British bird judge. "Tailfeathers" has arranged with Mr. Howe for the pub- ; iicaticn of a few articles on British birds, giving not only his experiences in New Zealand, but also the result of his long years of experience in Great Britain. Dealing with the thrush, so common on our lawns, Mr. Howe writes as follows:

Curious Nesting Places "Few birds equal the song thrush as a vocalist, but tho best birds for the show bench are hand-reared specimens. Wild-caught birds do not have that beautiful action in moving from one perch to another, that the hand-reared birds have. Young birds taken from tho nest in dry weather are generally small compared with those taken in warm, showery weather, as, during the latter time, there are ample insects about an food The nests are found in many curious places—in hedgeSj in largo shrubs (a favourite one in the Old Country being large elderberry bushes) , in old tins and buckets that have been thrown away into the bottoms olr hedges, or in any secluded spot giving; a certain degree of cover. A favourito place for a nest is in the fork of an apple tree or against an old summerhouse, but the best thrush I have over shown was taken from a nest in si rhubarb root, where it was partly filled! with water The young birds looked very strong, but for some time after 1 had them thoy suffered from cramp. They were taken on the fourteenth morning after being hatched, and while for a time they did not get on well on account of this setback, when it left them it was marvellous tho jvay in which they grew and improved. "The nest is generally first started with some fluffy material, then built up with thin twigs, made secure with hay, straw and like substances, and lastly given a lining of mud. The eggs are four to six in number, and are of a light greenish blue, speckled with 6mall black spots, these being thicker at the larger end of the egg. The period

By TAILFEATHERS

Letters requesting Information regardin the care of cage birch will be answered ii this column each weelc. Readers are Invite to write to Ta'lfeathersi, New Zealand Herali Office, Auckland.

of incubation is fourteen days, and from the eleventh day onwards the hen sits very close indeed, so close that she will often allow herself to be caught sooner than desert the eggs. Personally, I used to have the best results when the young were taken at ten days of age, but my brother Ralph, who is an authority on British birds, said .that they did best with him when taken on the fourteenth day in close, showery weather, or on the sixteenth day, in hot, dry weather. Patience Necessary "The youngsters are very easily reared, and the most successful way, 1 have found, is to feed them every hour and a-half, from daybreak to sunset. One must certainly have patience to be a British bird fancier, and, if necessary, arrange for help in feeding the youngsters. The first, fourth and last meals of the day should be entirely of snails. There is a particular point in dealing with this food. Some writers recommend snails, but do not say exactly how to prepare them. It is quite possible to scour the birds considerably with snails, but prepared in tho following manner this risk is minimised. Put them in a bucket and cover with boiling water, allow to stand for five minutes, then take out and wait until they are cold. Then the flesh can very easily be extracted from the shell, cut into pieces and fed to the young birds. They must be fed slowly, however, remembering that in a state of nature there is always several minutes in between mouthfula of food." (To bo Continued) ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS "Worried, 1 " Dargavillo.—Budgerigar: Probably your budgerigar has an infection of tho throat, caused by tho lodgment there of minute worms. Take a tailfeather, wot it with turpoptine, put it down tho throat of tho bird, twist it and withdraw is steadily. Do this with several feathers in succession, never using th>B samo feather twice. A week after this treatment put a little powdered sulphur in the throat of the bird. Try giving tho patient somo fonn of iodised salts, and bo sure that tho seed mixture is a good quality ono. Or.A.iL, Rotorua.—Cages: It is Quite correct thai somo birds in paintod cages peck at the eiofi paint and so poison themselves. Tho preparation you mention dries with a very hard surface, and, provided the wood hus been sandpapered smooth, when finished there (should be no little inequalities to give the bird that loverago to start removing the paint covering. You should be quite safe in enamelling: your cage as you suggest, pro vided you give it a week to dry thoroughly before reintroducing your bird. It is quite likely that, with careful tuition from one person only, your bird will still learn, as he has proved an apt pupil in whistling. H.H.D., Mount Eden.—Budgerigar: The vomiting of your bird can bo caused by several troubles. First, is your seed mixture correct? Second, have mice access bo tho seed tray? Contamination of tho food by these pests scomfi tho most probable cause of your trouble. To prove it, remove a couple of sick birds from your aviary, give them two or three drops of olive oil to the beak and food only on good quality white millet seed and hulled oats, keeping the birds in a small cage where thero is no possibility of mice having access to them. Tho budgerigar leaves hulled oats, with the kernel oaton out, and tho smooth brown skin nf the oat remaining. Mice bite across the hulled oat, eating tho kernel, but leaving tell-tale ridges on the inner skin where their teeth hnvo not eaten as cleanly as does tho beak of the budgerigar. Careful examination of the hulled oats eaten in the aviary should give an Indication of the presence of mice.