CAGE BIRDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23020, 23 April 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

CAGE BIRDS

IN the continuation of his article on the skylark, Mr. A. Howe states : "To tell the sexes of the skylarks is not particularly difficult. The male is always longer, higher on the legs and has a longer spur. The ear feathers on ! tho cock cover a space almost as large again as in the case of the henj in fact, i sometimes tho ear feathers of a cock meet at the back of its head. lor taming purposes, I prefer the mealworm, but the birds will eat almost all kinds of insects. As with other British songsters, a plentiful supply of insects daily is not necessary. Their diet can bo made far too rich with an overdose of insect life. Personally, I think about two mealworms a day is a largo enough ration. I think that too many insects are fed to the larger and coarser softbilled birds i do not, of course, include the more tender and highly insectivorous birds in this diet, for feeding them is a different matter entiroly._ _ "The principal reason for giving the coarser softbills a mealworm or two is to make them and keep them tame, and at the same time as feeding, talking to the birds and getting them accustomed to tho close proximity ot the human b'jing, realising that, if the bird is nervous under tho judge, it prejudices its chance of securing tho red ticket. Gentles, in my opinion, are equal to mealworms. The former are better cleaned in sand for two days, then put in a tin which is well ventilated, .with in it some barley meal or bran. Place the tin in a very cool place, and the insects will keep for a long time, undoubtedly the best insect food for tho skylark "is tho commodity _ known as ants' eggs, really the sun-dried eggs of the ant." If the life had not been dried out of the eggs by the sun, tho ants' eggs would not keep fresh, but would putrefy. There is therefore no possible chance whatever of the ants' eggs hatching. They should be moistened with a little hot water, then squeezed to get rid bf the surplus moisture (after soaking for a while), then dried_ off with powdered baked bread. Add a little chopped chickweed or lettuce to the food and a little scraped raw carrot. Meat and Green Food "On occasions, offer a little dried liver or even a little roast meat. Somo fanciers give the green food separately, and make up a mixture of tho ingredients 1 have mentioned mixed with a littlo beef suet, heated until liquid, and then the whole put in a tin to set. Food so prepared will last for many weeks provided it is kept dry, and a little is then taken daily and mixed tip with the chopped greens. The skylark can be kept on tho same foods as recommended for the song thrush and blackbird, with the addition, however, of a littlo canary seed or wild seed mixture, the seeds being kept in a separate pot. Both young and old birds can be fed the same food. "During my many years of experience with the skylark, I have come to tho conclusion that 'runners' mako tho best birds, more so in their third year of captivity. In addition, they appear to bo longer-lived; in fact, twenty years

By TAILFEATHERS

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

is not an unusual age for a skj'lark, but personally I have not proved it. Ihe 'runners,' by the way, are those young that have just loft the nest, and the term must not be confused with runners us applied to budgerigars imperfectly feathered. "Try and secure ono with a good, deep, bright colour, and one which is not afraid to raise its little crest. Put it into a small cage, the top of which is a piece of light canvas. This will allow enough light'to penetrate to attract attention to the live food at the bottom of the cage. Each side of the cage for breaking tho birds into captivity should be of wood, and food and water put in from the top. The food should be that as recommended for old birds, with the addition of live insects, particularly for the first few days." Answers to Correspondents "Constant Bender." Heme Bay.—Budgerigar: Feed your bird on a good seed mixture which contains some white millets, and give also millet sprays. It is not an advantage to give a bird so much seedling grasses that ho refuses to eat the usual harder seeds of commerce. Too many green Bceds loosens the bowels. Take a tailfeather, dip it in kerosene, nut it down tho throat of tho bird and twist it. Do this every other day for a week. He may have got a little insect in the throat or oven an obstruction. Olive oil would be of no uhii but a little cod livor oil in his seed is helpful. Sco that tho bird has exorcise. Mrs. A. Walton.—Canary: Put a little Golden Yellow oyo ointment on the affected eye. This is obtainable from any chemist. Sec that your perches are perfectly olean and that thero are no rough projections. "Doubtful," Grey Lynn.—Canary and budgerigar: The canary being an old net, and not being kept for show purposes, it would not matter if ho put on a little too much condition. It would be satisfactory to take tho slide away and let the two birds fly together, recognising, however, that there is the risk of tho budgerigar playfully nipping the toes of tho canary. As they aro so friendly, however, discord may not result. T.N.. Waihi. —Paint: It is not advisable to uso any form of zinc or lend paint for tho interior of a budgerigar cage. It is far bettor to uso whitewash, semite or, if you want a particularly smooth surface, put on several foundation coats and then a finish of hard-drying ennmel. "No Feathers." Epsom.—Budgerigar: Tho bird has been breeding out of season, and has gone into a more or less chronic continuous moult. Remove any nesting receptacle, put tho bird by herself in a clean cage, and dust the bird with a good insect powder two or throe times, and then again after an interval of about a week. Feed on a good seed mixture with millet sprays and green food. Tho bird will probably improvo in tho noxt few weeks. "Finch." Napier.—Finch: Foreign finches on arrival in New Zealand should be kept indoors in an even temperature for several weeks. They must bo given an opportunity to get used to tho climate, for usually on board ship they aro kept in a higher temperature than on shoro. Give them a fow insects such as mealworms and gentles, and a dish of insectivorous food for those that will take it. Bo sure and give some paddy rice for tho Nonpareils, and millet sprays for tho parrot finches. Isolate those birds which show any signs of diarrhoea. If tho tan wator ia filtered, it is sufficiently pure, but all of the birds could do with a drop or two of an internal antiseptic solution in the water for at least a week after arriving. "Watch for fighting, and put in separate compartments any bellicose birds. Give fresh green food and seedling grasses very, very sparingly at first, otherwise extreme looseness of the bowels will result . "Peter," Milford.—Budgerigar: Provided tho rain cannot beat on your birds, I recommend that they be kept out-doors all winter. Some birds in England have to have the ice In their waterpots broken each morning. The cold will improve their plumage. You could have u piece of sacking to drop over the front of the cage should tho wind blow right on to them strongly, otherwiso this is all the protection thoy would need.