canaries are dear, fascinating little creatures to keep, and no special conditions for raising which cannot be successfully accomplished in a limited space. the most fastidious woman cannot object to caring for a few families. one male and two females will start a profitable flock. the male bird should be selected for his voice, regardless of his color or shape. the two other birds, on the contrary, should be selected for those very qualifications. the male should be darker and deeper in colour than the female. in fact, male birds, with green on their wings and heads, mated with pale females, produce the best-coloured young ones. never allow two top-knot birds to pair, for, oddly enough, the progeny will usually have bald or deformed heads. a breeding cage with separate compartments costs at least $4, but a very good one can be made at home out of empty dry goods or grocery boxes. of course, it must be a well-made, smooth one, otherwise it might hurt the birds. painting is not advisable, but it is well to rub off any rough surfaces with coarse sandpaper. remove the lid and one side of the box. leave the bottom, one side and ends intact. turn the box so that the remaining side becomes the bottom of the 218 cage. next get a piece of sheet zinc, nick the corners, and turn them up all around, to form a tray an inch deep. this is to fit inside the cage. square-meshed, galvanised cloth is the best for the front and top. fasten it to the back, ends and front with matting tacks, leaving a space at the bottom in front for the tray to slip in under. put a partition through the middle of the cage, with a small door in it. a door is also necessary in each compartment. the ordinary seed and water dishes can’t be improved on by home contrivances, so add them to the purchased list.
two half cocoanut shells, or small boxes, must be hung up on the end or back of each compartment as foundations for the nest. cover the bottom of the tray with a thick layer of bird-gravel, and hang up materials for nest-building in each compartment. dried moss, bits of raw cotton, or short fine hay, are all suitable. the material for a cage three feet long, eighteen inches high and deep, will only cost a dollar, so the homemade cage, in addition to being an economy, has the advantage of size, which means a great deal in a breeding cage, as it allows the birds so much more exercise.
put a female in each compartment, so that they may become accustomed to each other. in about a week, the door in the partition can be opened, and both birds allowed the freedom of both compartments. during this time, the male bird must be kept in his own cage, and in another room. during these preliminary stages, which should run from three to four 219 weeks, the three birds must have, in addition to their regular food, a small dish of mash every morning, made of hard-boiled egg chopped very fine, stale bread-crumbs, and hulled oats ground (not oatmeal or rolled oats), equal parts of each, just moistened with scalded milk, and, of course, allowed to cool before being fed to the birds.
after the two females are on friendly terms, bring the male bird’s cage into the room, and hang it before the breeding-cage, and out of sight, if possible. curiosity will be aroused, and the birds will spend most of their time talking to each other, and endeavouring to see each other. a week later, close the door in the partition, leaving a female in each compartment. put the two cages on a level; two or three days later, open the door of one compartment, and the door of the male bird’s cage, placing them close together. he will soon commence going in and out of the breeding-cage, and in a day or so his cage may be removed. after the hen-bird commences to sit, open the door in the partition, and let the male into the second compartment. when the second hen commences to sit, the door in the compartment can be left permanently open, as there is little fear of the birds’ fighting, and the male will divide his attention between the two families, helping to feed and care for the nestlings.
special care is necessary during the incubating period, for the eggs of these little songsters are exceedingly fragile, and a loud noise to which they are unaccustomed, even the slamming of a door, will sometimes 220 addle them. too bright a light is also annoying, so a piece of green baize pinned around the corner of the cage will give a sense of seclusion which will keep the bird tranquil and happy. allow nothing to worry or trouble them while sitting.
fourteen days after the first egg is laid, the young appear. the tiny creatures are a great disappointment to those who see them for the first time. chicks and ducklings are lovely from the time they first emerge from the shell; but a young canary is featherless, blind, and has the longest neck imaginable. in a short time, however, it becomes a golden ball of down, and its early unattractiveness is forgotten in admiration.
continue the mash food, but after the little ones are hatched, feed night and morning. add rape seed which has been boiled a few minutes, and then rinsed through cold water. the nestlings’ eyes open about the sixth day. after the thirteenth day they will begin feeding themselves in the most independent manner. when the brood is a month old, remove them to another cage. they will then begin to lose their first crop of feathers, and must be carefully protected from draughts, lest they take cold. at the end of this first moulting period, you can tell how the young will develop, both for shape and song.
the mother bird will usually begin to build a second nest when the babies in the first are about fourteen days old, sometimes keeping up this double family from february till june; so that with good birds you 221 can count on having eight broods from the two females, with an average of sixteen male birds. if the trainer—that is to say, the bird who teaches the young ones to sing—is a good songster, the males should bring two dollars apiece when sixteen weeks old.
the young females can, with a little patience, be trained and taught tricks, which will make them worth as much or more than their brothers, who have only voice to recommend them; but if the female’s education is ignored, they are not worth more than fifty cents apiece, unless kept to breeding age. cages must be kept scrupulously clean, with plenty of sand on the floor. accustom the birds to having a bath dish put in for a time every morning. should the feet look soiled, or the nails be too long, take the bird firmly, but gently, in your hand, and hold the feet in warm soap and water, to remove all dirt and soften the nails, the extreme points of which can be cut with a pair of sharp, fine scissors. take care not to go above or too near the end—the end of the nerve that can be seen running through the upper part of the nail; for if you do, it will be painful to the bird, as cutting into the quick of your finger-nail would be. if you are a real bird-lover, and have time and patience, you can accustom a flock to your presence until they will let you go among them in a flying-room and handle them at your pleasure; for they are naturally most affectionate, gentle little creatures, as full of playfulness as a kitten. a solitary songster will feel neglect and loneliness to a pitiable degree, but will respond to petting 222 as readily as a child. a canary from the general stock of a bird-store is timid and reserved at first, but will soon establish friendly relations between himself and his owner.
