How to grow canaries at home?

When the breeding of canaries is organized according to all the rules, there is every chance of getting healthy and strong chicks, not to the detriment of the health of the parents. You must be able to select the right birds for breeding. You will also have to create ideal nesting conditions for them: find a suitable cage, establish a nest, compose a diet, and much more.

Which canaries should not be used in breeding

For breeding to be successful, you need to carefully select your parents-to-be. If the bird looks lethargic, weak, eats poorly, its feathers stick out in different directions, the look is extinct, then it either feels bad or has recently experienced serious stress.

It is also bad if the canary has damaged feathers, or bald patches are visible on its body. This indicates the presence of parasites or diseases of vital organs. In any case, such canaries are not suitable for breeding.

If the bird sits motionless in one place most of the time, or vice versa, it constantly flies around the cage, beats in hysterics, it has obvious mental disorders. You will not get healthy chicks from such a canary, if it can lay eggs at all.

Even if the bird is absolutely healthy, but has external defects, it cannot be used for breeding. There is always a risk that physical defects will be inherited by chicks.

Healthy canaries are the key to success

Only healthy birds, without physical defects, can be allowed to breed. A neat appearance combined with an active lifestyle and good appetite - these are the parameters a healthy canary should have. It is very good if the bird likes to swim and clean its feathers. If she knows how to take care of herself, then she will be able to take care of the chicks.

The physical form of the canaries is also important. Males should be free of subcutaneous fat, which can be recognized by the yellow bumps on the abdomen.

This is especially true of the singing kenars, who are kept in solitary cages for a long time during training.An obese male may be unproductive due to a sedentary lifestyle.

The well-known canal breeders G. Smet, P. Poppe and others believe that females can have a thin layer of fat. They explain their opinion by the fact that due to a small supply of fat, the bird will more easily survive the nesting period.

An important aspect of preparing for breeding canaries

Two weeks before the joint settlement of the canaries, release them daily from their cages into the room. Free exercise increases metabolism in canaries, improves appetite, strengthens muscles. This will have a beneficial effect both on the health of future parents and on the condition of the chicks.

Especially such an opportunity will delight males sitting in solitary cages. Females often live in spacious cages. Males will be able to warm up and lose excess weight, if any.

If you do not have the opportunity to regularly release males into the room, transplant them into spacious nesting cages. If they quarrel, it’s not scary. Just remove the most cocky ones so that it does not come to serious fights.

Suitable age for breeding

Canaries older than ten months are allowed for breeding. However, the breeding period of these birds is limited to four years. In old females and males, the reproductive function gradually fades away. In addition, the nesting period can exhaust the female until her death.

It is not recommended to mate young birds with old ones. As a rule, a young female does not save the situation. From such a union, weak, with physical defects, chicks are often born. Some of them die in the egg.

Don't go to extremes

Chicks from the same offspring should not be mated with each other unless absolutely necessary. With closely related relationships, the risk of mortality of chicks or the birth of defective individuals increases.

If your goal is to fix some genetic trait in canaries, it is better to breed a parent with his chick or a descendant of cousins.

Keep in mind that crossing canaries of different breeds is used only for breeding new ones. If you do not have experience, it is not recommended to engage in such experiments. Cross representatives of the same breed with each other.

Choosing the time for breeding

For breeding canaries, it is better to choose March or April. In spring, daylight hours are longer, and there are more natural vitamins. Young greens appear, which are necessary for feeding the growing chicks.

Although canaries can be mated in the autumn-winter period. You will need artificial lighting, which can be created using fluorescent lamps with a spectrum of sunlight. Lamps should be placed in front of the cage or suspended over it at a half-meter distance. Extend the artificial light period gradually - by an hour and a half a week, until you reach fourteen to fifteen hours a day.

Also keep the nesting room at a temperature of at least eighteen degrees and a humidity of sixty to seventy percent. At the same time, it is worth improving the air quality with an air purifier and ionizer. If this is not possible, periodically ventilate the room and spray it with a spray bottle.

In any case, do not wear out the female with frequent clutches. Otherwise, you will undermine her health by depleting her body. During one nesting period, the female should lay two, maximum three clutches.

Parents-to-be have a separate menu

Two to three weeks before the planned nesting of canaries, begin to enhance their diet with nutrients and vitamins and minerals. The menu of future parents should include:

• grain and seed feed;
• fruits;
• vegetables;
• greens;
• sprouted grains of millet, barley, wheat;
• sprouted rapeseed, sunflower seeds;
• porridge;
• boiled eggs;
• honey - two to three drops a day;
• cottage cheese;
• insects and their larvae - five to ten pieces per bird.

Also feed the canaries with fish oil, especially if nesting is scheduled for fall / winter.When buying fish oil, read the expiration date and instructions for use. An expired or missing drug will harm the health of birds. In the cold season, you can use liquid vitamin complexes according to the instructions.

Take care of the female, because she will use her calcium supply to form eggs. She should always have access to mineral supplements containing calcium: eggshell, sepia, chalk. You can make special mineral tiles for her, the composition of which is described in the article "How to feed a canary."

We cook ourselves

In addition to grain and seed feed, you can prepare a healthy mixture for canaries, the approximate composition of which is shown in the table:

Grind tablets and Hercules or dry sticks separately from each other. Add the hard-boiled and chopped egg to the resulting powder. Grate the carrots, squeeze the juice and mix with the vitamin E solution. Mix everything together. If the mixture is dry, add the remaining carrot juice. Instead, honey or rosehip extract will do. If the mixture is thin or sticky, dilute it with Hercules.

