Need some Canary info.

[Merlie]

Hi all ..

This isn't for me .. lol .. let me get that question out of the way!!

I know NOTHING about canaries so thought I'd ask a few questions ...

Do canaries actually play with toys? If so, what do they like?
Anyone have red factored Canaries? I've read they need certain vitamins/supplements to keep their color?
I've got a lot of conflicting info. Do canaries do better on a high quality seed mix or on pellets? Mix of both?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Bokkapooh]

I fed my guys finch seed and Harrison pellets along with fresh greens and veggies daily. I recommend staying away from "canary seed mix". It's very boring and containing very little variety, and my guys hated the stuff.

My two boys indeed played with toys, theyd peck at it and bite them and try to fly off with the toy. Their kind of play is very different than parrot play.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Oh and they need red dyed food to keep their red color of their color wasn't bred that way.

 

[Anne & Gang]

Charlotte is a beautiful orange girlie...and yes, she plays with toys..She has a mirror with a bell on it that she sits in front of and also plays with..several dangling toys that she bats around and a big kind of basket thing...we do feed canary food but buy a very expensive mix for her..and she loves herb salad, broccoli, brown rice, scrambled eggs, corn, peas..and we do feed her some kind of special canary treats...She loves millet....Now that her finch companion, Fletcher is gone, she is alone but is doing ok...we kept the platforms in the cage and she does use them...She cannot sing..only the males sing but she chirps and definitely greets Dub as he talks to her..actually pellets are not recommended for the smaller birds.

 

[chompie_puppy]

I find a mixture of pellets (over here we call it "crumbles" because it is so fine) and finch seeds work well as the base of their diet.

Loads of fresh veggies and some fruit are also given. They enjoy carrot tops, any green leafy things and very thinly sliced carrot root (I use a potato peeler to get super thin slices). Hang them all over the cage and they will go to town!

You can grate up any other type of veggie or fruit that isn't easily hung up in the cage. I find that apples, carrots and peppers grate well.

Canaries tend to like mashes too. Any mash you feed to a parrot should be fine for them too. Egg and biscuit mix is usually well received but I don't agree that it is very healthy.

SPROUTS!! These are so good for them! They gobble them up with no problems! Just use their normal finch seed mix and sprout that.

Red factors do require special food to maintain their colour. Over here you can either buy it in powder form to sprinkle on the food, in liquid form to add to the water or you can buy foods already impregnated with the dye (I'm thinking it's carotene? I could be wrong. I don't have red factors.

My guys love their mirror toys and they love their bells on chain. They also like collecting and playing with nesting material (feathers and fibers). But what they love most of all are fresh leafy branches. If you wet these before putting it in the cage they will have a bath in it.

That's another thing. They absolutely love taking baths and their bating dish should be big enough to accomodate them.

Not sure if this will apply to people in the US, but my Canaries adore picking out the seeds from gumnuts. Those little seed pods you find on bottlebrush trees. They look like this:

 

[Bokkapooh]

Charlotte is a beautiful orange girlie...and yes, she plays with toys..She has a mirror with a bell on it that she sits in front of and also plays with..several dangling toys that she bats around and a big kind of basket thing...we do feed canary food but buy a very expensive mix for her..and she loves herb salad, broccoli, brown rice, scrambled eggs, corn, peas..and we do feed her some kind of special canary treats...She loves millet....Now that her finch companion, Fletcher is gone, she is alone but is doing ok...we kept the platforms in the cage and she does use them...She cannot sing..only the males sing but she chirps and definitely greets Dub as he talks to her..actually pellets are not recommended for the smaller birds.

Pellets are fine. Just like seed is fine. But a diet only of.seed or only of pellet is not good. You will see that is very controversial and you feed what you feel comfortable with. I will always feed pellets to both large and small birds

 

[Skyler]

Toys----- My hen Herbie loved to play with several toys(although most love swings and mirrors--but not generally for males--too territorial) and rang a bell for attention and applause. I didn't know any better at the time (but should have) and Herbie was on an all seed diet----I never converted her in time and although she also had fresh veggies and fruit she died of fatty liver disease.

