A Guide to CANARIES and the Bird's History, Characteristics, and Breeding Practices

Photo by erix!

Canaries are beautiful songbirds that have become a common pet in today's world. For centuries, people have appreciated this bird for its singing ability. A wild bird at its beginnings, they belonged to areas of the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira. Thus, the bird gained its name as the canary. Because of its amazing singing abilities, they were domesticated beginning in the 1600s. Breeding these birds became a hobby for some and a profession for others. People are bewitched by their melodies, especially in male birds, who are the ones that can carry a beautiful tune. Started first as a high society hobby, canaries eventually became popular to the common man as well.

Canaries come in a variety of different colors such as orange, brown, white, black, yellow and red. They can be bred to be in different colors and sometimes they are even bred based on their sound patterns. Sometimes finding a canary that can sing the most beautiful complex melodies became something of a contest. Even today, there are much bird shows in the world where canary owners let their birds compete in a singing competition.

Breeding canaries tend to be a tough challenge because it is hard to determine the sex of the Canaries, which is a crucial part to see whether the bird can sing or not. The breeding conditions have to be optimal as well. They are best to be bred with one pair per cage. Bird cages such as double breeder cages or aviary cages, along with nesting boxes and nesting materials, tend to be an ideal environment for breeding. Initially, they require to get introduced to each other. Once they are seen the male is trying to breed with the female, then it is ideal to put them together in one cage.

During the breeding period, make sure that the Canaries are getting the best nutrition as they can get. Things such as cuttlefish bones, broccoli, apple, hard boiled eggs and bread are great to help replenish any nutritional deficiencies the mother might have during this period. With good nutrition and environment, the entire process should go smoothly.

The mother typically lays four to five eggs and spends four to five weeks to incubate the nest. The father's role is to bring the food and feed the mother. This time, again, good nutrition is ideal for the bird. Be sure to leave a lot of food in your double breeder cage or aviary cage. After the first round of breeding, the pair may go for a second round. The young birds should be separated by the partition on double breeder cages or even separate them to another cage so that they can safely grow.

As they grow up, the tunes they carry intrigue everyone all around. Always tend carefully to canaries because they are not birds who like to be handled much. If they are standing on your hand, then you can be sure they trust you a lot. Ultimately, canaries are the best pet to have if you enjoy beautiful music and breeding them can also be a wonderful experience.

By Mika Harimoto Mika Harimoto is an expert when it comes with animals because she has been living around them for many years. Article Source: EzineArticles

---

---

PECULIARITIES in breeding CANARIES

Photo by erix! 

Incubation 

After the time of incubation, which proceeds for 13 – 14 days, the baby – birds start hatching. The knock the shell from inside with the help of “ the egg – tooth ”, which is a small chalk tentacle on the upper side of the beak and with its help baby – birds manage to make a hole, which they broaden gradually. At last, they are able to get out of the egg, breaking its obtuse end. According to some people, the just – born birds look like “touching beasts " – nestlings with some fluffs, big raised shut eyes and wide open hungry beaks. 

Family life 

Only the female bird warms babies and just on the next day, it starts feeding them. On the day of hatching, they do not need any food – the yolk that it still in their abdominal cavity as a reserve is enough. The male canary takes care of providing food – it often feeds the babies by pouring grounded food into their beaks. The female bird looks after the cleanness into the nest – she either eats alone or takes out of the nest the excrements of the babies that are covered in mucus. In about 7 – 8 days the mucous membrane stops forming and small birds sit on the nest ' sedge alone, put their posteriors out and shoot their excrements away. Cares in the nest take about 16 days. After that young birds leave the nest, but their parents continue to feed them additionally for a certain time. 

ADVICE: If the birdcage is big enough, leave the family together. But if the female bird starts pulling its feathers out to build a new nest you should separate the young birds from their parents. 

Controlling the nest 

You can quietly look in the nest until the 14. days. Then it is better to leave everything in peace. If small canaries stay deeply crouched and cuddle into each other into the nest, it is very dangerous if you put your hand inside. They can get freighted and to go out of the nest and thus to hurt themselves.

ADVICE: If it happens so that a small canary falls out of the nest, take it into your palms and hold it at least for half an hour near the radiator. Only then return it back to the nest. 

Feeding 

During the time of incubation and breeding the small birds : 

Give calcium to the female birds. Generation of eggs spends calcium in great amounts from its body. 

Add additional nourishing mixtures for the growth of small birds (they can be found in a zoo – shops ). They should be at disposal of parent birds all the time while they feed the baby – birds. Besides, often control these mixtures to be fresh. They should be loose and easy to break them to pieces. 

Growth of baby – birds 

1st – 5th day... Baby – canaries are still with eyes shut and take up embryonic position; they lie down with their bellies up without stretching their necks. 

6th day. They open their eyes. The tubules on feathers can be clearly seen 

7th – 8th day. The canaries start shooting alone their excrements out of the nest. 

12th day. The tubules covering the feathers now get torn and feathers grow. 

17th – 18th. Yong canaries leave the nest, but they are still additionally fed by their parents. 

30th day. Young birds are fully independent. 

2nd – 6th month. Languishing because of “ youth change ". All feathers are changed except for the flying ones. All feathers get the same full color that old birds have and now the young ones are sexually mature.

---

---

---