Breeding Season 2021 is Well Underway!

There are nests of little chicks hatching all around the bird room!  So far, most pairs are producing fertile eggs, hatching normally, and seem to be feeding well. 
I set a small group of hens in early April and a second larger group the very end of April, which are hatching this week.  A third group of hens are due to hatch next week.  A fourth small number of hens are building nests, or beginning to lay eggs.

For 2021, I have roughly 31 hens, most of which are set up as pairs with a male.  Most are birds of my own raising.  There are 13 American Singer pairs, 3 Fife hens, 6 pairs of the Thompson line of yellows, 1 pair of bronzes, and 8 agate or opal hens. 

For the past 8 months I have worried about some way to keep my total numbers down.  I had too many birds last year... too many pairs, and too many youngsters.  Oh, I had FUN!  And I raised so many really NICE youngsters!

I proved several theories about the various families in my bird room.  Plus, I met some wonderful people as I sold my extras last fall and this spring!  But, I did not have as much time for leisurely observation of the birds, seated in a rocker in the bird room, and sipping a coffee drink!  

My goal is to maintain approx 20 pairs, with only a little wiggle room for extras!  :)
At the moment, I have no idea how to drop approximately one third of my plans!

But that problem can be postponed until later this summer!  :)

Lessons Learned In 2020

2020 was a good year in my bird room.  

1)  I increased the number of birds in my oldest two American Singer families.

2)  This was the second year for a new bloodline, and it gave me several good birds.

3)  The newest family line is still in testing stage, but no terrible trait has appeared so far.

4)  I expanded into a second canary area in another room... so I was able to separate the hens to another room when I wanted breeding season to end.

2020 also had some lessons to learn.

1) For the first round of all hens, I left each egg under the hen as she laid them.  Some breeders I trust do this with success.   I found it depended upon the ability of the hen.... good mothers had no problem with a late hatching chick.  First time mothers, and nervous mothers, didn't do as well, and I shuffled hatchlings around to foster parents. 
>>> I will take out each egg as laid and put in a small numbered cup, as I have done in years past.
***  I did try Julian's (of Julian's Bird Room) Top Tip ( in episode 5 of Season Three of The Canary Room) to take the nest out after the hen laid each day's egg, hang it on the outside of the cage, and return later in the day.  I will do that again.  HOWEVER, be careful not to knock off the nests!  I would not recommend it in small bird rooms or if someone is as clumsy as I am!

2)  There were two pairs in the same family line of Opals/Agates that did not produce any keeping youngsters.  Feather quality was off, size and shape were poor.  I had no idea they would produce such inferior kids.  They were culled late summer... and that is the end of that family.  

3)  I did lose my two oldest American Singers .... but I was consoled by the fact I do have many nice sons and daughters.

4)  I did have some thin shelled eggs, so will be adding a calcium supplement to my schedule.

5) I am questioning my use of bread crumbs in my softfood mix... definitely will not be using as much, and not until they are weaned.  I think I will be keeping a higher level of protein in the soft food for the youngsters all the way from hatch to end of molting. 
>>>  The frequency or time of day that I fed eggfood may have been a contributing factor, but I think I did everything okay, even if not on a schedule.  Somehow, I wasn't happy with the final size/shape of some of the very last hatches. This will be an area for more notes and thinking over this coming year.  I have notes on overuse of bread crumbs in my journals from years past.

6)  I am also questioning the correct use of artificial /LED lighting.  As well as the newest sets of cages.  The cages are enclosed except on the front and each section can be lit with LED cage lights. 
>>>  I have not proven this theory yet, but I feel the bright light within the cage, resulting in a darker world on the outside .... led to birds not as aware of me/what I did outside their cages.  Results were that the youngsters were not as tame, friendly and calm as the youngsters who grew up in a more open wire-only cage.

Here are several photos of my bird room and the new expanded area with the new enclosed cage  units... taken as I transitioned from 'After Molt Rest' to 'Winter', with cages for sale birds, the hens together in some type of flight, and males in individual cages so I can make notes on their behavior.

