December 28, 2016

The Cycle of Seasons

Required Reading List for Canary Owners
This site has other articles of interest, but this is one of my favorites!
Some of it's pages are for finches, but canary lovers will find lots of good information here.
http://ladygouldianfinch.com/features_seasons.php
Check out the 'health programs' that follow the Seasons:

The Importance of SEASONS in your canary's life

I briefly mention this in my Canary Care Sheet, and incessantly mention this in my emails/talks with new canary breeders!  It is a topic that I now have as one of the top three priorities in my own bird room.

ALLOW Seasons For Our Canaries!

When I began breeding, I was used to having the canaries' cage in our dining room.  As I bought more canaries, I moved the cages to an end of the living room near a window.
I was in the habit of watching and listening to the canaries throughout my day as I moved around the house.  My family would set newspapers on the top of the cages, when they needed the birds to be quiet while a movie played on the TV.  In general, the canaries lived with/alongside us humans.

As a result, they got up when my husband turned on the living room lights as early as 5 a.m. and went to bed when the last of the family turned out the living room lights, most often after 10 p.m.  Our bedtime hours are the same 12 months of the year.  And while we were wishing for more sleep than 6 hours each night, I now think my canaries were also feeling the effects of that long day-short night!

Canaries are one of the bird species that responds to daylength to determine breeding and resting seasons.  There are other factors in use also, such as temperature and diet.  Our wild songbirds and other finch species vary in how they respond, but we see a very clear example of 'SEASONS' in our outdoor birds, as they migrate to and from warmer climates, following the seasons, and breeding most often one season a year.  Some finches, native to different areas than our North American climate. breed at all times of the year, as diet and temperature allow.

But our canaries are one of the species that breed when the temperature is warm, food is plentiful, and the days are long, allowing the young birds to go through a short night without food.  They also have a natural molting period once a year, triggered as the days go from long in the summer to shorter days in winter.

If you own poultry, you know of the molt in late summer to early winter.  You also will be familiar with hens hatching chicks, or see chicks for sale in farm stores in the spring season.

So, let's come back to our canaries who live in a cage in our house!

If we expect them to follow our day/night schedules, they will be 'stuck' in one season.
From experience with my first canaries and from observation of other canary owners' experiences, I can describe a 'worse case' scenario of canaries living in the 'normal' activity of a human household:
The canaries act about the same all year around... singing some, quiet some, and occasionally laying eggs.  There may be more feathers falling on the floor at one or more times during the year, but there is most likely feathers falling a few all the time.

The canaries in this situation, do not go through the Seasons!  They are stuck in one artificial season.

IF you want a superbly healthy singer, or a successful breeding pair, PLEASE give them SEASONS throughout the year!

One simple solution, that many owners of single singing males already know, is to put his cage near a window in a room that is slightly away from the general activity of the household.  I have seen many people do this with great results!  In this way, he is allowed to wake up and go to sleep as he wishes, influenced as much or more by the natural light from the window as the subdued light from other rooms.

I have seen my own birds, asleep near the dark window, ignore us as we get up, turn on lights in another room, and move about our day.  Soon, I hear the birds begin to awake, get a drink and search their feed dishes for breakfast.  In the evening, with the lights out in the dining room, they retreat to their favorite perch, and go to sleep, even while we are watching a movie in an adjoining room.  They may wake up and watch me walk past as I finish chores before my bedtime, but in the dim light, and the window dark, they go back to sleep even as I am still cleaning up in the kitchen.

Since I have increased the number of canaries in my house, I have dedicated a room entirely to the canaries, and it is much easier to keep their room in tune with the seasons outdoors.  If you wished to begin breeding at a certain time earlier, it would be a simple thing to begin artificial lighting, increase temperature, and adjust diet to 'change their season' to whatever you wish.

But I am perfectly happy with my canary room lighting up with the dawn light coming in the large window, and darkening as dusk falls outdoors.

I am not saying all is perfect!

As we turn on the light in the entry nearby in the mornings, I have had to hang a curtain over the open doorway to the birdroom.  And the canaries do wake up to some degree, when they hear our activity in the rest of the house.  Plus, I am still working out when/how much to close off the heat/ac vent in  their room.  With each year in this room, I am learning what is best for my birds.

