Anybody here really *know* about birds?

Question

Or is this just for the usual blather about "my kee-ute wittle burdy"? As in the other "pet" sections.

A friend gave me a pair of canaries & I'd rather care for them CORRECTLY instead of just muddling through.

Answer 1

Hello tyke...............

canaries need a cage 20 to 24 inches long, 12 to 16 inches wide, and 16 to 18 inches high. Never put a canary or any bird for that matter into a round cage.They need space to exercise properly. Bar spacing should also be considered. A rule of thumb is approximately 1/2 inch between bars, which would prevent both escapes from the cage or little heads getting caught between the bars. Cages usually come with food and water cups, perches, and a swing. Many perches that come with cages, however, are plastic and very narrow. Such perches could lead to foot problems for your canary. Use wooden perches of varying sizes to provide your bird's feet with proper exercise. Above all, avoid using sand-covered perches sold in pet supply and grocery stores. These hurt birds' feet and may compare to you standing on thumbtacks all day. Finally, place the cage in a draft-free area of your home.

Canary diets should include grains, seeds, pellets, fruits, and fresh vegetables, especially green veggies like broccoli and kale. Be sure to include a cuttlebone, but avoid gravel at all costs. Since birds shell their seeds, they do not need gravel. Under no circumstances should birds be given avocado or chocolate since these are toxic. Of course, fresh, clean water should be offered daily in a water tube for drinking and in a small bowl for bathing.

If you breed your canaries, use a double cage with a removable wire partition, which gives the male and female their "own" cage until they're ready to breed. You can purchase a small nest cup (about 4 inches) and hang it in the cage. Provide nesting material such as short cotton threads. The female will lay between 4 and 6 eggs, approximately a day apart. Incubation time is about 13 or 14 days. The parents need to be fed egg protein and veggies to ensure the babies will get a proper diet. Once the babies hatch, both parents usually assume feeding duties, even continuing to feed the babies after they fledge in about 18 days. After about 4 weeks, the babies should be able to eat on their own.

Canary couples should not have more than two families a year, since the birds will exhaust themselves, especially the female, whose body can easily become depleted. Separate the couple by reinstalling the divider and removing all nesting materials. The babies can live together in a separate cage until they mature the following spring.

While some female canaries will sing softly, male canaries are outstanding singers and provide many hours of beautiful songs. Canaries also have been known to "pick up" repeated sounds from the homes where they live.

Answer 2

Hey! You're in the wrong category! :o)

Canaries are lovely birds, and they don't require much more care than budgies or cockatiels. For the basics, make sure you have a large cage, like 2" x 2" x 2" so that they have room to fly around. They like to be in the same cage.

Canaries, more so than budgies, use their wings to get from perch to perch, so don't clip their wings. Do clip their fingernails when they get too long. Just use a regular fingernail clipper and clip just below the vein like you would for a dog. Clean the cage and the perches at least twice a week, and more if you can. Make sure they're in a dark, quiet place at night. But they're social, so don't isolate them in a room that no one ever goes in. And put interesting things in their cages. If you don't want to bother with clipping the bird's beak, then put one of those scuttle bones in the cage too.

For the food, buy a seed mix that has lots of different types of seeds. But stay away from the ones that have dried fruits and veggies. Supplement the seed with fresh fruits and veggies, like spinach and apples. There are some fresh foods that might be bad for your birds, but I don't know them offhand. I always do a web search if I'm going to feed my birds a new fresh food.

If you let them fly around, make sure you put drapes over the windows, close off rooms with mirrors, and close the toilet seat. Be prepared to chase them around for quite a while before you get them back into the cage. Try to avoid thrusting your hand into the cage to get them out. They don't like that; you're invading their home. Instead, open the cage. If they want to come out, they will.

And this is VERY important. Canaries moult in the late summer. They require very special care during this time. That care is specific and long, so be sure to do a web search on how to properly care for a canary during this time. I can't explain it all here.

Sit back and enjoy the beautiful singing!

Answer 3

I have kept pet birds for more than 30 years, and presently have a canary and parakeey in seperate cages.

Get a nice big cage so they can exercize their wings

Canaries; start with good seed. that has lots of canary grass, rape, and millet seed.

Give them a slice of apple or orange as a treat. quite often.

They love to bathe; so get a bird bath you can attack to the cage.

Keep their toenails trimmed. If their nails get too long a nail can get caught in something and they hurt themself while thrashing around

Clean the cage often. because it will smell if you don't.

Canaries are beautiful birds, and can be a joy to have around Kahiku (my canary) loves to sing in the mornings.

Canar

Answer 4

maybe you should have gotten this info before you got the birds - this way you would be prepared, instead of "muddling" as if this was someone else's problem and not yours - aish.
why don't you contact a vet, a bird breeder, a pet store, or do your own research on the internet at any number of reputable sites, if you're worried about "content" here and its reliability, instead of making snarky comments? i never understand ppl with double standards, anymore than i understand ppl who get pets they have no idea how to care for, before even knowing how to feed them correctly. blah.

Answer 5

I would suggest some good reading, such as this site...

http://www.thecanarysnest.com/care/index.html

... to ensure you care for them correctly! I have a ton of experience with lots of kinds of birds, but canaries are not one I have personally owned. Good luck with your birds!

Answer 6

Wow... I really have no idea. It looks like some kind of goose rather than a duck, but other than that i'm lost!

Answer 7

Go on a search engine and type in " canary basic care"!

Answer 8

I think you should cheak out a canary book out.

Answer 9

Yes I know about birds they are things that can fly.