My Pairings --- Past and Future:

I did alot of reading and thinking about my Breeding Goals, for both now and in future years.
I will write about this in a post in the very near future, with photos of my most promising keeping youngsters! 

I have updated the Canary Links page... there are now over 140 web links to good, interesting, and useful information.

June, July and August In The Bird Room --- Month By Month Journal

The past three months have flown by so fast.  Sorry, I haven't kept up to date on this Bird Room Journal!
Breeding went well, and I ended up with 100+ chicks. 
There are many absolutely beautiful youngsters!

I also have a NEW BIRD AREA!
Here are several photos as it looked in June.... before it housed any birds!

I have not MOVED the Bird Room, simply added MORE CAGES so everything will have more elbow room!
This second area will be used as space for youngsters, and an area for my keeping adult hens.  This will also be the area for any color bred birds with song habits I do not want in the Bird Room with my young impressionable males.  :)

I also learned something very important!  I will include a book review of a newly printed book, and a blog post about how I came to my NEW UNDERSTANDING of my breeding goals of the future. 😎

May In The Bird Room --- Month By Month Journal

We are HALF WAY into breeding season in the new bird room!
I did make a Bird Room Make Over video together;  watch it below or larger sized on my YouTube channel.
The 'new' birds I bought last fall were a bit slow to set/hatch, but the hens of my own raising are doing well.  I am most excited over the beautiful American Singers!  Even a couple of older AS hens have given me chicks.  A five year old agate opal-carrying hen is on her second nest!  Several older males are also producing youngsters.

Soon, the FUN of choosing the youngsters to include in next year's breeding BEGINS!
I love to watch the young ones as they mature and begin to show their potential!
This year will be even more exciting as my favorite birds have produced Beautiful Kids!
I will have LOTS of youngsters to choose my own keepers and to sell! (See photo, left, for my Bird Room Numbers!)

I made THREE decisions:

#1)  I will be removing each egg as it is laid, and replacing it with a fake egg... storing each hen's eggs in a little cup, and returning them all when she lays the fourth or last egg.
I just left the eggs with the hens, for all the first round of nests.  And I lost a few chicks!

Half of the hens did okay.... because they laid an egg each day, thus the eggs were hatching day after day.  Most of these same hens also did not begin incubating until the final egg.  And, they fed well after hatching, searching out the youngest ones and feeding them in turn.  The other hens were less efficient, in all aspects of breeding.
The males behaved similarly:  half were skilled, half not so much.

This was a good learning experience for me.... but for this second round of nests, I removed the eggs as they were laid, and returned them all at the same time!  :)

#2)  When/IF I buy new stock birds, no matter how 'well-known' the breeder is, I will carefully, and cautiously, observe them before I mingle them with my own birds!

Ten years ago, when I first began buying 'new birds' in the fall of one year, I would pair some of them with my own birds the very next spring.  And, in the following years, I would pair their offspring with more of my own birds.
Three years ago,  I took a critical look at the 'new birds' and discovered some of them produced good offspring, and others did nothing but pass along serious faults!
In the two breeding seasons since, after culling some birds that 'should have been good' but were NOT, and keeping my own lines clean, I am now seeing some great results!!

After the past 10 years of buying birds, I am convinced the best birds are of my own breeding!  I am learning how to pair birds!  :)

I have found about 6 'good' birds, and several exceptional ones, from various American Singer breeders.  I am building the opals from very good groups of birds I bought from two breeders, both of whom I believe are no longer breeding with the same bloodlines.  I have several great, solid families of yellows from Bruce Thompson.  I am thinking of selling all my bronzes and mahoganies, but they are really very nice birds, from three breeders.

Long story short:  I have LOTS of good families.... with good solid genetics.
From here into the future, I need to remind myself: 

no matter how fun it is to get new birds,  resist the temptation!

#3)  36 pairs are too many!  :) 
I have no idea how I will make the decision of which ones to keep, but I am setting a goal of 25 pairs for 2021!  I'll keep you all updated on how well I am doing toward this goal!

