Quite often, people choose small birds as a pet. In a small apartment, they do not take up too much space, they do not need daily walks, they do not spoil furniture, and communication from them is much more than from fish or turtles. Among all the feathered animals, budgies are the first most popular, and the canary is the second. About the representatives of the latter species, we will conduct a speech.
Types of Canaries
Most people mistakenly believe that this bird is only yellow. Most often, they really get them as pets. However, the canary bird actually occurs in three varieties.
- Colored canaries. There are monophonic, and colorful, and just white. If you like white, be careful when buying: the German line in color is not too clean, and in the offspring can give yellow chicks. Look for the English variety. Gray canaries are also interesting. They come from a mixture of green and yellow varieties and in shades can vary from silver to dull black. The red canary looks catchy (a photo of a bird with such a color is shown just above) - this color is not often found in the color of birds. The motley variety can include any tones, it is usually called harlequin.
- Decorative canaries. They are characterized by non-standard plumage or outline of the body. The following varieties belong to decorative canaries: fancy fancy, curly, lizard, humpback.
- Singers. In principle, the definition is not entirely true, since all canaries sing. We can talk more about the beauty of their singing. Kenar breeders have precisely established that soft birds - white, yellow, green - sing best of all (and green is still considered by many to be the best virtuosos). Red canaries are very effective, but their voice is hardly pleasant. Variegated are good in performance if the scarlet tones in the plumage are absent. It is worth considering that only a male canary sings. And he does it all year round (except for molting time). But the best songs he had were from February to March, when he “seduces” his girlfriend. A female canary can be said to sing along: rarely, much shorter and much less musically. However, there are cases when females were taught singing.
Whatever canaries are chosen, the maintenance and care of them is the same. And although caring for them does not present difficulties, every future owner of these birds must know the basics and details.
Right house
First of all, you will need, of course, a cage for canaries. It is better to choose it in a simple form, without decorative excesses, domes and other details. The birds themselves are beautiful and do not need additional accessories, and it will be more difficult to clean the house. What sizes to buy a cage depends on your goals. For the content of a single kenar singer, a rectangular cage measuring 45/30/25 cm will be enough. If canaries are to be bred, three whole cells will be needed:
- described above - the kenar will live in it during off-week time;
- cage 70/30/40 cm, in which the birds will breed;
- a cage up to a meter long, where females and the younger generation will be after nesting.
An ideal choice would be box-type cells. On the one hand, they should be lattice (or mesh), and on the other - plywood, plastic or made of plexiglass. Any canary cage should have two doors: one will have a nest or a swimming pool (it’s easier to clean and change), and the other to care for the cage.
Cage equipment
There must be a few poles in the house - canaries love to flip from place to place. It is good if they are made of natural wood - willow, hazel or bird cherry. The poles should be at different heights and have a thickness of 8 to 15 mm, otherwise the birds will be uncomfortable on them. A cage for canaries should include at least three feeders: for mineral fertilizing, grain and soft food. Mandatory bathing, better hanging - these birds love to "splatter in the water." No hanging - put in a cage at least a ground bath, not too light or attached so that the canaries do not turn it over. Drinking bowls should be positioned with their spouts inward and fasteners outward. So it will be more convenient to fill them. That, in principle, is all the canaries need. The maintenance and care of them will consist in cleaning and feeding - as we see, there is nothing complicated in this. The main thing is that everything is done regularly and accurately.
Place for the cage
It is very important for the canary, the maintenance and care of which you undertook, to properly put her house. Drafts are dangerous for colds, so you should not place them close to air conditioners and balcony doors, and the window leaf on the selected window sill should be closed. The kitchen is also prohibited: humidity and temperature are constantly changing there. And the smells of cooking and cleaning surfaces will not benefit canaries. Other pets, if you have them, should not be able to drop the cage or even get to it. In addition, it is desirable that the rays of the sun fall on the house - at least for a short time: they are useful for birds. In summer, you can put the cage on the balcony, be sure to shadow part of the house, so that the canaries had where to hide from the sun.
Cleaning question
Since the canary is not a dog that can be taken outside so that she “does her job” there, future owners of this bird should think in advance of how they will perform regular cleaning in the cage. To make your task as easy as possible, you should somehow line the pallet of the home of your feathered pet. For this purpose, you can use sand, which absorbs excrement. It can also be easily replaced if necessary. However, keep in mind that canaries are very active birds that are likely to spread sand around the cage. Therefore, it is best to forgive the bottom with absorbent paper - it is not difficult to change it, and there will be less garbage.
Release or not?
The last question remains, which concerns your canary. Maintenance and care include care for her health and safety. So if you arrange a pet walks around the apartment (especially if you have a cat or dog at home), then you can lose your feathered friend. Open windows are a risk that the bird will fly away. Hot surfaces like irons and burners also pose a danger to the canary. Not only that, even a curtain in which the bird can become entangled, or a narrow gap, from where it cannot get out, threatens her with injuries. So most kenar breeders are advised not to let the birds out of the cage.