Give each canary one teaspoonful of the mixture every other day. The rest of the time, you can diversify the main food with white bread. It must be soaked either in tea with honey or in diluted milk powder. In addition to the bread, give each bird a teaspoon of sprouted grains.

Diet changes

When the first egg appears, exclude all protein foods from the parents' diet: eggs, cottage cheese, insects. Otherwise, the female will lay too many eggs, most of which will be unfertilized. In addition, a large clutch will deplete the female's body. Protein foods can be returned when the first chick appears.

Feed the seed and sprouts to the canaries while incubating. This will encourage the birds to eat additional food when the chicks appear. One to two days before the first chick hatches, start supplementing the grain and seed menu with the specified products.

During mating, add poppy seeds to the mixture - a tenth of a gram per canary. Eliminate it from the diet when the female has laid the second egg. Do not give too much poppy to the birds. The opium it contains is harmful to bird health. Hemp, flaxseed, and canary seed are also beneficial.

Preparing a place for nesting

For each pair, prepare a nesting cage - a special nesting cage sixty centimeters long, thirty-five centimeters wide, forty centimeters high. The cage must have at least two doors: one on the side under the ceiling, the second on the bottom.

The lower door should be wide enough to accommodate feeders, a drinking bowl, and a bath. A wire basket is hung on the side door in the shape of the future nesting base, in which the female will build a nest.

Before putting canaries into the nesting cage, treat it with boiling water or steam. You can use "Desinsectal", but it must be washed off well with warm water. Choose the lightest part of the room for the cage, but not in direct sunlight. After the male and female have settled, it is impossible to rearrange the nesting cage.

The nest base can be purchased or ordered from a pet store. However, keep in mind that if you place an order, this does not mean that it will arrive right on time. Delivery may be delayed, and without a nest base, the female will not begin to build a nest and lay eggs. The base is easy to do with your own hands.

Making a nesting base yourself

To make a nesting base, prepare the tools:

• rope;
• cling film;
• flax fiber;
• hot melt glue gun;
• construction hot air gun.

Be sure to choose a round base that matches the parameters of the nest base: diameter - seven to eight centimeters, depth - four to five and a half centimeters. A light bulb or a large Christmas tree ball may work. Let's say you have selected a light bulb.

Wrap the light bulb with cling film so that you can easily remove the socket base later. Squeeze a drop of glue from the gun into the center of the light bulb and glue the end of the string. The rope should be thick, so twine works great. The twine will make an excellent nesting base, because it retains heat well.

Begin to wind the twine around the light in a spiral motion. Apply glue to the rope every one to two centimeters. Thanks to such deviations, the canary will be able to stick building material into the twine.

When you reach the desired depth, make two or three additional turns on top of each other to strengthen the socket base. Carefully remove the light bulb and remove the plastic wrap from the base. Melt the remaining pieces of film with a hot air gun. Additionally, insulate the nest base with a small amount of flax fiber. You can do it outside to decorate the nest with a "natural" look. Ready.

When canaries' behavior changes

You will notice that the canaries are ready to breed as their behavior changes. The male's song becomes short, harsh and loud. The female squeaks back. Birds become nervous, cannot find a place for themselves, flap their wings and jump from roost to roost.

The female is especially restless. She is constantly busy looking for building material, stuffing her beak with everything that comes under it: feathers, threads, grass. The canary can tear paper to shreds. Her belly becomes bald, the so-called "hen-spot" appears.

The female begins to crouch while the male is singing, tries to build a nest from the material at hand anywhere: in the feeder, in the bathing suit, in the corner of the cage. As soon as you notice that the female has a special zeal for nesting, transplant her into the nest cage and put the male in her.

Building a nest

The female will continue to mimic the structure of the nest in the new cage. But before making a nest, she will begin to collect building materials with which you must provide her in abundance.

A future nest for canaries may consist of blades of grass, pieces of paper, pieces of lint, a scrap of cotton thread, small scraps. You can use an old washcloth by cutting it into 8cm pieces. Place the material at the bottom of the cage and slide it between the rods.

However, not everything is suitable for building a nest. Do not give hemp pieces to the female. Chicks can become entangled in them and suffocate. It is not recommended to use absorbent cotton wool - it blocks the access of oxygen. You can give the canaries some gray cotton wool.

The male can help the female in building the nest, he does not rarely and reluctantly. But he feeds the toiler and sings wonderful songs to her.

If the female is ready to breed, it takes no more than a week to build. A canary, dissatisfied with his work, can ruffle an almost finished nest and correct the shortcomings by rebuilding it.

Male-female relationship

Friendship between male and female does not come immediately. Initially, the canaries pretend not to notice each other. They jump from perch to perch and study the cage. Over time, anxiety about the sudden relocation disappears, and the male begins to sing. However, the "nest" song, like the behavior, is not like "singles".

Kenar stretches out, begins to step from paw to paw, the feathers on his head stand on end. Swinging in different directions, the male gradually brings the song to the highest tones. After that, he rushes at the female, and she runs away from the boyfriend. So they run around the cage until they get tired. Such races speak of the sexual arousal of the canaries.

On the day of acquaintance or a little later, the male begins to feed the partner. It flaps its wings and opens its beak like a chick. After a while, the female becomes in an unambiguous pose, inviting the male to copulation, which occurs several times a day.