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

Breeding season is in FULL SWING here! 
So far, things are going as planned.

For this first round of nesting, I did NOT remove the eggs as laid.
I just made a note of the dates each egg was lay'd, and I will do some study after I see how they hatch.
For the past eight or nine years, I have taken out each egg and return all the eggs when the fourth egg appears. 
Following several other breeders' lead, I decided to experiment with the first round of nests.  I'll know more in a couple of weeks, but so far the eggs are hatching at nearly the same time, and the parents are feeding well.

The hens began building nests almost immediately after I paired up the males and hens.
Eggs appeared within a week of caging.

I was a bit worried that there would be many infertile eggs in this first round.  But, so far, all hens seem to be hatching on schedule, with multiple chicks.

None are old enough to band yet.  I have literally just started, 4 days ago!  :)

I am feeding a basic 'heavy on canary' seed mix, with a little added oat groats.  My soft food for laying or feeding hens is my basic recipe (found on Page Five of My Canary Diet Research article).

I did update the way I keep records.
In the past, I used a calendar and loose leaf filler sheets to keep a running diary of who began setting, when they began incubation, and dates of hatching.  As I banded the youngsters, I used a 'hatch record' to write down the final description/family/band numbers.

This year, I made my own forms.
1) I wanted a quick way to see at a glance who was expected to hatch on what date.  I also wanted to have a record of each nest, just to give me an idea of each pair's good or bad points.
2) I wanted my hatch records in order by DATE of hatch, rather than in order of band numbers.  I also wanted to be able to quickly count how many chicks hatched.

I made a 'Pair Worksheet' , with the first column being the date DUE to HATCH.
Each pair gets a line on the form when they begin a nest... then I write down the date of first egg.  Then date incubation begins, and number of eggs. I figure date of expected hatch and put that in the first column, easy to see!  After hatch, there is space to add number of chicks, and any notes of their behavior.
I put the chicks each on my new 'Hatch Record' , by date each nest hatched. This also helps me keep track of when chicks need to be banded... a reminder of their age.
At the bottom of this hatch record, I make note of the week of these hatchings.  I will go back later to see if early hatches are more successful, contain more hens or males, and other things, such as how long between nests, etc. 

I also make notes as to possible sex while banding.
I watch for these hints:  males often have more 'fuzz' on the tops of their heads at this age.  Males are often more 'jumpy' than the females.  Some people say the males have a longer middle toe when young. 
Here is a list of possible 'indicators' of sex:
Tips On Determining Sex of Your Chick.

If any of these 'indicators' were absolutely true, all canary breeders worldwide would give a collective sigh of relief... as our largest question IS determining sex as soon as possible.
But the question remains, so these indicators are just that:  something that MAY indicate if a chick is male or female.

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

One of my major 2020 goals was to completely REDO my bird room! 
It needed a major DEEP CLEAN, and some CHANGES to my cage system, food storage, and the number of cages!
#1) Get my cages onto wheels! 
For the past 5 years, my cages have been stacked:  a row of cages stacked on top of several other rows of cages, with a sheet of plywood between, and bungee cords to keep the stack secure.  Most 'stack's were 3 high... and I had them tied to the wall to keep them from toppling!
The bottom row was off the floor at least a few inches, and I swept what I could reach nearly every day, but if I wanted to clean up behind the cages, it was a major job to get all the cages apart and moved.
I have been in this room for 7 years.  At first, I put paper on the walls behind the cages, and changed the paper at least once a year.  Recently, I simply had TOO MANY cages and too many birds to take time to clean properly!

*** Another reminder that YES, we can have TOO MANY BIRDS! 😄 ***

#2) Get a shop vac!  This is great.  It made cleaning under and between the stacks so easy and efficient!
#3) All my canary supplies should be IN the bird room.  Up until now, I have stashed various canary things all over my house. I have some good ideas to solve this.

#4) Paint!  Lori sent me a photo of her bird room... and that kept floating around in my brain.  I wanted a green bird room!

