February In The Bird Room --- Month by Month Journal

I began the month of February with an abundance of ideas, a notebook stuffed with written plans, AND a terrible head cold!
I was careful to limit my time in the bird room to the very necessary and tried to rest.  I was sick off and on most of the month!  As a result, the month passed in sort of a holding pattern.
The birds were fed the planned diet, minus any soft food. I did organize all my nests and other breeding supplies.

I also ordered 250 pounds of my favorite Roller seed Mix, 100 pounds of Song Treat (which I will feed to the youngsters learning to eat on their own, and during the molt), a bag of Flock Raiser crumbles, and various ingredients for my soft food recipe.  So, I am stocked up!  :D

I've been watching the birds, and continue to be very excited about this year!  Wow, I am in LOVE with so many of them, young and old!

While I was resting, I dug out some canary books, and refreshed my memory reading my favorites! 

It may be easy to impulsively post a question on a social group, and wait for answers...
but why not read a book... you will find all the answers and more!
Please, check out the list of my favorite books!

On that topic, a question was posted online about what to expect (variegation) from pairing two birds... such as clear, self or variegated.  This is a fairly basic subject.... without definite answers if the birds are not of your own breeding.  The grandparent birds appearances do influence future generations.  So, these basic guidelines are simply a starting point in guessing what the offspring will look like.

However, these guidelines are a good place to start!  They are quotes from several of the best books there are!  The photos below are from The Practical Canary Handbook:  A Guide To Breeding & Keeping Canaries  by Marie Miley-Russell and Canaries and Related Birds by Horst Bielfeld.  These books also cover other aspects of pairing two birds, such as color, feather type/quality, and other traits.

TOPIC	BOOK QUOTE
types of variegation ➞
predicted variegation in chicks ➞
predicted variegation and color in chicks ➟