Their
food should have plenty of variety, to keep them in health and
good humor. They must not have sugar or sweet cakes, but
plain biscuits — cracknels for instance — are good for them.
Their staple food should be canary and bird turnip (the small,
brown summer rape) seed, a small quantity of hemp-seed each
day, and occasionally, in cold weather, a pinch of maw, or
poppy-seed, always to be given while the birds are moulting.
When they are building they must have a mixture of hard-
boiled egg and finely-crumbled stale bread, with a pinch of the
same seed mixed with it every morning. It must always be
made and given freshly, or it will turn sour and kill the birds.
This food may be dispensed with while the hen is sitting; but
as soon as she is about to hatch, it must be put in the cage for
the young to feed upon.
Canaries ought to have green food three or four times a
week, chickweed, groundsel, or lettuce. It is better for them
to have a little constantly than a great quantity now and then,
when they are apt to eat over-eagerly of it. They should have
some whole oatmeal or grits every day; sometimes a little
piece of bread soaked in milk, not boiled, unless it is given as
medicine; a little lump of basalt to peck at, or a bit of apple,
or pear, or potato, or rice pudding. All these tit-bits are, of
course, to be considered as delicacies, to be given by the birds*
owner, and they will, help very much to win their affection.
240 DOMESTIC PETS.
They require warmth and nourishing food during moulting;
if they seem weak, a rusty nail in the water gives them a little
tonic, and a small piece of Spanish licorice is good for hoarse-
ness. By way of physic, we have rarely found any of the
many nostrums recommended as specifics of much use, except-
ing boiled milk. If they have been eating too freely of green
food, a lump of chalk may be useful. Some bird-fanciers give
ants' eggs and a spider occasionally, and it is likely that this
animal food would be good for them now and then. Most
birds are, to a certain extent, insectivorous in their wild state.
Variety in their food is necessary for all birds; and if they have
this, and the seed is good and sound, and they are not exposed
to draughts or sudden changes of temperature, they will rarely
have anything amiss with them which a warm bath will not
cure. Whenever birds look moping, or when the hen is "egg-
bound," and cannot lay her eggs, we give them a bath at 96 ^ ,
holding the bird in hand while immersing all but the head in
the water for three or four minutes, then taking it out and
drying the feet, put it in the sunshine, or at a little distance
from the fire to get dry. Sometimes, if a bird is not fond of
bathing, the feet will get clogged, especially during nesting,
when the claws get a bit of hair or cotton twisted around them
occasionally, and the feet should be cleansed in warm water,
and gently freed from their troublesome encumbrance.
Page 167
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Their food should have plenty of variety, to keep them in health and good humor. They must not have sugar or sweet cakes, but plain biscuits — cracknels for instance — are good for them. Their staple food should be canary and bird turnip (the small, brown summer rape) seed, a small quantity of hemp-seed each day, and occasionally, in cold weather, a pinch of maw, or poppy-seed, always to be given while the birds are moulting. When they are building they must have a mixture of hardboiled egg and finely-crumbled stale bread, with a pinch of the same seed mixed with it every morning. It must always be made and given freshly, or it will turn sour and kill the birds. This food may be dispensed with while the hen is sitting; but as soon as she is about to hatch, it must be put in the cage for the young to feed upon.
Canaries ought to have green food three or four times a week, chickweed, groundsel, or lettuce. It is better for them to have a little constantly than a great quantity now and then, when they are apt to eat over-eagerly of it. They should have some whole oatmeal or grits every day; sometimes a little piece of bread soaked in milk, not boiled, unless it is given as medicine; a little lump of basalt to peck at, or a bit of apple, or pear, or potato, or rice pudding. All these tit-bits are, of course, to be considered as delicacies, to be given by the birds' owner, and they will, help very much to win their affection.
They require warmth and nourishing food during moulting; if they seem weak, a rusty nail in the water gives them a little tonic, and a small piece of Spanish licorice is good for hoarseness. By way of physic, we have rarely found any of the many nostrums recommended as specifics of much use, excepting boiled milk. If they have been eating too freely of green food, a lump of chalk may be useful. Some bird-fanciers give ants' eggs and a spider occasionally, and it is likely that this animal food would be good for them now and then. Most birds are, to a certain extent, insectivorous in their wild state. Variety in their food is necessary for all birds; and if they have this, and the seed is good and sound, and they are not exposed to draughts or sudden changes of temperature, they will rarely have anything amiss with them which a warm bath will not cure. Whenever birds look moping, or when the hen is "eggbound," and cannot lay her eggs, we give them a bath at 96° , holding the bird in hand while immersing all but the head in the water for three or four minutes, then taking it out and drying the feet, put it in the sunshine, or at a little distance from the fire to get dry. Sometimes, if a bird is not fond of bathing, the feet will get clogged, especially during nesting, when the claws get a bit of hair or cotton twisted around them occasionally, and the feet should be cleansed in warm water, and gently freed from their troublesome encumbrance.