#5) Clean:  the laundry appliances, light fixture, window blinds, etc.

#6) Add a few improvements: such as a clock, dry erase board on freezer, etc.

I bought paint early February.

It was early March before I moved the birds out into a spare bedroom.

The birds were returned to the bird room March 30.  I don't have all the new cage stands in the room, and there is much to do as I begin pairing the canaries in April.
But the end is near!  YEAH!!!

I took videos and photos of the process and I will put them all together into a video story, but for now, I will share a few photos. (read complete post)

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 ➟

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

I've been doing some study of my notes from the 2019 season...  As an overall summary, I like the effects of my diet plan.

BUT, I did see a definite difference in the months I fed seed I thought was less than fresh! 
Seed consumption was less, water consumption was up, and activity was more fighting or nervousness.
It took about 3 days to become obvious.
When I switched back to seed that smelled fresh and was dust free, I noticed an improvement in about 3 days!
Once again, I proved GOOD SEED is worth it's weight in GOLD!  With rising shipping costs, I have been tempted to order from unknown sources.  I have proven to myself, once and for all:  always buy seed from trusted sources!

Another note that kept appearing again and again during the weeks I used a portion of Purina Flock Raiser in my soft food mix.  The hens fed the soft food readily and the chicks grew well.

I also think I have learned a few things about the different American Singer bloodlines I have.
I will be continuing work with two of my older lines, cautiously testing the line I bought in 2018, and have added new birds from Ed Medrano to my plans for 2020.
At the beginning of the 2019 season, I culled several birds that I thought may be dominate for faults in freedom and maturity. 
I am not sure I will ever prove my opinion, but the youngsters from my 2019 pairings were very nice.  :D

Some new things are planned in 2020!!!

I am completely rearranging my bird room... and will be adding a second area for breeding and molting. 
May also have new paint and new cages!!!!!
I will be photographing some of my best canaries.

I am also working on new online Canary Things!

For now, I am going to ask that you SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel.
Note:  Visiting my channel does not automatically subscribe you!
You must CLICK the SUBSCRIBE rectangular button below the arrow,
and CONFIRM. 
 I can use my name as channel name, instead of a random assortment of letters,
when I get to 100 subscribers!

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

December was warm and sunny outdoors, and also sunny in the bird room.
I actually shipped birds this month!  Amazing!
I usually order bulk seed for the coming breeding season, but found postage costs were rising higher and higher!
I determined not to fall into the old habit of simply ordering smaller bags off Amazon.... and experimented with several new sources with online stores.  Some good, some bad.
Generally, I still recommend Herman Bros. Seed, WingzStore, and MyParrotFood.  All have online stores, plus great personal attention to phone orders.
November was my Canary Fun and Games month, where I host a few games on Facebook.... oh, it was fun!  There were many photos entered in the Photo Contest.... and four winners throughout the month!
I have added several of the winners, plus a new jigsaw puzzle to the Canary Fun and Games page here.

Here is one of the puzzles:
Have fun!

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

November was a busy month... on the ranch, so the bird room was given a once-a-day service.  Actually, that is a great thing, as I was not tempted to give them luxury care... and as the natural daylength continued to shorten, the room temperature dropped, and their diet remained on a basic seed diet.
I did continue the Ioford/DufoPlus combo in their water weekly.
     Instead of ordering seed and supplies for the next breeding season, I ordered new BIRDS!  :D
    OH, I am excited about next year!
     I had some LOVELY youngsters this year!  BUT, I ended up with more males than hens.  At first, I was planning to simply hold some over until next year when I would have more young hens.  Then I decided to order a few hens!
     I have spent the past two months observing my American Singers and other canaries.... taking notes and comparing hatch records for the past two years. I made plans and set goals.
     THEN I contacted Ed Medrano for new stock. (Listed in the Breeder Referral List on the American Singer Club website.)
     The birds arrived on a very frosty below zero morning, but settled in well. Most of this video is of their 'bath-time' antics. 