No gravel paper
Watch the lighting. It appears parrots are not as light sensitive (thank goodness) as canaries who will not molt correctly if a decent pattern of day/night is not followed. ---When I was on a canary board I thought the people who matched their bird's light cycle to the changes in the Canary Islands were , frankly, nuts. Then when my Herbie was thrown from molt into mating I realized what my ignorance had enginered.

And if you're lucky like I was --you can train some canaries to be hand "trained". Herbie really did it herself, between her love for attention and for food , she was perching on my hand in two days.

And on top of all that she was a terrific singer.

 

[waterfaller1]

Kismet loves broccoli, apple,& romaine. He eats several mixes~ Orlux egg pate, Dr. Harvey's incredible canary food, Goldenfeast Australian blend. bugs n berries, & millet spray.
For toys I get ones that have several strands of different colored toys, beads, stuff that tinkles..
He also loves this little mirror that spins and has two mirrors, and flat cajeput perches, rope perches,various wood perches, and a perch with some sand in it in front of his water{not where they rest} to help keep nails filed. They grow fast!

 

[Brenda67]

I have several canaries,,,and they are prone to air sac mites,, just a heads up.. So I put Iodine and S76 or Scatt in the water for 2 days once a month. I also take 1/8 liquid vitimines to 1/3 cup of dr harvey bird seed. put it in a small jar and shake well. Then take Just hatched ( by twin peaks) or grated cuttlebone powder and coat the seed, once again shake well. Not all the seed gets vitimin coated, but the ones that do will take the calcium. I give this seed daily. I clean the cage often, almost everyday. I also believe that the needs of every bird changes as the season change. A healthy bird, that gets alot of vitamins, is happy. Better to spend money on good health rather than trying to cure a sick bird. Mine are going thru the molting cycle now, however it does not seem to be too hard on them. They still try to sing a little bit, which is very unusal, as they molt they are supposed to stop singing. I am new at owning canaries too. But I have done alot of research, and found a web site called Terri Glamerous Gouldians, she is wonderful and has helped me tremdously. She never minds my calling and asking questions. So I buy alot from her, the things I can not find locally. I also feed my canaries alot of fresh veggies, and fruit change the veggies/fruit as the seasons change as well. I think of it this way, if the wild bird can find it in the wild then it is time to give it to mine. My oranges trees do not give fresh oranges year around so I use that as well as a guide. As what season my canaries are in. Sounds funny but it works well for me and my flock. Having a diet plan for me works well. Knowing what to give them on what day and the amount. I change that plan 3 times durning the year but I am considering changing it to 4 times, 3 months each season. Still thinking about this as I live in the South so it is pretty warm here year round. Everything I have read on the internet all refers back to diet, diet, diet plan is the most important. Mine love the coconut shell that has holes in it and they all take turns sleeping in it and puling the fibers off, they use it as entertainment and build thier nest with it. I hope I helped some. thanks for take the time to read this long post. I like shiney feathers....

 

[waterfaller1]

Hello Brenda, Welcome to Avian Avenue. Please make a thread in our welcome forum and introduce yourself.
My Kismet has never had air sac mites. I believe only canaries kept in outdoor aviaries, or not practicing proper quarantine can bring about the mites. I check him periodically, no problems here.I would reconsider treating your birds monthly. It will drop their immune system, and if the mites do occur, the meds may not work as well.Something to think about.
What kind of veggies do your canaries enjoy? Kismet is also molting right now. He always stops singing, but will perk up and cheep when I talk to him.

 

[jasminlana]

My canary likes the finely ground pellets for canaries, also i give him a seed mix for canaries and he loves fresh stuff grated carrots, grated broccoli, lettuce, spinach and also birdie bread and millet.