CHOOSING YOUR BIRD
I can’t stress enough the importance of buying your bird from a reputable breeder. You can buy pedigree canaries directly from a breeder usually for about the same as in a pet store or even less. Pet stores generally do not know the age of the birds they are selling. They frequently have birds that have been culled from large breeder programs usually because of age or some quality that is not desirable.
Without closed bands on the birds, there is no sure way to know the age of the bird either. The bird you buy from a breeder will be closed banded with the year it hatched embossed on it so there is no question about the age of the bird you are buying. Most breeders will also provide you with a pedigree sheet giving information on several generations back. That may not be important to you, and there are certainly many wonderful “mutts” out there, but if you want a waterslager song, you can’t get that by buying a mixed breed for example.
Try to find a breeder who takes the quality of his/her birds seriously enough to show them for judging by independent judges as to how they measure-up to breed standards. Most of the male birds I sell will include a personal pedigree but his official judging sheet. How many times have you heard of people buying “male” canaries from pet stores who never sing but are good at laying eggs? If you buy a bird from a breeder and that bird comes with a song judge’s report on that bird, you know you are buying a singer.
Ultimately the most important thing to do when choosing a song canary is listen to his song! It seems so obvious but most people never do. They choose a bird because of it’s looks and the breeder or pet store owner says, “it sings”. Even within a breed, individual’s songs vary as do their personalities. Listen carefully to what the breeder can tell you about their birds.
HINT: When buying a song canary, your first questions should always be about their song, not “what colors do you have”? If you are more interested in the look, maybe you should focus on “Color Canaries” or “Type Canaries” or another kind of bird altogether.