     I loved the look of Ed's birds so much, I ordered a second box!  :)

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

There are NEW additions coming... to both this blog, and my bird room!
Oh, it is an exciting time!
PLEASE:  sign up to receive emails of my posts!
You will want to 'watch' and participate in these new things!

First things first:  I did update my Month by Month Care Schedule boxes... and combine them into pdf files that you can print off.
They can be found on the Journal Page!
Remember, I am continually watching my birds, and will update/change my schedule if it is necessary.  
But this is what I did in my bird room the past year.
I made a few changes from last year, but generally June through November remain my 'molting/growing/resting' months.  December through May are my 'conditioning and breeding' months.

 The NOVEMBER Canary Fun and Games will begin on Facebook November 3rd!!!
Join in the fun.  I collect no emails or names.... and the sole purpose is just TO HAVE FUN!
Visit my Facebook page:  Savoy Singers Aviary


I am experimenting with taking photos and videos in my bird room!

Okay, I leave you with all that to think about!
More to come!  :)

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

This month has been like a VACATION in my bird room!
The birds are happy and healthy.  The young ones are beautiful!  The adults are content and active.
What I'm doing in the bird room:
DIET:
Although there are less feathers floating around, the birds are still in The Molt, so I feed a seed mix that is a little 'higher than normal' in the amount of oil and protein seeds.  I begin with the Canary Roller Mix by Leach Mills, and add a portion Song Treat by Sleek n Sassy.
The basic mix contains canary seed, rape seed, flax seed with 1/3 part of the Song Treat which contains nyjer and rape seeds, oat groats, several small millets, and hemp.  The final seed mix has quite a few  'oil and protein' seeds.
My canaries LOVE the Ioford/DufoPlus combination 2 days on alternate weeks with Nekton Bio, during the molt. 
I also feed apple slices, grated squash, and alfalfa greens.

(Our alfalfa field in bloom ->>> )

CLEANING:
Yup, I've begun deep cleaning the bird room!
We have had many days of rain this past two weeks, so I have set the extra cages outdoors to let Mother Nature do the first cleaning cycle.
My plans!
Oh, I am excited for next year!
This year has been a good one for my birds!
I had mixed results, with many new birds purchased last fall dying!
I also had a few pair of older birds, which produced less than normal during the season.
But, I see so many promising youngsters!  :)
I have an opportunity to take steps ahead! 
More on my 2020 plans next month.


NEXT MONTH:
I have a few new things coming next month....
and we will be playing the Canary Games!
Stay in touch... watch my FaceBook page:

August In the Bird Room --- Month by Month Journal

August is the month for both  DIFFICULT and EASY chores in the bird room!
I am now watching the flights to chose which youngsters I am keeping for myself!  It is EASY to watch the young birds.  It is HARD to set aside those I feel able to part with!
And of course there is the molt... and the extra mess as a result.  Feathers are everywhere!
I am adding comments to my hatch record, and making notes on song traits of the young males.  I am comparing this year's hatches with last year.

This is when GOOD RECORDS prove their worth! 
Record Keeping -- Worth Your Time! (including FORMS)

I am also reading and re-reading some of the best articles and book chapters on genetics.

While I will not enter a show this fall, I also review the 
OMJ/COM Standards of  Coloured Canaries.


I am testing a new molting supplement, but as always, my canaries just LOVE the Ioford/DufoPlus combination!  They just can't wait to take a little 'spit bath' and all come to take a drink as soon as the waterer is put back up on the cage!

 

July In the Bird Room --- Month by Month Journal

Last Day of July 2019

I learned SO MUCH this season!
Most of my new diet plan seemed to work as I hoped. I am still making decisions about which parts to keep, and which parts to change.
I will soon be sharing my observations of the new diet plan!

This is the month I begin to place hens in larger flights, and the males in groups of three if they seem to get along well together.
The MOLT is beginning, and I am increasing the amount of soft food and protein.
I am also watching the cages of youngsters.... I am VERY HAPPY with nearly every one!  It will be hard to decide which ones to keep and which ones to sell!
Oh, what a great dilemma to have!