Mating games indicate that the couple formed for the entire nesting period. However, this is not always the case.Sometimes you come across very selective canaries who cannot converge with the proposed partner immediately or do not converge at all.

If the female and male quarrel constantly, put them in different cages for two to three days. Then repopulate the canaries in one cage. If the quarrels continue, you will have to select other partners for them.

And now the female has testicles

Two days after the construction of the nest, the female begins to lay one egg per day or every other day. This most often occurs early in the morning and can last four to six days. As a result, there are four or five eggs in the clutch of the canary. In rare cases, the female is able to lay six to seven eggs.

Before laying the egg, the female's breathing quickens, and the tail is slightly raised. If the female does not succeed, she leaves the nest and sits on the bottom of the cage. Keep a close eye on her - if the canary sits too long, ruffled, she needs help.

Warm her with a heating pad attached to the outside of the cage bottom. Use a needleless syringe to put a few drops of sunflower oil into the bird's cloaca. If after two hours the female does not lay an egg, immediately contact your veterinarian.

The last testicle differs from others in light blue color, while others have a blue tint with a grayish sheen. There are dark specks on every egg.

Females sit down to incubate eggs after laying two or three eggs. Because of this, the chicks do not hatch together, but with a difference of two to three days. This leads to the fact that the last chicks are stunted. They can die of exhaustion, as they start asking for food late. And the female feeds those who actively ask for food.

To avoid killing chicks, replace the first three to four eggs with marked dummies. Put them back in place by removing the dummies when the female has laid the last egg. It is better to do this in the morning. Don't worry - canaries do not react in any way to changes in the number of eggs.

All this time, store the eggs in boxes, on the bottom of which put sand and cotton wool, and cover the top with cardboard. Remember to mark when the egg was laid and, if necessary, from which female.

Incubation time

The female spends most of the time on the clutch, only occasionally leaving it to have a snack. At such moments, a male can replace her. The caring male also feeds the female engaged in laying. The female periodically changes the position of the eggs so that the embryo does not stick to the shell. These movements distribute the heat evenly between the eggs.

After a week, you can examine the eggs to make sure they are fertile. Eggs with an embryo darken and acquire a bluish-gray hue, empty eggs remain transparent. To be sure, take an egg and examine it under a dim lamp.

Do this carefully so as not to chill the embryos and damage the shell. A dark spot of the embryo is visible in the fertilized egg. Check the eggs when your parents are not around - don't bother them again.

Sometimes in a female laying eggs for the first time, the entire clutch is empty. Do not remove the eggs - let the canary hatch out. Otherwise, she will lose her rhythm or stop sitting on eggs altogether.

If the female does not bathe during incubation, on the twelfth day, gently wipe the eggs with a piece of cotton wool dipped in warm water. Wet eggs are easier for the female to transfer. Eggs soiled with droppings are washed in the same way. Litter needs to be soaked. Never peel it off with your fingernail, otherwise you will damage the shell.

Do not remove eggs from the nest for more than two hours. During this time, they will completely cool down and the embryos will die.

The miracle of the emergence of chicks

Two weeks after the start of incubation, chicks appear, which usually release on their own. While in the egg, the chick tries to straighten up and scratch the shell with a horny tubercle, which is called an egg tooth. He breaks through the shell and continues to move. Gradually, the egg cracks.Soon, part of the shell falls off and frees the chick. The female eats or carries away the shell.

Chicks are born blind and deaf, completely dependent on the mother. She continues to warm the babies for two weeks until they have a constant body temperature. Watch out for the female. If she leaves the chicks ahead of time, they will die.

Sometimes females accidentally drop defenseless babies from the nest. They cool quickly and show no signs of life. Try to warm the chick with your hands. But don't blow on him - the carbon dioxide produced when you exhale will kill him. If the baby moves, return it to the nest.

Feeding chicks

For the first three to four days, the female feeds the chicks with goiter milk. Then he begins to regurgitate them half-digested seeds and grains, which the male feeds her with. After eighteen days, the chicks begin to get out of the nest.

After two to three days, the female starts the next clutch, occasionally continuing to feed the chicks. But the male becomes the main breadwinner. Parents feed babies up to forty days, after which fully matured chicks can be planted in a flying cage.

When the chicks are one week old, you should start feeding them. The composition of the sample menu is shown in the table:

Do you need banding?

If you decide to start breeding canaries for sale, exhibitions or competitions, then be sure to ring the chicks when they are six to seven days old. Previously, you cannot put on the ring - it will fall off, and later it will not fit. This is necessary in order not to confuse the birds.

It is necessary to mark (engrave) the canary number on the rings - ring number, country of birth, year of birth - the last two digits across the ring. The color of the ring can also indicate the year of birth of the bird. Each ring is blind, the material is duralumin. The ring sizes are different for all birds. For canaries, this is G, with a height of five millimeters, with an inner diameter of three millimeters, and an outer diameter of four millimeters. Example: 147 RU 09 G.

Of course, you can ring the canary with split rings or colored tubes, which are sold in pet stores and bird markets. But such birds will not be able to participate in exhibitions or competitions.

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Tags: Finches

One simple truth should be remembered - well-fed birds that receive the necessary vitamins in sufficient quantities will produce healthier offspring than those that do not receive adequate nutrition.

Best breeding age:

Females aged from 10 months to 4 years are selected for breeding. Males may be slightly older.

