I got a second 'green singer' !

[Blueszz]

Hi everyone.

I just wanted to share, because I'm so exited, I found another Serinus Mozambicus from the opposite sex. I already had a male and purchased a female. She almost finished molting so I'm 100% positive she is a female because of the color pattern; Which is the same in youngsters before molting but which the females keep after molting (the males loose a typical markign on the chest).
The avian vet gave her a clean bill of health.

I was kind of nervous introducing her in the male's cage as this species can be feisty. I attached a smaller cage to the side of the Montana aviary to introduce her slowly until I saw clear signs they were accepting each other. Well... within hours it was clear to me that they were ready to share the male's aviary. Both tried to get to each other as close as possible by using the bars, singing and chirping and their posture was very friendly.

When I introduced her in the male's aviary she was accepted right away. He was very friendly and not chasing or harassing her at all!

He even copies her behavior. For instance he never wanted to bath in a dish on the aviary floor. She did and when she was done he took a bath in that same dish too.

But, the male stopt singing right after I introduced her to his cage, which is normal for this species. I miss his beautiful song but I learned these birds are monogamous and I think their happiness has priority over my desire to hear his song.

I'll make some pictures from both when all her feathers are back in.

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

Great job introducing them! Please post photos and come back to the thread if you need any help.

 

[Blueszz]

Great job introducing them! Please post photos and come back to the thread if you need any help.

Thank you!

About the cage next to the other, it is something I learned from a friend with lovebirds. Although they keep more distance between de 2 cages I believe. I was really nervous about the interaction among the two. I've read so often about aggression, even female aggression towards the male.
I'll always keep an eye on such behavior and have the second cage standby for the future. You never know.

So far so good. I haven't tried making pictures yet as the female still is a bit skittish. I think having that phone right in a her face is not a good idea yet.

They do get along very well.
Because we are still in a (long) heat wave I give them fresh water several times a day. Yesterday I gave them fresh water and before bedtime I caught them sleeping next to each other. So sweet.

Amazing how they interacted when still separated but only inches away from each other, they were loud, very loud. The moment I put her in his aviary it was silent ;-)

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

You did a great job socializing them!

 

[Blueszz]

They do awesome together! I spotted the male trying to feed the female several times.
Not going to breed them this year though (they often start breeding early winter) as I’m not confident enough and still have a lot to learn about them.

 

[Icey]

Congrats on your new female and I hope they continue to get along.

 

[Blueszz]

Congrats on your new female and I hope they continue to get along.

Thank you Icey.

 

[Blueszz]

I bought Harrison's High Potency Super Fine. The grain is as fine as millet. To my surprise the male started eating from it right away. He kept going back to it. Even went from seed to pellet back and forward, while I could see he was pecking at it. Pretty sure it ate from it too.

It's the female that needs it most now, she is molting like crazy right now.

 

[fluff86]

I;m new to canaries and I'm also really excited because I'll be getting some soon. I really like the green canaries. I've heard them sing on YouTube. I just think it would be amazing to have some natural bird song in my home although I understand there seasonal singers.

 

[Blueszz]

I;m new to canaries and I'm also really excited because I'll be getting some soon. I really like the green canaries. I've heard them sing on YouTube. I just think it would be amazing to have some natural bird song in my home although I understand there seasonal singers.

Oh that’s great, wish you lots of joy with your new pets!

You mention green canaries, do you refer to the green singers when you mention green canaries? The green singer, also referred to as yellow fronted canary, actually isn’t a canary despite his common name.
The scientific name for the green singer is Serinus Mozambicus. The domesticated canary is Serinus canarius. The are not the same but related, which means you can cross breed them.

About singing… the males sing their little heart out when they live alone, until they moult. From the moment I put the female in his cage, he stopped singing. I miss his song, but I love to observe them and my heart melts when I see them for example sleeping very close to each other. He definitely is happier with his girl than when he lived alone.

 

[Blueszz]

I need to say that when I only had the male, he was very active, almost restless. He really calmed down now he has is own female.

 

[Blueszz]

This week the birds built a nest. It was the male that did most of the hard work, to my surprise. Honestly, I thought he was ready to mate, but the female not so. I’ve been wrong, tonight I saw them mating.

In the past I bred canaries a few times, but this is so different! I’m not very confident as the info on these birds varies a lot, depending on the source. These birds also are kind of skittish which will make breeding in the living room harder.

Fingers crossed, I’ll do whatever I can for safety of the hen and possible offspring.

 

[Blueszz]

And she laid the first egg. The hen is extremely nervous despite being 27 ft away form all 'trafic' in the livingroom. Fingers crossed.
BTW the egg is white and rather large for such a small birds that weigh the same as 2-3 teaspoons topped with sugar.

 

[Blueszz]

2 of 3 eggs hatched!

I don’t have pictures for you. The hen is too nervous, I’m afraid she’ll stop feeding the young if I disturb her too much.
This afternoon I needed to do some spot cleaning in the aviary and that made her so nervous that she left the nest for several hours. Also tonight she was reluctant to sleep on her nest.

Next time I’ll postpone cleaning the aviary floor. I can’t risk mom stops caring for the little ones.

The babies are 7 and 9 days old currently.
So cute! First feathers visible.

 

[Appolosmom]

Awe congrats

 

[finchly]

Pictures or it didn’t happen!

 

[Blueszz]

Pictures or it didn’t happen!

I check daily early morning if they are still alive. Will see of I can make a quick snapshot. The babies have a dark color although the first yellow feathers are visible. Can't promise that they are well visible in picture because of the color but also because I have to shoot a picture through a double layer of bars.

I have to stand on my toes to be able to see them. If I think it's worth it to move the aviary and remove a plaid to look into the nest from the side (closest side to make a picture), I'll try. But not going to take a risk with mom taking care of the chicks, althoug dad does most of the hard work! I think that with a week from today it will be a lot easier to get a decent picture.

 

[Emma&pico]

Congratulations can’t wait for pictures

 

[Tyrion]

 

[Blueszz]

Hard to see. When I come close they tend to flatten themselves but in this picture they are reasonably well visible.
The adult is dad. For the chicks, zoom in.