I am also looking over my older birds.... I will be eliminating some of them from my breeding plans, as I make room for the young ones.
I recommend these articles on other websites:

• Wait! Wait! Don't Sell That Hen! 
• Creating a Winning Stud

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

(This journal entry has been added 7/2019. Sorry for the delay, but I am returning to keeping the Bird Room Journal up to date!)  

The weather has taken another turn!  The last three weeks in June have been rainy, cold, and dark.  

The cooler than normal temperatures has helped me in the bird room... by putting less stress on the hens on nests, and the weaned youngsters are very comfortable.  I decided to postpone S76 treatments (to prevent mites that may be a problem during warmer weather) until July.

I am beginning to watch the youngsters.... watching their behavior, and observing their shape/health and color/song.

➪ My advice:  don't wait until later to chose which ones to keep for next year! 
I firmly believe:  early maturity is a trait to SELECT FOR!
As breeders, we have a responsibility to IMPROVE our stock.We should be selecting for correct type, good color, strong health, AND early maturity.

So, don't 'take a vacation' from your bird room this summer!

One of my goals for this year was to do more 'local' harvesting of wild greens.  
Last month, I took these photos while washing and cleaning dandelions. I found a few shortcuts:  

• It was easier to pull the whole crown, even though I do not feed any part of the root to my canaries.  It just seemed to keep the leaves together, all laying in the same direction.
  (See root in photo below.)
• Those plants I pulled in our own pastures did not need washing and were much easier to store in the fridge.  If any plants began to wilt, I set the root in water, and the plants revived very quickly.
• After slicing above the root, I pulled out the bloom stems, while loosely holding the bundle of leaves.  I did not feed the stems or blossom/seed heads.  Remove any black, dried, or damaged leaves.

The dandelions are now beginning to toughen and shrink, at least here in Montana.  The wet, cool weather has prolonged my harvest, but the plants have bloomed, gone to seed, and are feeding their roots rather than producing top growth.
Off to find other wild greens!

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

(This journal entry has been added 7/2019. Sorry for the delay, but I am returning to keeping the Bird Room Journal up to date!)

2019 has been a strange year, outdoors.  March, April and May have been warmer and much sunnier than normal

In the bird room, progress has been going according to plan! 

• I have learned a few things about the effects of the changes in my diet plan.  I have been mostly satisfied.
  I am keeping notes, and will post a summary of what parts of my new diet worked/didn't work.  :)
• The Good News:  Most of my 'most anticipated' pairs produced some very, very nice youngsters.  There were also some unexpected beautiful babies from new pairs. 
• The Bad News:  Most of the newly purchased birds and several of my oldest pairs did not produce a single chick!  In early April, when these pairs were not beginning to nest, I began putting fertility vitamin supplements in their water, and increasing their protein, in both seed and softfood.  I understand why the old males (8-9 years old) did not produce fertile eggs, but the new young  hens who layed/set and still did not hatch a single egg, are a mystery to me.  Four of 6 birds from one breeder died!  Three of four hens from another breeder sat in an empty nest without building or laying eggs.  But they sure were happy just sitting in the nest for days on end.

Here are the first youngsters,
hatched in April!
I haven't taken photos up close,
but there are many very nice ones! 

My rocking chair is still in the bird room, but the seed tub is all that is sits in it

In my life away from the canaries, the ranch work has been busy.... and keeps getting even more busy!

Here are a few of my other 'animal friends':
 

April In The Bird Room --- Month By Month Journal

Early April 2019

I am exactly one month ahead compared to my previous breeding season in 2017 (no breeding last year).
However, the weather is also advanced:  warmer, and more sunny hours.  In 2017, we saw very cold, dark and stormy months of March and April.
I find it interesting:  my indoor domesticated birds are reacting, at least in a small way, to the conditions outdoors.