I do think they are healthier.... and I no longer have feathers 'all over' year around.  They molt at the proper time, and begin to think of breeding only after a period of rest.

I do have some adjustments to make to MYSELF!
As winter comes, I have fewer chores outdoors, so I have more time for indoor hobbies.
That means, I want to spend more time with the canaries:  experimenting with new foods, feeding treats, and dreaming of next year's chicks.
Every winter, I have to fight the temptation to begin breeding early.

I have to remind myself of the times in the early summer when I watch a tired hen building a nest yet again... watching her and the ragged male as they struggle to raise yet another clutch of youngsters.
They don't automatically stop after a nest or two!
And I want to keep the good ones, and my favorite pets, for years to come.
The sad fact is they can/do 'work themselves to death'!

December 2, 2016

December in the Bird Room -- Month by Month Journal

December
Month by Month
Journal
=============

This is the first post in my new 'Month by Month In the Bird Room' Journal!  I am hoping to share some of the tips and tricks I've found help me in the care of my canaries all year.  It will also be fun to share some of the JOY I find while watching and working with my birds!
     COMMENTS are enabled for these journal posts so please jump in with your advice or questions!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     My first goal for the month is to finish my paperwork for 2016.  This includes my master hatch record, records of birds sold, and updating my Bird Book with new birds purchased and youngsters kept.  I will explain my record keeping when I begin printing the new forms ready for next year.
  •      December is the month I deep clean my bird room!  That means walls, floors, cages, seed containers, watering bottles, table, chairs, and anything else that I find in my bird room!  :)
         I will also go over this past year... and if something needs changing for next year, now is the time to plan for it.  I will rearrange my cages, and use a few smaller cages, since my breeding plans for 2017 include over 30 pairs.  I also need to invent some way to mobilize the row of cages on the north wall;  the main breaker box for the whole house is on that wall... and I live in fear that we will need to flip a breaker in the middle of my favorite hen's incubation!  Yikes! 
  •      I will also begin to make my softfood mix.  (The recipe is included in my Care Sheet.)  I freeze the dry mix in quart bags or deli tubs.  If I make it now, when I am not busy, the mix will be more uniform, plus it is FUN! 
  •     I treated my adult birds with S76 in their water, as per instructions, in November.  This month, I will treat all the birds. 
  •     This is also the time to check all birds for overgrown beaks or toenails.  It's not a difficult task, after the first time.
  •     Now to the topic of DIET.
        The males and youngsters are on a 'normal winter' diet of an enriched canary seed mix, which has a few treat seeds included, with a small amount of veggies occasionally.  The hens are on a modified 'austerity' diet of a basic canary seed mix, with apple slices once or twice a week.
         The austerity diet was began in September when the adult hens seemed to be over the molt.  I placed them in a larger flight and moved them into a different room.  I also began to simplify their seed mix, and cutting out some of the 'treats', both greens and eggfood.  Mineral powder and cuttlebone were kept in front of them all the time.  And they have all the seed they want.
         I feed the young canaries and males with a slightly 'richer' seed mix, with more oil-rich seeds.  And I feed them the occasional treat.
         BUT, I am trying to prolong the beginning of the hens' breeding impulses.
         The apple is an experiment!  I discovered, by accident, that consuming a large amount of apple stopped my chickens from laying!   And I have read that putting water cleansers in their water may also slow the canary hens' egg laying.  The water cleanser mentioned contained citric acids.  So, I am trying the apple, with an occasional water treatment, as an experiment this winter.
         I will begin to gradually increase the variety of raw foods and treats, first with the males and young birds, then with the adult hens.... beginning in December for the males.
  •     I also have a curtain I draw across the open doorway to the birdroom, so they are not kept awake when we are moving around the house, with lights on, in the early mornings and late evenings. I want the light hours in the bird room the same as outdoors!
    I just received seed from Herman Brothers...and I love it!  I ordered a simple mix of canary seed and rape seed, plus other special supplemental seeds such as thistle, fennel, anise, white and black lettuces.  Oh, and cuttlebone!  : )
   I am also rearranging and cleaning the bird room!  : )



November 22, 2016

Canary Friends: Stay In Touch!