Birds should be healthy and vigorous, with firm breasts and smooth plumage. When the day begins to lengthen noticeably (late February - early March), the canary diet needs to be slightly diversified. Before that, it is necessary to introduce sprouted grains into the diet. This can be sunflower, wheat, millet, or rapeseed. They are a source of vitamin E, which is vital for reproduction.

Preparation period

Canaries should be in good physical shape by the time they start breeding. Since the females spend the winter in a fairly spacious aviary, their physical condition is normal. The same cannot be said about the males who spent several months in small cages. Therefore, before launching into the breeding cage, the male should properly stretch and fly. In order for a male canary to warm up before breeding, there are two options.

The first option is that the male is launched into the breeding cage earlier than the female, in about a week. The second option (and most preferable) is that males must live in a flying cage before breeding. It is not scary if at the same time there are several of them in one cell.

Signs that canaries are ready to breed

On the eve of breeding, canaries begin to behave clearly differently than usual. Birds show all the signs of excitement: they scream loudly, flap their wings, flutter from one perch to another, and generally become very restless. Males begin to sing monotonously, loudly and shortly. Females from time to time start looking for building material and everything that looks like it - blades of grass, scraps of paper, feathers. They collect all this in their beak. If you give them a piece of cotton wool, they fiddle with it and rush around the cage with it.

The easiest way to tell if a female canary is ready to breed is by looking at her belly and tail. In a female unprepared for breeding, the tail is similar to the tail of a male, and the abdomen is almost completely covered with feathers. A bird that is already ready to lay eggs has a thickened tail, and a patch of bare skin appears on the abdomen - the so-called hen spot.

Reproduction (breeding methods) of canaries

Today, breeding canaries can be done in one of two ways. The first method is close to natural conditions and is biologically correct. Its peculiarity is that the presence of a male is obligatory at all stages of reproduction. The second method is considered not very successful. With it, the male is removed from the cage immediately after the female has laid the clutch. The disadvantage of this method is that only the female will take care of the chicks. This is contrary to the natural properties of canaries, since in nature both parents take care of the offspring.

About untimely breeding of canaries

Breeding canaries at home should take place in the spring and summer. Unfortunately, not all canal growers take this into account and allow their birds to breed in winter. Birds of the winter brood are more frail than summer and spring birds, so their distribution is a bad service for the whole canary breeding in general.

Pairing canaries

A pair of birds, ready for breeding, is launched into a small cage, in which a nesting base is pre-installed. The approximate dimensions of the cage in which the cage is installed: 50 cm - 40 cm - 40 cm (length - width - height). The cage should be installed in the most illuminated part of the room. The size of the cage is approximately 10 cm in diameter and 5-6 cm deep. Once the birds have nested, the cage cannot be moved anywhere.

In most cases, the male begins to feed the female on the first day, and she opens her beak in front of him.

The signal for mating for the male is the characteristic (inviting) posture of the female. The male's pursuit of the female, her feeding, as well as numerous copulations - all this allows us to conclude that the birds formed a strong pair for the entire breeding period.

Canary nest building

The female begins to show interest in the nest several days after being placed in the cage. It sits down in the nest base and rotates in it. From this moment on, various materials that can be used for construction should be constantly present in the cell. These are feathers, shreds, cotton wool, strings, pieces of paper, dry grass.

These materials can be slipped between the bars of the cage or placed directly on the floor. The female spends about 3 days on nesting at home.

Clutch of eggs

Oviposition occurs approximately two days after the nest is built. This happens most often in the early morning. Typically, the clutch is 4 or 5 eggs, although there may be more or less of them.

After the 2nd or 3rd egg has been laid, the canary begins to incubate them. For this reason, canary fish hatch for 2 or even 3 days. This can lead to the death of young chicks, since the female does not feed them, because she feeds their brothers, who demand food more energetically. To avoid this, chicks must hatch at once.

To do this, as the female lays the first three or four eggs, take them out of the nest (and give them all together). Instead, dummies are left in the nest.Unfertilized eggs (called “talkers”) or special dummies are used as these pads.

To avoid confusion, the talkers can be carefully marked.

The eggs, which are taken from the female, are kept in boxes with sand or cotton wool. From above they need to be covered with cardboard lids. There should also be a label from which the time of appearance of the first egg from a given clutch is clear and who owns the eggs. Eggs cannot be stored for a long time, especially in hot weather. As soon as the female finishes all clutch, the eggs return to her immediately. The optimal time for this is morning. Then the chicks will be born in the morning. If the eggs are returned in the evening, the chicks will be born in the evening, which is not always convenient.

Incubation period

Canaries have a well-developed incubation instinct. At home, the female flies from the nest extremely rarely and then for a short time, only to eat and drink. At this time, she can be replaced by a male. He also periodically feeds the female sitting on the eggs. The development of the embryo in the egg lasts from 13 to 15 days.

Litter on the shell - not very good!

Eggs smeared with droppings should be washed. This is done very carefully using a piece of wet cotton wool. Dried droppings only need to be soaked. Because if you try to peel it off, there is a great risk of breaking the shell.

Talkers should not be thrown away, they will be needed for lining. Some cannaries suggest leaving one chatterbox in the nest. He will support the heads of very weak chicks at the beginning of their life.