Things are going well in the bird room.
Several older birds did not hatch a single egg of their first nest.  I wondered how these 5 to 7 year old birds would perform.  They do show their age, by the way they behave, but are all excited about beginning a second nest, so I will know more in another month.
The younger pairs are doing well.... with nests of 4 and 5!  One hen was nervous, laid only two eggs, but hatched both.

The Good News is:  several of the pairs from which I most wanted offspring, are proving to be good parents!  So, I should have some promising birds this fall to carry out my breeding plans for 2020!

I banded the first nest of 2019!  They are from an agate/agate/carrying opal pair.
My first Columbia Canary Club bands!!!!!!

I set the nest in a small can, to keep it upright and stable.  The little plastic cup contains corn starch, which I use on the foot of any chick that seems too large to slip through the band easily.
The pencil is included to remind everyone:
KEEP GOOD RECORDS!!!

More bird room photos.... and a closeup of my system of keeping the eggs until they are returned to the incubating hens:

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

Late March 2019

Breeding has begun!
The bird room is vibrating with male song and hen twittering.
Bits of string, jute and yarn fly in the air.
A page in my notebook is filled with cage numbers and dates of incubation.

Some things are going according to plan, but there have been a few surprises.
Good News first:  Half of the prospective pairs are getting along well, and have nests built.  The other half are getting along well, happy to be in a cage together.  Most are beginning to tear paper and I am putting more nests into cages every day!

My new system of cage numbering and coding with slips of paper with date of expected hatch is working well.  Making plans ahead has kept things going well on on those mornings I have 20 minutes to check the hens!

Now for the Bad News:
I had three hens show symptoms of egg binding.  One was an old 6 year old hen, and unfortunately, she is gone.  The other two survived with the help of calcium in their water.  One was another older hen, and the third was a new bird purchased last fall.  Everyone else seems fine, but the entire bird room is receiving calcium in the water.
I suspect my limited time in the bird room the past two weeks is to blame.
Our ranch work jumped into Spring overnight, it seemed, and my plans for the bird room became less than the most important.  As a result, I did not feed softfood 3 times a week, as planned.  Once a week was the most I did prepare for the canaries.  I also put the F-vite mineral supplement in for the birds only twice, instead of four weeks.

The Best News of All:  I finished my Canary Diet Research!
I had so much fun!
It was a great way to occupy myself while I was impatiently waiting for breeding season.
I spent my spare time reading and making experiments, instead of hovering over the canaries.
I discovered so many tips and little gems of advice.... and there are many web pages by breeders that deserve reading and re-reading!!!
I kept a few notes, and am sharing the research:

Canary Diet Research --- Finished!!!!

Please begin on Page One!

March In The Bird Room --- Month By Month Journal

Mid March 2019

I jumped into March with a four day cleaning marathon!   We are now at mid month, and the first pair laid an egg this morning!  Nests and nesting material are ready, and I have printed my record-keeping forms.  I am taking many photos, so I hope to keep up with my resolve to include interesting photos with every blog post!

Washing up is not my favorite chore in the bird room.  I have found several things that help get it over and done quickly:

1. Keep at least two sets of water tubes and feed dishes.
   You can swap out dirty ones one day each week, and wash them the next day. 
   I also keep extra sets of perches.  Time-saving!
2. Do one extra thing after the daily chores are done.
   Don't leave all 'clean up' to do in one day.
   Don't say:  I'll wait and catch up later.
   I have one little maintenance job to do on each of the 5 weekdays.  Weekends are for 'enjoying' the birds with a latte and the rocking chair!

I rearranged the room, and now have cages for 32 pairs.  Whew.....

I am beginning this year's breeding season with the largest number of adult birds, ever!
I am so excited to see if my plans and expectations will be as wonderful as I hope!!!  Even if only some of the pairs produce what I want, it will be a great year!!!  

Here are a few of my 'rules' when arranging cages: (continued...)

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

Late February 2019

In the past, February has been a l-o-ong month in the bird room. I was torn between all the social posts of other breeders with photos of their newly hatched young... and my desire to keep my bird room close to the natural spring here in Montana.  My birds were impatient also.