How to feed a canary?
In the wild, the bird itself feeds on itself, in the right doses, paying attention to grains, herbs and insects. In captivity, she is unable to control her diet, so the owners will have to buy special food for canaries. And to replace it with, for example, food for parrots is impossible - the composition is not the same. Choose should be average at the price of feed. During molting or nesting, the usual food should be replaced with a specialized one: this way “difficult” periods will be easier for birds to experience. In the finished mixture, you can add sunflower seeds and crushed buckwheat. Do not forget that eating canary and soft food. A couple of times a week, she will have to give a boiled egg.
Health vitamins
Feeding the birds only with grain and ready-made mixtures is like sitting on oatmeal and pasta all the time. Remember that the canary eats greedily and with pleasure. In summer, it’s easy to pick up the foliage of a dandelion, lettuce, sorrel or a young plantain spike. Out of season bell peppers, apples and grated carrots are suitable. After all, in the same pet store you can buy greens for germination. Just zealous with the amount of vitamins is not worth it, as the stomach of the bird can negatively react to such a "care".
Minerals - a must!
Some seemingly inedible things must also be included in the food for canaries. First of all, it is coarse river sand, which birds need for digestion. It can be bought at a pet store. If you don’t find it, pick it up on the beach and scald it several times for disinfection. To provide birds with calcium, ground eggshell or chalk is given (can be hung on a hook). Charcoal is also needed - canaries heal in case of malaise. Charcoal pharmacy is perfect . All these top dressings are put in the allocated feeding trough. Do not forget to change them weekly - the birds pollute the contents of the dishes.
Caution: Obesity!
Oddly enough, for such moving birds, the problem of excess weight is also relevant. Therefore, you need to limit them in grain nutrition. One canary is enough for a couple of spoons of the main feed per day, so try and adhere to this norm.
Breeding canaries
If you are interested in obtaining offspring from your pets, decide how you will act. There are three possibilities:
- Create a permanent couple. In this case, the canaries will constantly live in one cage. This option is especially suitable for those who have a small "bird farm".
- If there are several females, the male can be planted to them in turn. In this case, you need a cage for each canary. Maintenance and care, therefore, will become more troublesome and will take more time.
- To equip a spacious aviary, which will contain birds together - 3-4 "girls" for each "guy". In such conditions, the canaries themselves will deal with their "matchmaking", and only one room will have to be cleaned. Just remember to put the males in their cages when the nesting is over.
In nature, all mating games begin in the spring - with warming and the appearance of a sufficient amount of food. Home breeding canaries can occur at any time.
We have already talked about the houses necessary for successful breeding. Now let's talk about material for building nests. Pieces of thick threads no longer than two centimeters are quite suitable, so that the canaries do not get tangled in their paws. Near the nest, you need to equip an additional perch, on which the female will move before takeoff. Otherwise, she may pin down an egg or a chick.
Mating season
The signal of readiness for pairing will be a short, sharp, inviting song of the kenar, and the female responds to it (if it agrees) with a squeak. At the same time, she begins to collect building materials that are suitable, in her opinion (twigs, feathers, etc.) and tries to twist the nest in some secluded corner. Having noticed these signs, the canaries need to lengthen the daylight: later to throw tissue on the cell. At the same time, the proportion of vitamin feed should be increased in the diet of birds: greens, sprouted grains, vegetables, fruits. If in the canaries the courtship process was successful, the first testicle will appear in a week, after which the female will rush for another 2-3 days.
For two weeks the new mother will hatch eggs. The male does not participate in this process. The chicks that turn a month old are already completely independent. They are moved to a meter aviary, where they can fly. As soon as it becomes possible to determine the sex of the youth, all the males sit in their own apartments, as they are aggressive towards members of their gender and can fight to the point of mutilation. Female canaries quite get along in a common cage.
How to transport canaries
Sometimes you need to transport your birds. If transportation over short distances is expected (within the hometown, maximum to the country), this can be done by planting canaries in small transport cells measuring 15/7/7 cm. Note that the road should not last more than three hours: lack of space is bad will affect the birds. To make them feel calmer, you can cover them with a dense rag - "make the night." Food and an incomplete drinker must be in each cell necessarily.
Health monitoring
The owner of the canary must always carefully monitor his pet, in order to determine in time that he is not emaciated or, on the contrary, has he recovered, has the molting period approached. Other health problems can only be determined by a veterinarian. We will find out how to inspect the bird on its own. So, the canary is neatly taken in the palm of the hand, its head is fixed with the index and middle fingers, and the body is turned upside down with a belly. Very quiet, easy, the owner blows into a place not covered with feathers. It is called aptheria. If panicles of new feathers or hemp are visible, this means that the bird is molting. You may need to feed her with special food. If the apterya is completely covered with fat, then your canary needs a diet and a transplant into the cell more quickly - a kind of gym.
Well-groomed, grown in appropriate conditions and eating a canary (photo convincingly proves this) is unusually beautiful. And you will sing with pleasure!