Our Domestic Birds: Elementary Lessons in AvicultureRobinson, John H. (John Henry)
Science
Our Domestic Birds: Elementary Lessons in Aviculture
Robinson, John H. (John Henry)
Cage birds; Pigeons; Poultry
=Place in domestication.= Most people who have canaries keep them for
pets, and have only a few. In perhaps the greater number of cases a
single bird--a singer--satisfies the canary lover. A few of those who
keep canaries as pets also breed them for sale. Occasionally a canary
fancier devotes a room in his house entirely to his birds and, when
breeding on such a scale, has a great many to sell. The commercial side
of canary breeding, however, is usually subordinate, except in the Harz
Mountain district, where the breeding and training of singing canaries
is a very important cottage industry. Canaries from this district are
sold all over the civilized world.
[Illustration: Fig. 224. English Flatheaded Canary]
MANAGEMENT OF CANARIES
=Cages.= The common wire bird cages used for one or two canaries are so
well known that no description of them is necessary. For larger numbers
larger cages must be provided. Large cages cannot always be obtained at
stores which sell the small ones, but they may be obtained from bird
stores in the large cities, or made to order by a local mechanic.
Indeed, any clever boy who has learned to use tools can make one at very
little cost. While the small cages are usually made all of metal, the
large ones are commonly made with wooden frames. A small cage has a
removable bottom. A large cage must have two bottoms--the outer one
fixed, the inner one in the form of a movable drawer. A metal drawer is
easier to keep clean than a wooden one.
=Position of the cage.= The cage in an ordinary room should be hung
where its occupants will be comfortable and safe. The greatest foe of
the domestic canary is the house cat. Some cats can be trained to let
canaries alone, but very few can be trusted to make no attempt to get a
canary when left alone in a room with it. When canaries and cats are
kept in the same house, the cage should hang in a place from which cats
can be excluded when they cannot be watched. The comfort of the bird
will often require that the position of the cage be changed once or
oftener during the day, according to the season or to some particular
condition. Thus, a sunny window may be very pleasant at some times and
too warm at others, or a bird may tire of being constantly in the same
place. The bird keeper has to learn to know, by observing the actions of
birds, when they are comfortable and contented, and must use judgment in
placing the cage to suit them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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