I have so many interesting topics, links, articles, tips and tricks I have found online, in books, and by talking to other breeders.  I will be sharing them with you, by posting here throughout the next year.
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I don't post often, but I hope you find them interesting and worthy!
Thank you for your interest!
I have met some amazing new Canary Friends!!!

October 22, 2016

Quarantine new birds... I MEAN it!

I love to talk about how different breeders and pet bird owners house, feed and care for their canaries!  But there is one topic that everyone shifts away from... none wants to talk about it!
QUARANTINE all new birds!
I recommend quarantine of all new birds, and I mean putting the new birds in a separate room, with separate seed sacks, watering containers, and other supplies.  Take care of your birds first, then feed and water the new birds.  Look at the cage papers daily, and watch how the new birds look at various times during the day.  How do they look at noon?  Do they go to sleep early?  Are they drinking normal amounts of water?  Are they eating the proper amount of seed?
Please read this article, even though it seems long.  And give it serious consideration!
https://ladygouldian.com/content/why-quarantine-new-birds
The most important question you will ever answer!
https://ladygouldian.com/content/why-quarantine-new-birds

October 14, 2016

CanaryTales.blogspot.com

Required Reading List for Canary Owners
This is a NICE, INFORMATIVE site;  you could spend all day reading!

http://canarytales.blogspot.com/


Lots of topics here, discussed by an experienced canary breeder,
and illustrated with many photos in her birdroom!
Just type a subject in the search box,
or browse the posts.


September 20, 2016

About My Birds

I began my bird 'venture' because I loved canaries... little did I know how MUCH I loved them!  There are so many benefits from owning a canary:  a whole room full or a single singing companion!

I enjoy the serious side: studying genetics and inheritance, while evaluating and judging the youngsters every year. Interacting with other breeders has given me a great respect for quality and the goal of constant improvement in my own aviary.


May 25, 2016

Newspaper Article ... about Savoy Singers!

December 30, 2015 edition
of the
Blaine County Journal/News/Opinion, our local newspaper:

Debbie Stout: Bird Lady of Savoy
By Steve Edwards  BCJ News
--
Reporter ’s note: Paula Reynolds, who handles advertising at the “Journal,” recently laid a  copy of an upcoming ad on my desk. The ad was  for “Singing Canaries” and listed only a name and phone number. Paula said, “This lady has  canaries for sale, there might be a story there.”  I called the number on the ad and got Debbie  Stout, who lives on a farm in the Savoy area. I  figured maybe she was selling a couple of canaries and a cage to go with them. Turns out Stout  doesn’t have just a couple of canaries for sale,  she’s selling 40 of the current 90 she has.  90 canaries! There definitely was a story there and here’s what I learned about our area aviculturist (someone who raises birds).   


Wanting a canary = Starting a business
    Debbie Stout wanted to buy a canary. She explained, "When I was a kid, lots of my cousins had pet canaries, some cousins even bred and  raised the birds. For a time my dad had a canary.  I decided, after 20 years without a singing bird  around, I wanted a canary. I visited several  stores, as far away as Great Falls, and canaries just weren’t to be found."   
    She ended up buying three pairs of canaries, on an Internet site, and from that modest beginning in 2010, she reached the current point where she has 90 canaries. Stout didn’t explain her motivation from three pairs to her current  inventory of the popular singing birds. She did say, “I’ve decided that 5O canaries is my limit.  I plan to sell 40 before the next breeding season begins in January.”  
    She sells them through her own website and ships the birds all over the country. Once down to 25 pairs of breeding birds, she will start the cycle again in early 2016.   


