Update on Rosie

[Yve Benwell]

Hi folks, It has been a while since I joined after adopting a rescue canary called Rosie and life has taken on a whole new routine, which is fantastic, but, I am worried about her.

I am a total novice when it comes to bird care but have learned so much from the posts on here and by researching on the web and for that I thank each and everyone of you. However, I really need some help again please.

Rosie has been very quiet over the last week and is looking a bit tatty (not as sleek as she normally is), is this how they get with seasonal molt? If so, is there anything specific I should be doing at this time for her?

Thanks in advance for any help xxx

 

[Clairecanary15]

Hi

What a lovely name bless her.

Have you seen the odd stray feather? This would show that the moult is upon her. Some do go quiet and feel sorry for themselves ..other get through it like a pleasant walk in the park lol.

If she is moulting get some feather fast as advised to me by @finchly. They need protein too..meal worms or egg food. I fed my single birds a very small teaspoon of mealworms or eggfood ..with a sprinkle of feather fast daily. They need their daily greens too and their crushed oyster for calcium..im sure you know this part.. oh yes they like to have access to a bath during the moult. They also feel the cold more too..this might be why Rosie is puffed up.

If it isnt due to the moult then she needs extra care ..finchly is the expert with this.

 

[Serin]

Is she on a natural changing day length, matching outdoors? My canary is currently being covered at 7 pm and waking around 6:45 and is just about done with the molt which began in late August. With canaries, you cannot expose them to electric lighting after sundown or it messes with their body clocks - canaries are from a temperate climate and are very sensitive to day length. If they don't go through an annual fluctuation from short winter days to long summer days and back, they may become "stuck" at one stage and not molt properly. If she is looking tattered, it is indicative she may not be molting as she should be, and her plumage may be wearing out. Are the feathers on her wings or tail broken, or is she balding anywhere on her body? If so, this is the case, and the solution is to force a molt. I have done this successfully with birds (who I was given in such a state) by upping their day length to sixteen hours for a week and then back to eleven hours. It will normally get them to begin the molt process, and their broken feathers will be replaced over the next six to twelve weeks.

If her feathers are not damaged, she may be beginning a molt on her own - but it is pretty late for that, and you wouldn't see that unless her lighting exposure was off. A canary should not be starting its molt this late in the year, but it will not be too big a deal if she does as long a she is kept warm and given lots of high-protein food, boiled egg is best, offered daily, and if she is put to bed at sunset and allowed to rise at sunrise to keep her body clock on track.If she is in molt, you would be seeing lots of loose feathers all over the cage and the room. My birds don't look tattered during molt, but they are lethargic and their colours are a bit paler as many of their feathers are missing and so the white down feathers, normally covered, area bit more exposed.

 

[Yve Benwell]

Thank you so much - off to the local exotic pet store I go (they carry a really good range of bird supplies). We have noticed her losing a few feathers and she has been puffing up like she does at night so suspect that it is the moult. I have been making sure she gets her greens although she seems to prefer lettuce to anything else but worry that this might make her "too runny" so have been limiting it. She likes a bit of apple now and again. Any suggestions on other bits for her would be much appreciated xx

 

[Clairecanary15]

Yeah you got it lettuce not good. I only use it maybe once a month. I see you are in the UK like me..yey lol. Asda do a nero cabbage. .a very dark leaf..its ideal for canaries and tastes good for us too. Fabfinches online is very good if you cant find the feather fast at your local shop. Im all for supporting the local area with the way things are. Cucumber is good for the moult. .I make sure mine get it at least once week through the moult and their tummies are fine.

Other things I feed my canaries are..spinach occasionally; kale is a popular choice; broccoli is a favourite with the canaries; tinned sweetcorn in water..i share the sweetcorn between 4 human salads and the birds lol; grated carrot, grated broccoli stalk; chopped red pepper. .oh and apple. Hope these ideas help. .bless her tiny little portion for one.

Rosie is very pretty. Is she a factor?

 

[Serin]

Romaine is a good regular vegetable to offer. I offer it a few times a week but for a very long while it was almost a daily thing, and my birds did well. You just want to avoid iceberg lettuce, it's all water without any real nutrition. My canaries' favorite vegetable is broccoli, or even better, rapinni - a broccoli type vegetable which also comes with leaves they love. Sweetcorn and apples are big hits but should be offered sparingly due to the sugar - once or twice a week. Mine have never been big on anything else except different leaf greens. They enjoy chard, mustard and dandelion at times and then I buy it again and they don't eat any. Broccoli, rapinni and romaine are always enjoyed.

 

[iamwhoiam]

@finchly @Clairecanary15

 

[finchly]

Goodness, my canaries eat everything! They are little piggies. If you search this site for chop, you’l.l find lots of ideas for ingredients. I chop in the food processor, making it fairly small for canaries and finches.

I soak their pellet food in water and mix that with the chop to get them started eating it. Peas, corn, green beans, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, radish, green or red peppers — all are foods they eat. They love boiled egg or dry egg food. Mine take baths on lettuce leaves.

No one mentioned heat. Not sure what your temperature is right now, but sometimes when they are puffed they appreciate a little heat. Put a ceramic bulb over 1/2 the cage and if the bird doesn't want it he can move to the other side. Are you using vitamins regularly?

 

[Yve Benwell]

Rosie is very pretty. Is she a factor?

