Seed should be supplied in self-regulating hoppers, preferably attached to the wall, and water given in self-feeding fountain containers. These become less dirty than open dishes placed on the floor. Sand must be furnished in a box or dish where it is not used on the floor. Soft foods and green foods may be supplied on little shelves or a small table. At the proper season nesting boxes may be hung on the walls, and nesting material supplied in racks or in open-mesh bags hung to some support. A shallow pan of water may be kept constantly on the floor or, better, may be inserted for an hour each day for bathing. A screened flying cage may be built on the outside of a window and the birds admitted to it in pleasant weather. Perches, if of natural wood, should have smooth bark or should be peeled, as crevices often harbor mites. Plants and other decorations should not be placed so near the wall that birds may be trapped behind them.
Aviaries constructed out of doors, like bird rooms, may be made simple or elaborate, large or small, according to circumstances. Where there is sufficient ground available a small frame structure may be built and covered with strong galvanized wire screen of small-sized mesh. Part, at least, of the roof should be covered as a protection against stormy weather, and two sides should be boarded up to afford protection from cold winds. Where the winter climate is severe it is necessary to build a closed addition with board or cement floor and a connecting door, in which the birds may be protected during the cold season. Canaries when acclimatized, however, can withstand moderately cold weather as well as native birds.
The open portion of the aviary should have a board or cement base sunk to a depth of 8 to 10 inches around the bottom to prevent entrance of rats, mice, or larger animals. If a fence with an overhang at the top is not constructed to keep out animals, it is best to make the screen walls double by nailing screen wire to both sides of the wooden frame, so that birds clinging to the wire may not be injured by cats or dogs. Where space does not permit an elaborate structure a lean-to may be built against another wall to make an inclosure large enough for a number of birds. Where needed, the sides of the aviary may be fitted with windows that can be put in place in winter. The entrance to the outdoor aviary should be through a small porch or anteroom that need be merely large enough to permit entrance through an outside door, with a second door leading into the aviary itself. The outside door should be closed before the inner one is opened, so that none of the birds can escape.
The fittings of the outdoor aviary may be adapted from those described for the indoor bird room. With an earth floor it is possible to grow evergreen and deciduous shrubs for shelter and ornament. Where space permits a hedge of privet along the open side of the aviary furnishes a shelter in which birds delight to nest. To avoid overheating in hot weather shade should be provided for part of the structure.
In aviaries birds pair more or less at random. To avoid constant bickering or even serious fighting in the breeding season it is usual to regulate the number of males so that the females outnumber them two to one.
FOOD.
The food requirements of canaries are simple. Canary seed to which have been added rape seed and a little hemp is a staple diet that persons who keep only a few birds usually purchase ready mixed. Canary seed alone does not furnish a balanced food, but forms a good combination with hemp and summer rape. Much of the rape seed in prepared seed sold in cartons is of a species that even wild birds do not eat, as it is pungent and bitter in flavor, but all relish the mild taste of true summer rape. Seed is given in little cups that are fastened between the wires of the cage.
In addition to a seed supply lettuce or a bit of apple should be placed between the wires of the cage frequently. And those properly situated may, in season, vary this menu by the addition of chickweed, dandelion heads, thistle and plantain seeds, and the fruiting heads and tender leaves of senecio and shepherd’s purse. Watercress, wild oats, knot grass, and other grasses are relished, especially in spring and early in summer.
Bread moistened in scalded milk, given cold at intervals, is beneficial. Soft foods must not be made too wet. With bread, enough liquid to soften the food but not to run or render it a paste is sufficient. Supplies of moist foods must be kept strictly fresh and clean or sickness may result. Special dishes, known as food holders, or slides that slip through the wires of the cage are often used in giving softened bread and similar supplies. Cuttle bone should always be available.
When canaries do not seem to thrive it is well to crack open a few of the seeds to make certain that empty husks alone are not being fed. Hemp, while a valuable addition to the diet, should not be given in excess, as it is fattening and may make birds so lethargic that they cease to sing, or in exceptional cases may even cause death. When canaries cease to sing from the effects of overfeeding it is well to supply some of the stimulating foods known as song restorers, or other prepared foods that may be obtained from dealers.