It is of consequence that the food for paired birds, and for the different ages of their young ones, should be chosen with judgment. I shall mention what must be done in this respect, in the articles relating to the different species of birds which I am going to describe in this work.
I must not omit two interesting observations which were communicated to me by a lady of my acquaintance. It sometimes happens, during a dry season, that the young birds are not hatched on the proper day, or are in danger of not being hatched at all; if, in this case they are plunged for one minute in water about their own warmth, and then replaced under the bird, the effect will be as quick as it is successful[11].
For the same reason, sometimes the young birds remain without their feathers beyond the proper time; a tepid bath removes with such success the dryness of their quills, that in twenty-four hours after replacing them damp in their nest they are in general covered with feathers. I shall end this paragraph with showing at what time it is best to remove young wild birds from their nest when intended to be reared. It is when the quills of the tail feathers are come out, and the other feathers are begun to grow, the eyes not being quite open. If removed earlier, their stomach will be too weak to support their new food; if taken later, it will be very difficult to make them open their beaks to receive a food which is unknown to them. There are some species, however, that are so easily reared, that any time will answer.
DISORDERS OF TAME BIRDS.
All tame animals are much more subject to disease than wild ones; and birds so much the more, as they are often shut up in very small cages, where they can take no exercise. It is often supposed that birds, in their natural free state, have no diseases; but people who will take the trouble to observe, will soon perceive the falsehood of this assertion. I have often found hedge-sparrows full of pimples, particularly in the naked parts, the feet, and round the beak. Their diseases are often increased by the delicacies of all kinds which are given them, such as biscuits and sugar, which injure the stomach, and cause a slow decay.
The principal diseases and their cures, according to my experience, are as follows; not, however, that different birds do not require, according to their food, different treatment.
I shall mention, under each bird, what must be done to cure those diseases which are peculiar to it, when general remedies fail.
THE PIP.
This is a catarrh, or cold, by which the nostrils are stopped up, and the membrane covering the tongue is hardened by inflammation. In large birds it is common to remove this skin, taking it off from the base to the tip: by this means this part can again perspire, the saliva necessary for digestion can flow, and the taste and appetite returns. A mixture of fresh butter, pepper, and garlic, generally cures this catarrh. It is a good thing, also, for the birds to drink the pectoral infusion of speedwell; and the nostrils may be opened by passing up a small feather. The ruffling of the head, the beak often open and yellow at its base, and the tongue dry, are the most decisive indications of this disease.