Hi @Clairecanary15 - I am not sure what a factor is? but she is very pretty

Are you using vitamins regularly?

Hi @fichly - not been using vitamins, shows how much a novice I am as didn't know she would need them, suggestions appreciated please?

 

[Clairecanary15]

Hi

A red factor is a type of a canary. There are so many different variations now compared to the original wild canary. To keep a red factor red they need to be fed a specific food with carotene in. The carotene is what enhances their colour. Some reds are truly breathtaking and rich. Others are even more crossed and oranges are the result. I wondered if your Rosie was a red factor because she looks like she has a red tinge. I have an orange one called Apricot. I dont feed her any foods with colour enhancements because the rest of the flock would have a pink tinge lol. Apricot is now a very very soft orange. She looks like she has been dusted with icing sugar.

The temperature here in the east fens is around 15-18 outside..is it as mild where you are? Barely need our heating on. The ceramic lamp is a good suggestion if it is really nippy where you are.

 

[Clairecanary15]

Just had to get my book out lol. Rosie could be a Red Agate Frost..she does look abit bronze too... fasinating you are lucky. Dont see enough reds on here..and where are the mosaics. .v pretty too.

 

[Yve Benwell]

Hi

A red factor is a type of a canary. There are so many different variations now compared to the original wild canary. To keep a red factor red they need to be fed a specific food with carotene in. The carotene is what enhances their colour. Some reds are truly breathtaking and rich. Others are even more crossed and oranges are the result. I wondered if your Rosie was a red factor because she looks like she has a red tinge. I have an orange one called Apricot. I dont feed her any foods with colour enhancements because the rest of the flock would have a pink tinge lol. Apricot is now a very very soft orange. She looks like she has been dusted with icing sugar.

The temperature here in the east fens is around 15-18 outside..is it as mild where you are? Barely need our heating on. The ceramic lamp is a good suggestion if it is really nippy where you are.

Temp here in the Cotswolds is also very mild.

I would say Rosie is more of a peach than pink but will get some carotne food to see what happens.

Been trying to get an up to date picture - she is very camera shy lol

 

[Clairecanary15]

Sounds like the temperature is ok. You are living in a beautiful part of the UK.

Your pet store can advise you on the food. I do know its a daily feed. Rosie is gonna look like she has her party clothes on. Im not entirely sure when it should be fed. Id imagine the moult is the perfect time to start so as she grows her new feathers they will come through richer. Then the daily feeding will keep the colour rich.

You need a before and after photo. .will be keen to see it for myself. Some of mine are camera shy..but they are getting used to it. Im very tempted to get a pair of reds. Mosaics or even harlequins. .so i can do the same..havent the room at the moment.

Ive attached a picture of Apricot..she is lighter now and in the bird room..lots of space. But as you can see camera shy too.

 

[finchly]

Avitech makes good vitamins. I was using avivita gold for awhile. Now I’m using Nekton-s.

If feeding a good pellet food, only give he vitamins a few days a week

 

[Yve Benwell]

Hi @Claircanary15 - oh Apricot is a beautiful colour.

Made some chop for Rosie roday with carrot, egg, radish, pear, apple, broccoli, corn, grape and strawberry (that was about the extent of the fresh fruit and veg in my house till I go shopping again)! She has tucked in like there is no tomorrow

Managed to sneak a little picture once she finished eating just prior to me cleaning her out. Will post a post moult picture soon.

 

[Clairecanary15]

Hi

@Yve Benwell and @finchly

Wow that is quite a feast for Rosie. Making me hungry. Mine have a big variety like finchlys..I need a seperate shopping list..lol. like you though Yve I do only use what is in the house.

Rosie is a gorgeous canary. .do you know finchly what she is? I wondered if she was a Red Agate Frost. The red will intensify too.

Apricot is an older bird. Im not overly sure of her age but she is happy here..doesnt do much but always the 1st in the seed each morning.

 

[finchly]

I think you’re right, Red Agate Frost. Very pretty!

I was just noticing in the fridge - we have lots of chop but not much people food!

 

[Clairecanary15]

Oh wow Ive never seen one before. You are very lucky Yve. Did you get her from a breeder?

My fridge is very full of canary food to. I think we spoil our birds hey

 

[Yve Benwell]

Oh wow Ive never seen one before. You are very lucky Yve. Did you get her from a breeder?

Clairecanary15 she was a rescue - a friend knew a family that had her, she was in a small cage with a male, they were then surprised when a male and a female resulted with an egg which turned into a chick! Eventually they agreed it would be better to rehome all 3 and I agreed to take Rosie (who didn't even have a name at the time). The cage was filthy when we went to collect her, apart from the usual droppings and seed there were crisps and chips, not a bit of healthy snack to be seen. Broke my heart to only be able to help 1 but thankfully the other 2 were rehomed within a few days. I thought she might have missed the others but she settled in immediately - they said she never chirped or anything - now she doesn't normally stop (apart from last few days when she started to moult).

 

[finchly]

Thank you for giving her a better life.

I noticed in your photo, her perch is plastic. If that is her only perch, they’re really not great on their little feet. If you have some branches that have not been sprayed and are bird-safe, you could use one of those for a perch.

Here are some bird safe plants: List of Safe Plants for Your Bird.

IIn this photo you can see that we’ve taken an odd branch and scraped down one end to make it fit between the cage bars.