Even if the entire clutch consists of empty eggs, you need to give the female the opportunity to sit on them for the entire prescribed period. If the male is angry and sings, you should not replace him with another. The first laying is not yet an indicator of its unsuitability.

All the time of incubation, especially immediately before hatching of offspring, the female should have the opportunity to swim. A dry egg shell will be much more difficult for a chick to break through than a wet one. If during the incubation period the female does not want to swim, then on the eve of hatching, the eggs should be moistened independently (with the same wet cotton wool).

During incubation, the canaries do not need to be fed egg feed temporarily.

At home, canary chicks hatch from eggs absolutely independently, and the female should not help them in this at all, as some mistakenly believe. Chicks hatch with their eyes tightly closed, and their ear openings are covered with skin. Their body is covered with sparse long down. Having slightly dried out after hatching, the chick is already asking for food, opening its beak wide.

Chick formation

Eyes open in chicks on the 4th or 5th day. At first, they are narrow slits. Eyes are rounded on the 9th day. The ear holes open later. On the wings, feather rudiments begin to appear at the age of 4 days, and on the body - at 5-6 days. Immediately after the birth of the canary, they cannot independently maintain their body temperature at the required level, so the female heats them herself for the first 7 days.

On the first day, immediately after birth, the chicks may not eat anything. They still have enough reserves. Nevertheless, the female begins to feed her offspring within a couple of hours after birth. Opening the mouth in a chick is an innate instinct. It manifests itself when the female touches them, on a loud sound or vibration of the nest. The canary cats simultaneously raise their heads and open their beak wide.

There are canaries among females and those who only warm their babies and almost do not give them to eat. In such a situation, chicks need to be “thrown” into the nest to another canary (which regularly feeds its own). Birds usually accept such foundlings well. But only chicks of the same age can connect in one nest. The number of chicks in the nest should not exceed 5 pieces, even if the canary feeds them very well.

Very important!!!

You need to look into the nest to the chicks at least once a day. It is convenient to do this at the moment when the female flies off to drink or eat.It is very easy to check the degree of feeding of the chicks. The resulting food is retained in the esophagus and is clearly visible through the thin skin on the canarynk's neck (in the goiter).

The chicks are usually silent for the first 7 days. They usually begin to squeak quietly when feeding on the 8th or 9th day. In the subsequent time, the squeak will only intensify. But it happens that chicks squeak right after hatching.

They begin to leave the nest at the age of 18 days. An earlier exit from the nest is undesirable, since the legs of the chicks have not yet matured and, in general, they are still rather weak.

Second clutch

When the chicks are about 2 weeks old, the female begins a second nesting. You can determine the readiness for it by the signs that we talked about above. At this time, the female should receive the next nesting base. Otherwise, she will lay eggs for the chicks in the first nest. You also need to give her all the building materials in time, otherwise the female will pull out feathers from the chicks. The female begins to make the second clutch approximately 3 weeks after the birth of the first brood. While a new nest is being built and eggs are being laid, the female does not forget the chicks of the first brood and feeds them from time to time. But the male takes on the main care of the offspring from that moment on.

After leaving the nest.

After the canary cats first emerged from the nest, they need parental care for about 10 more days. Then they can already feed on their own.

It should be noted that the role of the male is very important, the role in the feeding of the canary calves. From the first days of the appearance of chicks into the world, he already begins to feed the female. The female already transfers the food received from the male to the babies. After the female sits on the second clutch, the male remains the only breadwinner for the chicks. The longer he continues to feed the chicks, the better for them.

Feeding nesting chicks of canaries

Chicks eat the same types of food as adult birds. These are egg feed, grain feed, herbs, vegetables and fruits.

Canaries must be provided with egg feed on the day the chicks hatch. From this point on, you need to constantly monitor the presence of an egg-rusks mixture in the bird's cage. There should also be a feeder with some kind of delicate and small seed. These can be dandelion seeds or lettuce seeds. If they are absent, rapeseed will do, only at first its seeds need to be soaked in water for 10-12 hours, and then dried on a towel.

Artificial feeding of canary chicks

Some female canaries may not feed their chicks often enough. In this case, they sometimes need to be fed to a person. In this case, care should be taken, since the chick in the first days of life does not produce the necessary amount of enzymes that are needed for digestion. For feeding, a special formula for chicks is suitable, which can be purchased at the pet store. Alternatively, you can use a dairy-free formula for babies, adding a little mashed yolk there.

Chicks are separated from their parents at the age of 28-30 days. For the first two weeks after separation, they live in a small, ordinary cage. During this time, they get used to all types of feed and become physically strong. After that, they can be transferred to the flight cage.

Keeping adult canaries after breeding is complete

Canaries usually make 3-4 clutches per year. But it is better not to allow many clutches, since the birds simply do not have enough health and strength to raise all the chicks healthy.

In canaries, the breeding season ends by early August. Then the birds will have their annual molt. After the females have nested, they are launched into the aviary or into the flight cage. The male returns to his solitary cage. He becomes calm and stops singing. For the period of molting, males can be allowed into the passage cells. They can also be left in nesting cages (several in one).

People began to have canaries as pets for a long time.These beautiful and bright birds do not require complicated care; they can be kept even in a small apartment.

Canaries quickly get used to humans and respond fairly well to education. In addition, they can delight you with their wonderful singing.

CARE

Proper care is essential to keep your canary healthy. It is desirable to keep them in spacious cages, wooden, plastic or metal.

It is important that the cage is large in order for the bird to move freely in it. The cage needs space for perches to sit on. They should not be too flat, it is better if their surface remains slightly rough. The distance between them is important, so that when flying from one perch to another, the canary can freely spread its wings.

Minimum cage size for one bird - 36 * 16 * 24 cm and 50 * 25 * 30 cm for a couple. it is important that the distance between the rods does not exceed 1.2-1.4 cm, otherwise there is a possibility that the canary will get stuck or injured. The door should be on the side so that the bird can be easily removed from the cage. It is advisable to use cages with a double bottom, since they are convenient to clean and wash.

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A canary feeder should not be placed on the floor, as the bird can turn it over and scatter it throughout the cage. Retractable feeders are also extremely convenient. You can change the food in such feeders without disturbing your pet.

In order to maintain cleanliness,canaries need to swim. For this, you can use special plastic or glass swimwear.

Canaries bathe in water at room temperature, the water level should not be higher than 2 cm. The bathing suit is installed on the outside of the cage so that the water does not drain inside.

Canaries should bathe daily, starting from 30-35 days of life. However, if the bird does not want to swim, do not force it. This can be very stressful for her. Swimwear should be washed daily.
The taphole must be kept clean. It should be washed at least a couple of times a week. During harvesting, the canary should be transplanted into a spare cage. In order not to scare the bird, it is advisable to place two cages side by side, opening the doors so that it can safely fly over.

It is important to thoroughly wash all things - the drinker, the feeder, as well as the cage pan itself with detergent, and then rinse with water. The perches also need to be cleaned of dirt. Dirty perches are a favorable environment for parasites that cause various diseases.

A special filler for birds (sand, granules or sawdust) is poured into a clean cage. Some people use paper for this. However, you need to change it more often — every two to three days.

CONTENT RULES

The location of the cage is extremely important. It is important that she stands in a place thatprotected from drafts... The place where the cage is located needs good lighting, but it should not be placed in the sun.

It is not worth putting a cage in the kitchen, as there are too many foreign smells and harmful fumes. For the same reason, you cannot smoke in the room where the canaries are.

Occasionally, the canary can be released to fly around the room. It is better to do this in a confined space so that she cannot fly out the door or out the window. At first, you can let the bird fly for 10-15 minutes, gradually the time can be increased to 40-45 minutes. This can be done if there are no hard-to-reach places in the room where the canary can get stuck. Canaries often fly behind the closet and are unable to get out of there.

In addition, there should be no other pets in the room that can frighten or even injure the bird.It is important to communicate with a canary in a calm and low voice. You do not need to grab the bird from behind - this may frighten it. She must see who is approaching her.

Stress is dangerous for canaries, it can lead to their death. A canary can be frightened by noise, careless attempts to pick it up, and a sudden change of scenery. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful so that stress does not kill your pet.

BREEDING

Breeding canaries at home is best done in the spring. To get good offspring, you need to pick upa healthy and active couple, the male should sing well. Canaries must be at least one year old. In order for the male and female to get used to a friend, you must first put the cages next to each other.

For 5-6 days, the male is given both grain and soft food daily. The amount of food for the female should also be increased. For mating, the birds are planted in one cage, first the male, and after a couple of days - the female. At the end of mating, the female begins to make a nest. After 3-10 days, the female lays eggs.

To build a nest, the canary must be provided with pieces of linen or cotton cloth. You can also put small hay. When the female has laid the first egg, do not move the cage or move the nest. After the female canary has laid several eggs, the male must be removed from her, because she herself is able to raise chicks.

Sometimes the male is left to help the female raise the offspring, but it happened that the male destroyed the nest, and could also throw the chicks out of it. Canaries incubate chicks for 13 days. 3-4 hours after the birth of chicks, the female begins to feed them from the beak.

It is important that at this time both soft and grain food is available, and the female can also be additionally fed with a mixture of boiled eggs and crushed breadcrumbs. Chicks begin to feed on their own in 24-28 days, and start twittering at 35-37 days. Matured chicks need to be seated separately. Males need to be kept in separate cages and females can live together.

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What to feed?

The basis of canary nutrition ishard food, which you can buy at a pet store or make your own.

The following ratio of ingredients is recommended for feeding canaries:

• 10% millet
• 20% canary seed
• 40% rapeseed
• 10% salad
• 10% oatmeal
• 5% hemp, drenched in boiling water
• 5% sunflower seeds

Burdock seeds or flaxseeds can be added as desired.

Failure to comply with the proportions can cause metabolic disorders and various diseases. To avoid obesity, it is necessary to give the birds a certain amount of feed - 1-1.5 teaspoons daily.

At the same time, they need to be fed throughout the day in small portions; it is impossible to leave the bird without food for a long time. Canaries should be given once a weeksoft food... It can be a mixture of half the yolk, hard-boiled egg, tsp. crackers, semolina or baby food.

You can give the canaries small slices of chopped fruits or vegetables such as apples, pears, carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, or celery. As a mineral feed, you can give crushed egg shells, charcoal or chalk.

However, some fruits and vegetables may bedangerousfor canaries. Among them:

• Mango
• Papaya
• Parsley, herbs
• Persimmon
• Avocado
• Fruit pits (cherry, apricot, etc.)

Drinking water should be at room temperature. In the cage at the bottom, you need to install a small container from which the bird can drink.

HOW MUCH DO YOU LIVE OUT OF WILL?