This year, February has been a wonderful and peaceful time!  I have occupied myself with diet and nutrition research.  Several of the changes in my care and the bird room environment have worked well, and the birds are active and happy.
I have taken time to sit in the rocking chair in the bird room and watch the young singers.  There is a young opal male who loves me sitting close to his cage and trills with a low rumble!  Several young American Singer males act so excited as I sit down... and situate themselves on high perches to serenade me!  It has been a very enjoyable month.
Yes, I am nearly ready for an all new breeding season... and yes, the canaries seem ready.  The males have spent the winter months grouped three or so to a cage, and are beginning to spar.  The hens are flying back and forth in the cage... nearly colliding in midair, intent upon the excitement in the air.

I am still convinced my decision to start my breeding season no earlier than March 1st is the right one.  And a few changes I made to the diet and room environment worked as well as I had hoped.

First, the changes I made in the canaries' diet and the bird room environment:

• Sometime in December, our home furnace began running more often.  This winter, we humans set the desired temperature a few degrees higher.  Since the heating is a whole-house system, with one thermostat located in the dining room, normally the temperature in the bird room will actually RISE in late December and January!
  This year, I closed the heat vent in the bird room... not completely, but nearly closed.
  The temperature dropped this year, instead of increasing.... and it worked very well.
  On the days we had sunshine, the bird room warmed to the upper 60's, with nighttime temps near 60 degrees F.  There were a few times, it dropped to the higher 50's.
• I was very consistent about keeping the curtain pulled across the doorway to the bird room, so my family's activities in the evenings did not keep the canaries up past their bedtime!  :)
  Also, as the days began to noticeably lengthen sometime around the beginning of the year, I decided to partially close the blinds in the bird room window late each afternoon.  This worked well to quicken the darkening as nights began.  I wasn't home every afternoon, but I did the best I could, and it seemed to keep the canaries from 'thinking Spring' too early.  :)
  I stopped closing the blinds sometime in February.
• In years past, I have used a 70/30 or 80/20 canary/rape seed mix during the winter.  This year, I increased the oil seeds, using both rape and nyjer seed, which also raised the protein level and lowered the carbohydrate level.  I also added a small portion of a seed mix that contained egg-based pellets.  It was a very small amount, as I stretched out several cases of the seed mix, which I had purchased on sale.  But in a small way, it contributed to a higher protein level of the final mix.
  NOTE:  My seed mix still contains a higher percentage of carbohydrates than the percentage of protein.  I was simply trying to close the gap a little.  (more on this in my Diet and Nutrition Research article, coming soon)
• I did not feed supplemental soft/egg food, for most of the winter months.  I did feed weekly portions of grated carrots or other veggie.  Usually, I have free time during the winter, and since I have fun mixing various soft foods for the canaries, my usual practice is to increase soft foods in late winter.  I resisted this year, and did not feed any bread/egg food.
• I took notice of the joy and excitement my canaries have with the Ioford/DufoPlus combination.  This is a simple vitamin/iodine/iron supplement added to their water.  The strength/amount of each 'nutrient' may be lower than the amounts in other products.  And at first glance, there isn't anything special about the specific combination of these nutrients.  But whatever the reason, my birds love it.  In the past, I have added it to their water weekly during the breeding season.  This year, I ordered large bottles before we had freezing temperatures last fall... and have included it in my winter schedule.  They just love it! 

Early in my research, I gained an impression and formed an opinion.... and I had to study it out... to prove it to myself.  😊
So, I postponed my original plans.  ( See modified February Schedule photo above.) 
I did intend to add a fertility vitamin supplement to the males sometime middle February but I did not do so.  Both males and hens received the weekly Ioford/DufoPlus.
I also intended to begin feeding a soft food... high protein/low carb type.. based upon what I learned in my diet research.  However, I wanted to prove it by a little more research.  So, I did not feed any soft food.

Now, to explain WHY I am SO GLAD to have this PEACEFUL MONTH, before breeding season: