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Title
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The Omaha Bird Room
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Date
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1903
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Creator
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Frank Shoemaker
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Description
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Frank Shoemaker - Omaha, Lincoln, and Nebraska Narratives
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Identifier
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321301
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Transcription
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[Page 18] The food problem is one which has received careful consideration. The birds' appetites vary constantly -not so much as regards amount as in their preferences. We strive to keep them provided with appropriate foods; various fruits and vegetables and seeds, and for the insect-eaters, particularly during the winters, finely cut fresh beef. This last is a far cry in the way of substitution; but it works. It is rather odd that the one staple article of food, the year round, for all of the birds, is utterly unlike anything which they would encounter in their natural state. That staple article is bread soaked in milk. Every day they are furnished a supply, and every day it forms the larger part of their diet, in preference to other foods. What may be termed a regulation menu consists of the following items: white or whole-wheat bread, sometimes graham, soaked in enough milk to keep it moist all day; fresh beef cut in very fine pieces, with some fat included; a dish of sunflower, hemp, and other seeds; dishes of finely cut fruit of several kinds -apple, white grapes, shredded raisins. The fruit is varied often. Dried currants soaked in water are acceptable for a time, after two or three days the birds are "fed up" on currants and leave the dish untouched. Half a banana, half an orange, always cut fine, will stir jaded appetites. Often we provide finely chopped carrots or tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, tiny cubes of celery. In the autumn and winter, bittersweet, coralberries, wild grapes, are acceptable. A hard-boiled egg, crushed very fine with a fork and sprinkled with red pepper, is a good appetizer.
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Rights
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To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
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Is Version Of
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image-318.jpg
The Omaha Bird Room