Nature did not supply your Canary with teeth to help grind his food. The food goes directly to the crop where it is mixed with digestive juices and softened. Thence it passes to the gizzard, where with the aid of gravel previously swallowed, it is “ground up” for assimilation. The gizzard is a small thick pouch with very tough, muscular walls which rub against each other at great pressure. When gravel is present, this action grinds the food into a soft, easily digested mass. Therefore it is essential that your canary have free access to a plentiful supply of gravel of the right kind and size. Gravel composed of limestone or magnesia should not be used, because it is readily dissolved by the bird’s digestive juices. Beach sand may have harmful impurities and is usually worn and rounded.
Gravel should be hard, sharp rather than round, and not affected by digestive juices. French’s Bird Gravel is crushed silica sandstone quartz and meets these requirements perfectly. It is thoroughly washed, carefully screened to a uniform size, and then sterilized by heat. When sprinkled on the floor of the cage, it helps keep the bird’s feet in condition by wearing off the scales and dirt, and it is a distinct aid in keeping the cage floor clean and dry.
FEEDING GREEN FOODS
One of the best green foods for birds is a slice of sweet apple or orange placed between the bars of the cage. Chickweed and watercress are also good. Many bird owners feed lettuce, which is satisfactory; but it must be examined carefully and any frozen parts removed. The long stalks of the rattail plantain weed are much relished. You can keep them several days by standing them in water. Before giving them to the bird, cut off the ends. Both flowers and the tender new leaves of dandelions are pleasing and beneficial to canaries.
An interesting and simple way to provide greens for your pet is to scatter a pinch or two of French’s Bird Seed on the soil surface of some of your house plants. The seeds soon root and make excellent greens.
Sprouted seed is a wonderful treat. Place one teaspoonful of seed per bird in water and allow it to stand overnight. In the morning rinse the seed in two or three clear tepid waters and spread on a moist clean towel. The tiny sprouts will soon break through and the seed may be dried and fed. Renew daily, for soaked, sprouted seed spoils fast.
WILD SEEDS FOR CANARIES
Gathering seeds can be a delightful pastime. The following are most beneficial: seed heads of seeding grasses, Plantain, Chickweed, Shepherd’s Purse, Dock Groundsel, Clover, Teazle, Queen Anne’s Lace, Charlock, Smartweed, dandelion and thistles, except Burdock. These seeds are particularly good at moulting and mating times and a few are always relished as a treat.
INSECT FOOD
Meal worms, the stand-by food of bird fanciers who keep soft-bills as pets, are a real delicacy and are very beneficial for canaries, especially during the breeding and moulting seasons, or when a bird is run-down as a result of soft moult. Meal worms are the larvae of the small grain moths such as are prevalent in any cereal product, and which you sometimes find in bird seed. Meal worms can often be raised as a profitable side line and sold to pet shops.