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.
