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

No Guts: No Glory! Taking a Chance Pays Off!

I learned two valuable lessons, and they will make me a better breeder, so I am sharing them with  you.

Lesson # ONE:
Every year has different and various 'out side' factors, besides the breeder's work, that influence the final outcome of a breeding season!  Some of these influences are easy to see, but others are vague and uncertain.  USUALLY, other breeders in your area, maybe even worldwide, are having the same 'problems' in their bird rooms!  So, remember not to take bird room problems to heart!

An EXAMPLE from this season:

• Problem:  Lack of Bonding Resulting in Infertile Eggs
  This year, I had an unusually high number of pairs fail to 'bond'.  They just didn't like each other.  They did not fight, but they paid no attention to each other, that I observed while I was in the room.  Normally, I would expect mating to happen when I was not watching.  In the past, I have seen pairs that did not bond at first, become faithful and loyal partners as soon as the chicks hatched and needed feeding.  BUT, this year, they did not produce any fertile eggs.
  Possible Cause:
  In years past, I never used split cages to slowly introduce the pairs.  This year, I purchased several sets of split breeding cages for most of my pairs!
  I should have had more success, not less!
  ???
  Other People:
  Several of my breeder-friends reported similar or identical problems, even with experienced two-year old birds!  Also, Red Factor Man uploaded a video in which he stated that what started out as a good season has ended up being a poor one for him.  He then goes on to show several pairs who did not produce fertile eggs, or did not feed!
  He said he had seen videos posted by other breeders with similar problems.
  My Solution:
  I swapped mates, and with time and new partners, they began to hatch youngsters.

Another problem I had was the newly purchased birds not producing, and actually dying!
I bought 12 new birds last fall, and 4 have died!
I have a total of 7 chicks from those 12 new birds!
The story how I got THOSE 7 is my second lesson-learned!

LESSON # TWO:
I decided taking a chance, trying unfamiliar things.... might be just what I needed to reach my goals!  I decided to follow my instincts!
So, I interfered! I am a very vocal advocate for a 'hands off' approach to in the bird room during breeding season.  But this spring, I meddled in the birds' lives!  And, WOW, am I glad I did!  (continued-->)

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: