Seed Moths -- Cause, Prevention, Eradication

Moths and other bugs in our seed, and bird rooms, are NOT FUN!
Here is my post on Facebook, for a few hints on the subject.

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 ➟

"And the greatest of these is Love."

There are many reasons people own a canary ..... or two birds, or more!
I have talked with many 'canary people' over the past dozen or so years.
I may be looking for new birds, or someone is inquiring about any extras birds I may have.

Many are breeders:  some with half a dozen pairs, many with hundreds of birds in their flock.
Some are older people, who have found the comfort and pleasure of having a singing companion.
Others are young parents, wishing to introduce their children to bird keeping.

These people own a canary for many different reasons. 
Often is is to add yet another breed or species to their collection.
A few have dreams of being well-known in the bird show world.
A great many are thinking of the dollar value of the youngsters they will sell!

It is just my opinion, but the best reason to own a canary is because you love the beautiful little creatures. There is nothing wrong with all other possible reasons for keeping a canary, but

the greatest benefit you will gain
is the personal enjoyment you experience every day!

I know those who own canaries because they love to watch them --- are the most interesting to talk to!
If the second question a person asks is "How easy are they to sell?" OR most of their conversation is about taking birds to sell at a show, our conversations usually tail off into silence.
If the breeder is excited about training and exhibiting a bird, with breeding goals to work toward, our phone calls often become quite expensive! 😆

Please, keep canaries because you love them,
not because you dream of becoming rich and famous!

Below, I quote Matt Eld's words in Episode 3 of The Canary Room, which prompted this blog post! 

 

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!  :)