The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-14
BREEDING OANARIES.
HOW the Birds Are Mated and How the
Young Should Be Treated.
From the Washington Star.

uTbe breeding season for canarles Is now
.;+s bight.n said a well-known bird fan
o;or TO a reporter, land there are upward of
thousand pairs of the beautiful little
oroatures that l know of that are bustling
ohou+ lining their nests, and making great
Generations to rear family"
F.tWhAt is the proper way to breed cana
riasgn asked the reporter.
1.-THE first thing needed, of course, is
osge This should be made Of brass or
uood. although l would advise the former,
ss II keeps free from insects The cage
sSauld not be less than 8x10, although
10x16 is far preferable. In placing it care
mist be taken to hang it eight OF nine feet
from the floor, looking to che south. Breed
mo cages should always be stationary.
re nests are made of wire, cane and straw.
amploy the wire ones, and partially line
them with cotton batting leaving little deer
hair about the cage so that the birds may
arrange the lining to suit themselves.
Gravel should be sprinkled in goodly guam
titles on the draw of the cage, together
With a little plastering from an old build
ing. or, if convenient, little crushed oys-
Tar she'll. This latter requisite is most i'm
nortant," continued the fancier, "for it
prevents birds from laying soft shell eggs.
THE FOOD
during the breeding season." he continued,
dis another important factor in the breed
ing Of canaries. Many people think that
az long as a bird has plenty of seed it makes
little difference. This is a great mistake
as there are several varieties Of seeds which,
when fed alone, not only produce drowsi-
ness. but sicken the little fellow, who
fingers a while, only to die. The owner
Who is possibly greatly attached 10 the bird,
grieves considerably and little thinks
that she has been the cause of it all. Birds
during the mating season require Dartic-
Mar kind Of food; for instance, a little rape,
canary and millet seeds mixed, and for a
single pair of birds, a little hard boiled egg
mixed with cracker dust A bunch Of let
tuce, celery or a slice of sweet apple is also
greatly relished. 1t is capital plan to
LET the pair of birds intended to be mated
hang within sight of each other before
being put in the same cage, by way
of introduction for canary birds are not
firm believers in love at first sight. When
in the same cage hang them up and never
disturb them, for in the breeding of cana
ries absolute quiet is an essential element to
their well-being. Many and many pair
have been ruined by too much handling
and many beautiful family left to Ian
guish in the narrow confines OF shells on
account Of too much curiosity"
THE YOUNG.
HOW ABOUT UQ6 uUUl0 Ou6SR' LQe
reporter.
Seating himself upon box. the home and
breeding place of meal worms, the pet
fancier continued:
THE old maxim of like produces like
applies equally well to canaries, so when
you are ready to select your stock do so
with great care. If you want offspring of
a clear deep yellow, let unmarked birds be
mated, or should you on the other hand,
desire birds of cinnamon hue mate two of
that color, or a deep colored gold male with
like notified birds The former rule
refuses to work in this case; as notified
birds are the offspring of impure stock, and
they are just as liable to produce yellow
birds as notified or speckled ones. Colors
aud sizes are often reproduced" continued
the bird man, but voice and songs, never
The young birds that sings like their father
do so because they only hear his voice,
while Young bird will readily learn the
notes of a redbird, a lark or a nightingale
as quickly as the song of canary. When
they are thus taught their value is greatly
enhanced"
"About peculiarities, such as top-knots.
can they be reproducedp'
VERY easily" he replied. 1.-TWO crested
birds will produce offspring with top-knots,
but after long experience | prefer to mate a
SIS there ever any trouble in mating
canariesp
VERY seldom" replied the bird man, sit
sometimes happens that the lady bird is a
uuarrelsome old maid, and in that case the
male is indeed sad wooer; sitting beside
her he pours forth his plaintive melody, but
all to no avail, for he invariably receives a
thrashing for it, and, poor fool. takes it
calmly and submits. When the birds
frat NUT tnoakhar a fnht nI1
usually follows, but they soon make it
up, the male bird making the first advances.
She usually repels him and moves over to
one side of the cage and watches him with
one eye. If the gallant is a wise one he will
sing her his best song and then try to coax
her with cracked seed. The first indica-
ton that everything is all right, is the ma lie
feeding his mate. After the first egg is
laid rest easily, for she has three more yet
TO lay.
HATCHING.
AFTER the fourth egg the female will be.
gin to set, and in thirteen days the little
scrawny creatures will have arrived. Some
times after thirteen days there is no sign OF
the young birds. In such case let the bird
remain undisturbed for several days longer.
When the young ones have made their
debut the old bird is all attention
he sings every chance he gets, and
takes the place of his mate whenever
asked. But sometimes he is bad man, and
persuades bis wife to give up the little ugly
fellows She consents without any feeling
and if something is not done Immediately a
nest full Of dead birds will greet you. In
such cases the yelk of an egg moistened
with saliva should be given the youngsters
on the end of a stick"
How can you tell when they are being
neglected.
Very easily. With young birds, if in
place OF full, round breasts and heavy alb
domen you find every feature dwarfed it is
tme to commence artificial feeding. Fresh
iocd VIII sometimes induce the mother To
Iced the young. There is another importa nj
thing that should be carefully guarded
against, continued the bird man, land that
is the sweating of the young. 1t is brought
about by the female setting too closely, and
Is readily distinguished by the down of the
young being matted and tangled"
is there any way to prevent it," asked
the reporter.
Sometimes this will continue, no matter
what is done" replied the fancier, "but it
can often be stopped by removing the male
Dlru from the cage, thereby compelling the
female to leave her nest quite frequently in
search OF food.
Another good plan is to arrange the
cages In such a manner that the male can
pun MS head through the wires and call his
mate.
How about insects; to they worry the
young TO any extentW
!, Insects have been known tn kill young
VWrtus, indeed l might add old ones too.