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Family: Origin: Size: Cage Size: Disposition: Vocalization: Playfulness: Life Span: Age at Maturity: Nesting Sites in the Wild: Breeding Season: |
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Canary Information |
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Owned by club member Maria Rosenberger |
Canary Quick Facts |
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Here are the different species of Canaries
These are links to read on that species or sub species
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LIVING WITH A CANARY by Maria Rosenberger
What’s it like to live with a canary? Well, compared to a parrot, there’s probably no out-of-cage time, which helps with busy schedules. But canaries can be surprisingly messy because they scatter seed. It helps to have a cage with a deep tray-type bottom or one of those elastic-edged cloth coverings around the bottom. It also helps to have a sheet of thin, clear Lucite/plastic cut at the hardware store which can then be attached to the rear of cage (with clothespins or with cable ties, if you drill holes in the plastic). One advantage to the plastic is that it helps to keep drafts off of the bird. Drafts will easily kill a canary.
Of course, you need to be aware of any possible toxic fumes around a canary. Remember, miners used them to detect gas leaks underground.
Canaries love their baths and will bathe mostly every day, even during winter months. The easiest method, if you don’t want to have to remove food dishes which could get wet, is to buy one of those clear, hang-on outside-the-cage baths. I once had a canary drown in its hooded water cup—banged its head and fell forward into the cup. (One way to avoid this is with a tube-waterer.) A healthy canary will look to bathe. We sold a canary to a friend with cockatoos who were allowed out in the bird room for play. Her canary would never bathe and my friend was concerned, especially when its poor little rump started accumulating debris. I finally determined that the bird was afraid of the ‘toos while they were out and about (many birds are fearful of white birds, so possibly it wasn’t’ just the size difference). After the birds were rearranged, the canary began to bathe normally. Canaries usually adjust well to having parrots around if you use common sense with your set-up.
Another friend allowed her canary to fly around the dining room every night. She gave the bird a couple of hulled sunflower seeds for treats. It might be possible to tame a young canary to get on your hand. You may also train it to re-enter its cage after some free-flying time.
My canaries have always received the same soft food as our parrots, just diced smaller. They’re good eaters and can live for a decade with exercise and a good diet. Canary seed at some stores doesn’t sell frequently, so you must check the mix to insure it isn’t dusty. (Canary seed is a great treat for smaller parrots-- Conures, Rosellas, Bourke’s, etc.).
Some types of canaries sing better than others. None sing during the molt which is a big stress (provide some dry egg food, Petamine, smashed graham crackers for energy). Canary feathers are so light that, during a molt, they can be hard to catch up or vacuum. Female canaries may twitter and do a stilted “song” but are usually quiet.
Also, a canary can have a heart attack if stared at constantly by a cat. If you have a placid or older cat, you may be able to hang the cage from a ceiling hook or beam or otherwise block the bird somewhat by plants or books. We once had a cat in a house-type cage (partially peaked roof) situated mid-way up on a floor-to-ceiling wall unit. I came in one day and there was our 15-lb. cat curled up sleeping ON TOP OF the cage; Sing-Sing was happily perched on her swing underneath, swinging away! Amazing! We promptly repositioned the cage to hang from a ceiling beam, with no cat-jumping access points. This same canary, later on after her mate died, was found flirting with a pale yellow and blue budgie in the next cage!
A different pet canary was our official watch-bird in a group of parrots. He had a loud squawk-type alarm sound and used it if a spider entered the room or if he spotted a stranger in the yard from the window. Canaries enjoy looking out windows but must be protected from too much heat or cold as well as the drafts.
Many people don’t realize that canaries all have different personalities. When we were breeding Glosters, a type of crested canary, every baby from one of the clutches--5 babies total—had a distinct personality. A canary is a good foil for a lone parrot, another bird but not one to be jealous of!
If you invest some time and attention to a canary, it will not only provide you with a bit of “sunshine” every day and maybe some sweet song but will reward you in numerous other surprising ways.
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