A Good Website With LOTS Of Information is back online!

Matt's Fife Canary Page is back online!
Great!
This site has lots of information

for anyone looking for guidance to serious breeding of canaries.

 

Matt also has eight episodes of Season Three

of The Canary Room on YouTube.

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.

List of CANARY LINKS has been updated!

The list of CANARY LINKS has been updated.
Broken links have been deleted or corrected.
Several new links have been added!

https://www.sscanaries.com/p/info.html

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!