BASIC CARE: CANARIES & LADY GOULDIAN FINCHES
HOUSING
Males should be housed alone or in
larger cages in groups of 3 or more. They are very territorial by nature and
are prone to nasty fights especially during the breeding season. Hens can
be housed together in a large flight cage. Offer multiple food and water source
and plenty of perches especially at the top of the cage.
- • Cages Always try to buy a cage that is the biggest that you can afford and can fit into your home. While canaries can and do survive in much smaller cages, they seem to thrive in larger cages where they have plenty of room to fly. This is particularly important for hens that need to build up muscle tone for laying eggs.
- • Cage Accessories I prefer using water-bottles. They stay clean and water for several days can be filled at one time.
Arrange perches so that they are not directly over each other, water and food dishes or bath water.
Canaries really love swings but tend to ignore other toys.
LIGHTING
Lighting is critical for the
health of the canary. Canaries are extremely photo sensitive. All of their
life cycles are profoundly influenced by the number of hours of daylight they
are exposed. They sing most between 10- 13 hours of light (late winter/spring),
they start nesting at about 13.5 hours of light, molting at 15 hours, etc.
It is imperative that they are allowed to move through these natural light cycles
of the year or they will not thrive.
PLEASE NOTE: Gouldians
will breed and molt on a different schedule than the canaries but it is still
important to keep the natural light cycles for them the same as for the canaries.
Many times when a canary stops singing after it goes to a new home the reason is that the new home puts them in light from dawn until after the evening news. This basically sets them up for a molt that never really ends. They get run down and listless.
The easiest way to assure you bird has the proper lighting is to place it a room near natural window lighting but not direct sun. This should be a room that never gets artificial lights turned on between sunset and sunrise. If you have an area that isn’t bright enough but otherwise might work, consider using full-spectrum lights on timers with the timers set well within sunrise/sunset times. I set mine for 9am to 3pm all year. The length of the day expands and contracts naturally with light coming from the windows.
PLEASE NOTE: If
you place the cage directly in front of a window, put a clear piece of cellophane
or plastic on the back of the cage to protect from drafts.
FOOD
Generally I prefer to give my birds
lots of healthy foods to choose from every day. I offer fresh seeds and
pellets all of the time. A variety of fresh fruit, veggies, grainy breads,
hard boiled eggs etc. are offered each day on a rotating basis during the week.
I offer more choices during the breeding/molting months and taper off some
during the winter vaguely mimicking what happens naturally during the seasonal
cycles.
Many breeders I know feed only high quality pellets and their birds do well. I prefer to offer a variety though. I just don’t trust one food source as being complete when every year they offer a new and improved variety! I still think they offer a good staple in their diet and I want my birds to recognize pellets as food in case they go to a pellet only home.
ALL moist FOODS MUST BE FRESH. REMOVE ANY UNEATEN FRESH FOODS AFTER A FEW HOURS. BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WITH EGGS.
- • Seed
I feed my birds a basic seed (canary and rape seed) mix of high quality daily free choice. Another container has special seeds like sunflower chips, niger, flax, etc.
- • Canary & Finch
Pellets
I also offer them a high quality canary/finch pellets. I never use the “fruit loop” colored pellets. I prefer the “cheerio” colored ones. I see no point of feeding artificial colors and flavors to the birds when it’s not necessary.
- • Fruits
ORGANIC & WASHED apple, pear, melon, berries, citrus, etc.
- • Leafy Veggies
ORGANIC & WASHED kale, dandelion, beet tops etc. (Avoid iceberg lettuce and the ribs from romaine… they are mostly water with few nutrients)
- • Veggies
ORGANIC & WASHED cooked sweet potato, carrots (fresh grated or cooked), broccoli (a favorite), celery tops, peppers (they love hot pepper seeds), cucumber, squash, sprouts, corn on the cob, etc. Just about anything except avocado.
- • Grains
- Grainy breads, cornbread, left over plain rice,
couscous, cooked pasta, etc.
- • Miscellaneous
Periodically offer hard boiled eggs cut in quarters or grated (shell and all), organic rose leaves covered with aphids in the spring, tiny meal worms and bee pollen.
Provide cuttlebone and crushed oyster shells at all times as an important source of calcium and iodine. This is especially important for Gouldians.
PLEASE NOTE: Gouldians tend to be picky eaters. A good trick to help them discover nutritional foods like fresh fruits and veggies is to add a canary to their cage. Canaries will try just about anything. The Gouldians become curious about what the canaries are eating and will try it for themselves.
WATER
I do not add vitamins and other supplements to the drinking water.
It becomes a breeding ground for bacteria too fast and is simply unnecessary
if the birds are being fed a well balanced diet. Stick with fresh clean water
in bottles if possible. Offer canaries bath ICE water baths daily if possible.
They prefer the ice water if given a choice (don’t believe me… try it!) The
cool water seems to help keep the oils of their feathers in prime condition.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
- • Keep nails trimmed using a human nail clipper. (Just don’t cut too
close to the quick or it will bleed)
• Keep canaries protected from mosquitoes! Mosquitoes are vectors for avian diseases too and can easily infect your canaries with viruses (like avian pox) and parasites from wild birds they have just bitten. If you house your birds outside, use screening to protect your birds.
- • Canaries are quite hardy with cooler temperatures and can be housed outside in many parts of the country as long as they are sheltered from winds and rains. They do not do well with heat though. Again, protect from mosquitoes!