Some general information about canaries
    In a phone conversation it was obvious that Stout enjoys birds and educating others about them.  “First,” she explained, “there are three varieties of canaries— ‘colorbred canaries’ are bred for  their color. Not all canaries are  yellow. The ‘type’ canaries are bred for a desired shape and conformation. That includes unusual feather conformations and birds of varying sizes. ‘Song canaries’  are bred for special or unique song patterns.” She added, “With all the possible combinations there are 600 types of mutations that are commonly produced through breeding programs. I raise only four or five of the possible choices.”  
    Most of her customers buy only a single male, for the singing, or one pair. She said, “Canaries adapt well alone as a pet or in an aviary with other birds. They don’t do well with  parakeets, other hookbilled birds or larger birds in an aviary.  Canaries are of the finch family of birds. 
    Generally speaking, according  to Stout, only the male canary really sings. She added, "You  can tell the sex of a baby bird when they start singing, if they sing, they’re male."  Chicks begin to twitter at about three to five months and are singing at five to six months. By seven or eight months the birds are  mature and ready to be sold if  not kept for breeding stock.  A  pet canary will live to about ten years of age, breeding stock has a shorter life.
    The pairs begin to breed “as the days lengthen.” For Stout that means her birds begin to lay eggs in late January. A typical mating pair will hatch four to six eggs and hatch them after about two weeks. The hen, often before the first hatch are able to eat on their own, begins a second  nest, to lay more eggs. The male canaries (cocks) take over feeding the first nest, if they are not yet completely self sufficient,and feed the hen while she is incubating the second nest. Stout said,  “The baby chicks have to be fed and attended constantly by the parents for a fairly long time, compared to what we are used to with baby poultry chicks. Once the breeding season is over I separate the hens, to give them a chance to recoup and get back in shape.  It is an exhausting process keeping up with two nests of chicks."  Then decisions are made about which new birds to sell and which to keep for future breeding pairs in the next breeding cycle. 


Raising Canaries
    Stout said early on she had cages sitting around the living room.  As the numbers of birds increased, she said, "The singing got so loud we would have to quit talking or turn up the TV to hear it."   Recently she converted a utility room to her 'bird room'. She explained that works better for family life and the birds are easier to care for in one  place.    
     Canaries eat a combination of  bird seed and fresh vegetables and fruit. During breeding season, she said she goes through a 25 pound sack of bird seed in a week and about 25 pounds of seed a month other times. A bag of good quality bird seed is about $65. She supplements the seeds with apples, carrots, kale and other raw vegetables which  make up about a third of the birds’ food needs. 
     There are a few household hazards that affect canaries.  Stout said any kind of aerosol spray can be a problem and Teflon pans, when overheated, give off a vapor that is fatal to canaries (Some readers may be  familiar with the phrase “canary in a coal mine.” Before the  advent of electronic air monitors,  miners carried caged canaries  into the mines when working.  If the birds began to exhibit signs  of stress it was a signal to leave the mine because the air was bad. There are now “climate canaries,” species that show signs of stress before surrounding  species are affected by changes in the climate.  


A canary-based business

     A typical price for a canary is about $75-150.  Pedigreed birds and special varieties can run to  several hundred dollars. Pedigreed birds bring a higher price  because the band certifies they have a certain blood line. Stout belongs to the American Singers Club that helps assure the bands are used properly and that each bird is registered and noted when it was hatched. 
     Stout ships the canaries she sells via the Postal Service. She said there are special shipping  containers and the birds do well in transit.  She recently sold six birds to a customer in Virginia  and said the birds would be there in three days or less.  Stout described her interest in  raising canaries as a hobby. Then  she corrected herself and said,  “It’s really an obsession. People ask how I can stand all the birds singing. To me their songs are beautiful and I learn something new every day watching the birds and their behavior.” As to the reaction of her family, she said, “My husband and our grown son are very understanding, they let me do my thing.  If l’m on the phone with a customer they know supper may be delayed and they are ok with it.”
     Another benefit of getting serious about canaries has been  meeting other enthusiasts. She  mentioned an older “mentor” who lives in Billings, he’s been  raising canaries for 50 years. He said there are fewer breeders of  canaries and he wants to be sure canaries are available.” Stout’s enthusiasm for the enterprise  seems to be a good sign the beautiful songs of the canary will survive.    
     You can see Stout's canaries for sale, and a lot of other information about canaries, at her  website: savoysingersblogspot.com. She has links to other websites with relevant information.  You can call her at 353-2468 for more information about purchasing or caring for canaries. 


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