Average lifespancanaries with proper care - 7- 12 years. Some individuals can live up to 20-25 years.

Despite the unpretentiousness of the canary, keeping and caring for it at home must meet certain requirements.For a bird to live in captivity, you will need a spacious cage, properly selected food and much more, which a beginner canary scientist should know about.

What a canary looks like

Their appearance was first described at the end of the 19th century by the German explorer Karl Bolle. These birds were brought to Russia from Tyrol. The first place of sale of canaries of domestic selection was the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.

The domestic one differs from the free-dwelling counterparts in its appearance and size. Its body length is slightly longer than that of wild songbirds. The body of a domestic canary grows in length up to 14-14.5 cm, and in those living in the wild, it does not exceed 13 cm.

Some canal breeders manage to raise birds, the body length of which, together with the tail, can reach 23 cm.

General appearance characteristics for wild and domestic canaries:

• elastic body;
• a strong beak with a conical shape and a sharp end;
• wide chest.

Birds have strong bones, well-developed muscles, thin but strong legs. The eyes are motionless, and the neck constantly turns in different directions. Rounded feathers have a slight taper at the ends, and the tail appears to be cut off. The normal body temperature of a bird is 42 ° C.

Wildlife canaries have predominantly green plumage, which may have a gray tint. On the belly of the bird, feathers are cast yellow. Throughout the body of canaries, dark stripes can be seen, which create the impression of excessive variegation of the general color. Most domestic canaries have yellow feathers, less often red, white, orange, blue and other colors are found.

Main breeds

More than 12 thousand species and breeds of domestic canaries have been bred in the world. They are all subdivided into 3 large groups:

• colored;
• decorative;
• singers.

Least of all canaries are included in the group of songbirds - there are only 10 species of birds in it. Their voice and ability to reproduce certain sounds and melodies are of particular value.

Colored ones are bred at home to obtain new species with interesting plumage coloration. The most expensive and valuable birds of this group are red canaries.

Decorative species are used in breeding new bird species to obtain certain characteristics of the body structure.

Humpbacked canaries

The quirkiness of the body structure increases the value of the bird for canary breeders

The birds of this breed got their name because of the peculiar shape of the body - they have an almost vertical posture and a drooping tail, which makes them visually humpbacked. The bird stretches its neck almost at a right angle. Humpback canaries are kept in cages with perches located at the very arch.

Japanese canary

It was obtained by crossing three species of bird: Scottish, Munich and Belgian and belongs to the group of decorative. They have a large body and an upright posture, the head is lowered to shoulder level.

Cages for poultry are chosen rectangular in shape, without domes and decorations. It is recommended to periodically release the Japanese canary to fly around the house.

Russian canary

The Russian canary is one of the most melodious species of birds

The breed is officially registered in Russia, the most common color of this species is yellow

Their singing technique is not genetically fixed - each bird has its own style. They are taught to sing using pipes or recordings of forest birds' trills.

For keeping at home, rectangular cells are used. They are installed in the brightest corner of the room, protected from drafts. There should be no heating devices near the cage.

Birds are prone to obesity and should not be overfed.

Advantages and disadvantages

For all its beauty, constant singing can be very annoying.

Canary singing has a therapeutic effect on humans. In Holland, the treatment of various ailments with the help of birdsong (ornithotherapy) is used in official medicine.It is used to treat various diseases of the heart and nervous system. Australians use bird song to heal joints and spine. British people use bird therapy to fight depression.

In the course of numerous studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that listening to birds singing for 5 minutes has an effect on the human body that is equal in effect to a 30-minute walk.

The canary is the only bird that can combine the sounds of all other songbirds in its singing.

Her singing can get rid of the following ailments:

• headache;
• gastrointestinal problems;
• high blood pressure.

The disadvantages of keeping canaries include the following:

• the need to let birds fly around the house;
• bird-generated feed and feather debris;
• loud singing.

Canaries start singing at dawn, and their singing can overlap even the noise of the TV. Flying around the room, birds climb into various cracks, from which they are difficult to get.

Care and maintenance

Canaries are very gullible birds, they learn everything easily and quickly. Their health and life expectancy depend on proper care.

What to feed

Balanced food can be purchased at any pet store or veterinary pharmacy.

The main rule of keeping a canary is to give the bird special food, which can be bought at the pet store. For the period of nesting and molting, special food is intended.

Poultry feeding recommendations:

• add crushed buckwheat kernels and seeds to the ready-made mixtures;
• 2 times a week, give a finely chopped boiled egg or low-fat cottage cheese;
• in summer, include in the diet finely chopped leaves of plantain, sorrel, lettuce and dandelion, and in winter grated carrots, apples and bell peppers.

As a top dressing for canaries, it is useful to give coarse river sand. The lack of calcium in the body of birds is replenished with the help of ground eggshell or mashed chalk. Charcoal acts as a medicine for poultry. It is periodically given to canaries to prevent the occurrence of various diseases.

Separate feeders are installed for feeding in bird cages. The optimal amount of food for canaries is no more than 2 spoons per day. Exceeding this norm leads to obesity of birds.

It is very important for the health of birds to keep their feeders and drinkers clean - canaries do not tolerate dirt.

Hygiene and bathing

Bathing is a must when keeping at home. The procedure must be carried out at least 2 times a week in winter, and every day in summer. For these purposes, a special bath is used, into which warm water is added and briefly placed on the bottom of the cage or suspended from the frame. The bird is taught to swim gradually. The first water procedures begin at the age of one month. Canaries should not be bathed during the incubation period.

