Female canaries dying

[Jasondelmar]

Hi all,
I'm quite new to all this and I have a question for you experts. A while ago, my son was given a pair of canaries and the guy who gave them to us told us to keep them separated up until February. When February was almost over, we removed the separator and it was fun watching the pair prepare the nest and stuff. I noticed that the male was frequently running after the female to copulate and this was happening very frequently. After a couple of weeks, we found the female dead and the male freaking out in the cage, like flying around and criping very loudy. Anyhow, as my son was crying a lot because he missed the bird, I went and got him an other female and put it in the cage with the male. At first, the male was like not interested but a couple of days later he got used to her and they where getting along nicely. Again they started building a nest and once again he started flying around the cage behind her. This lasted for almost 2 weeks when I found the female dead again. No signs of fighting on both chicks. Do you think they died because of the male or is it a coincidence?

 

[Birdie Onions]

Hi there,
I don't think it's coincidence.
Male canaries can become quiet aggressive when it comes to mating.
Sometimes they can attack the female if she's not ready to mate.
But in this case it could be that they could be dying from stress, in terms of the male could be chasing them all the time and the female not having a chance to rest or eat.

 

[Jasondelmar]

So that means he is not good to have a female with him?

 

[Mizzely]

How big is the cage they are in?

 

[Birdie Onions]

Sometimes it just means finding a more assertive female, as in one that can hold her own, usually older.
But trying to find this can be a challenge.
And of course monitoring them constantly to make sure he's not stressing her out.
The key is somehow allowing her a chance to rest, having escape routes which usually requires a larger cage/ avairy.
But also remember canaries are quiet comfortable being on their own as well.

 

[Jasondelmar]

The cage is about 2x1 feet... If i get another female, would it be wise to let them together for a couple of days and then separate them again?

 

[Birdie Onions]

I would first put the female seperate to him.
Let them engage first and get used to each other before attempting to place them together.
Watch them intently for the first day or two, if you see the male chasing her profusly, I'd advise you remove her.
Also I have heard of breeders introducing them after their first moult.
or later in the season, I never had this problem, but maybe it would help.

 

[Jasondelmar]

That's what I did when I introduced a female with him. I kept them separated for a couple of days and then put them together. I will try to separate them again after they copulate maybe it will help. Hopefully, she will be able to nest by herself

 

[Mizzely]

I think your cage is too small to house a breeding pair together, particularly when the females are literally being harassed to death.

Why do they need to copulate?

 

[iamwhoiam]

So sorry for your losses.