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More canary problems - advice please

TMS9539

Sitting on the front steps
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Terri
I've had 3 canaries (1 male and 2 females) living together in the same cage for 13 months with no issues. Last spring and summer I had to use plastic eggs to keep them from continually laying eggs, but everyone got along. All was well until about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Then the male got very aggressive with one of the females (Buttercup) - to the point that I had to remove him because he had her pinned on the bottom of the cage. After I removed him, Buttercup got really aggressive with the other female (Marigold). I thought they would work it out but then Marigold got sick so I had to separate the females also. I read online that the males were ready to breed before the females, but when Buttercup starting flirting with the male through the bars I thought it was safe to put them all back together. The male again went after Buttercup to the point that I had to remove him. Unfortunately Buttercup got hurt in the scuffle. I'm not sure how bad - her leg was bleeding quite a bit so I pulled her out and put the anti-bleed powder on it, and put her in a smaller cage. She is not using that leg and I'm not sure what to do. There is an avian specialist vet about an hour away but I really don't want to put her through that stress and I'm not sure they could help her anyway. But maybe they could. Even with her hurt leg she was still bullying Marigold.

How is it that they could all get along fine for over a year, and now none of them are able to co-exist peacefully? I'm so frustrated. And I feel so bad about Buttercup. Obviously I shouldn't have tried to put them back together. Any advice is welcome because I am at my wit's end and there is no consistent information out there on the internet. Can they ever go back together? Is this a seasonal issue? They were fine together last spring but it's drama central now. I really don't want all these bird cages all over the place, but of course I'll do what I have to.
 

Sparkles99

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Bump
 

jh81

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Truely.. how big is the cage? It seems to me the cage is on the smaller side, and Canary’s tend to argue easily. In a big cage this is usually not much of a problem, but if the cage is too small, there’s no room for the attacked bird to go to, and defuse the fight.

so, we really need some cage sizes ;-)
 

TMS9539

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Terri
The cage is 32x21x35. It's pretty big - big enough that I don't really want 3 of them. It sits on a rolling cart, but that is the actual cage size. I really don't get it. Everything was fine for over a year and now it's chaos. Fortunately Buttercup seems to be doing ok. She is still favoring that leg but I think it will heal.
 

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TheMacDadd

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Dearborn, Michigan
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Ahmad
The cage is 32x21x35. It's pretty big - big enough that I don't really want 3 of them. It sits on a rolling cart, but that is the actual cage size. I really don't get it. Everything was fine for over a year and now it's chaos. Fortunately Buttercup seems to be doing ok. She is still favoring that leg but I think it will heal.
do you have separate food bowls/water for each of them? if not then that may be your problem. the cage looks more then big enough to me.
 

Sparkles99

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Good point, TheMacDadd. My budgies squabbled 'till they got two food dishes.
 

TMS9539

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Terri
They have many food dishes - more than one each. And if I give them treats I always make sure there are three identical things, no matter what it is. It seems like the male just got too randy as mating season approached, and then when I took him out the females started fighting. I don't understand it but I'm not going to try to put them back together again for a while. I enjoyed them all together and now my house looks like a pet store with cages everywhere, but I can't force them to get along.
 

finchly

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Shorten their light cycle, wait about a week, and rearrange t he cage. That will probably get them out of breeding mode.
When she’s flirting through the bars, that’s not good enough. It’s when the male feeds her through the bars they’re ready to breed/go in the cage together.
Sorry they’re acting this way. If you could get another cage the same size and put the 2 side by side, opening them / zip tie together so that it’s 64” long that would give them enough room to get away from each other. Also adding fake plants helps - they can get out of each other’s sight. I’ll try to find one of my cage. Pics.
 

TheMacDadd

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Dearborn, Michigan
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Ahmad
They have many food dishes - more than one each. And if I give them treats I always make sure there are three identical things, no matter what it is. It seems like the male just got too randy as mating season approached, and then when I took him out the females started fighting. I don't understand it but I'm not going to try to put them back together again for a while. I enjoyed them all together and now my house looks like a pet store with cages everywhere, but I can't force them to get along.
then i'm sorry but I can't figure out your problem, just ask @finchly
 

Rædwalda

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You're not supposed to keep them together all year round, but they come together during the breeding season. You have managed it for 13 months, but that is only a short space of time in the lifespan of a Canary, in fact only one cycle of seasons, so it is no surprise that you are now starting to see problems as you reach just over a year and enter another cycle of seasons.

Likely you were having unseen problems all along, dominant behaviour etc. that hadn't broken out into outright bullying/aggression or anything visible to you just yet.
 

Solly

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:)Hi there, hopefully I can help with your problems.

Usually when breeding canaries the hen would be on one side of the divider and the cock on the other. Only when the hen has finished building her nest and is happy to have the male feed her are they put together as she’s ready at that point.

When you say the male pinned her, do you mean he was treading her (mating?).

It sounds like they are fully sexually mature now and possibly weren’t last year.. it’s best to house them separately.
The chick in my picture started to attack his dad at a few weeks old and now has his own bachelors pad.
 
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