Canarykane is afraid of swimming and enjoys preparing for it

It is necessary to pay attention to the condition of their claws. Too long claws prevent the bird from sitting on the floor. They are trimmed periodically with nail scissors or tweezers, but not too short, as this can be painful.

Canaries are released to fly every day. Before releasing the bird from the cage, it is necessary:

• close windows and doors;
• take animals out of the room;
• remove sharp and hot objects.

The birds are especially carefully looked after during their molting period. It is very important to feed the birds nutrient-rich feed during this time.

Bird cages are removed at least 2 times a week, additional lighting is installed next to them.

Feeders, drinkers, perches and other equipment, cages are treated with boiling water. As a disinfectant solution, only herbal infusions or potassium permanganate are used. For the preparation of the infusion, it is better to use field chamomile. The processed items must be dried before installation, the bottom is covered with white paper. Change it at least 2 times a week.River sand can be used as bedding.

Diseases and treatment

Canary disease can be caused by various factors. Each type of disease requires an individual approach to treatment.

Symptoms of the most common canary diseases and their treatment

Vaccination

To prevent smallpox, canaries receive intradermal vaccination in the area of ​​the wing fold. It is carried out in early summer and is repeated once a year.

Choice of cages, accessories and toys

For keeping canaries, it is better to purchase double bottom cages made of stainless steel. Optimal cage size:

• length - 35 cm;
• width - 22 cm;
• height - 29 cm;
• the distance between the rods is 1.5 cm.

The cage door should be located on the side, inside they place:

• Pull-out tray with river sand. It greatly facilitates the cleaning process.
• Porcelain drinkers 5 cm high and 10 cm in diameter.
• 3 feeders.
• 2-3 round perches with a thickness of at least 1.5 cm from fruit trees.
• Flat bathtub.

Before installing the perches in the cage, they must be scalded with boiling water and dried.

How to breed canaries at home

Before mating, the male actively cares for the female

For breeding canaries at home, a pair is selected at the age of 1 to 4 years. Birds should be vigorous and healthy.

During the mating period, the canaries are given enhanced nutrition, which includes a large amount of greens, and a boiled egg is given 2-3 times a week.

The bottom of the cage is covered with straws or grass - from which the birds make a nest, in which the female begins to lay eggs a week after mating.

How to determine the gender of birds

There are 3 ways to distinguish a canary from a canary:

• Outwardly. The female's tail is 0.5 cm shorter than that of the male. The cloaca of the canary has a cylindrical shape; in the canary, it is flat.
• By singing. Males make deeper and longer sounds. The singing of females is abrupt, similar to whistling or cooing.
• By behavior. If you put the bird with its back on the palm and run your finger along the abdomen, the male will start kicking and try to escape from the hands, and the female will only tighten its legs.

Knitting

The best time for mating is March or April. At this point, the birds begin to cook in about a month. They are heavily fed and are allowed to fly every day. Daylight hours for birds are gradually brought to 14-15 hours.

The cages intended for mating should have a wooden lining at the bottom, the temperature in the room should not be lower than 15 ° C. Relative air humidity - 60–70%.

Pregnancy

After mating, canaries begin to lay 1 egg per day. In total, they can bring from 3 to 5 eggs. Chicks begin to hatch on day 13 from the start of incubation. In order for the female not to leave the nest during incubation, the cage is placed in an area of ​​constant lighting. If the female refuses to incubate chicks, you can use a home incubator.

How to care for newborn chicks

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The eyes of the chicks begin to open 10 days after their birth. On the 12th day, their wings straighten, and on the 18th day, the chicks leave the nest. From the moment of birth, the female feeds them with a mixture of crushed seeds and boiled eggs, which are poured onto paper in a cage.

Chicks of song canaries, immediately after separation from the female, are separated by sex and placed in jig cages. This is necessary so that young females do not interfere with the twittering of the males.

In colored canaries, chicks are separated with a pronounced dark and light color of plumage. If this is not done, then the dark chicks will pluck their light counterparts.

Strengthened, fully fledged and learned to hatch seeds on their own, the chicks are placed in spacious flying cages. Regular flights of birds help to develop and strengthen their body.

How to tame

In order for the canary to stop being afraid, in addition to hands, it is important to accustom the canary to the sound of your voice,

A lone canary is the easiest to train, and it is easier to establish contact with a male than with a female.The main thing in the taming process is not to rush. Every day you need to go to the cage with the bird and talk to it in a quiet, calm voice. She needs to be given time to get used to and believe that she has nothing to fear.

The second step in the domestication process is to place the bird in the palm of your hand. This needs to be stimulated by feeding. Having mastered and getting used to a person, she will do it without fear.

How many live at home

With proper care and feeding, canaries can live in captivity for up to 15 years. The average bird duration is determined at 9–12 years.

Reasons for shortening the lifespan:

• poor nutrition;
• insufficient lighting;
• illness;
• predators.

Birds are bad at drafts and low temperatures.

How to name a bird

The name of the bird can be selected in accordance with its character, demeanor or color. The most common is Kesha.

If it is difficult to determine the sex of the canary, neutral names are chosen. For example, Acchi, Bassi, etc. The choice also depends on the owner's imagination. A mobile bird can get the name Zhivchik or Shustrik.

For a bird with yellow plumage, the name Lemon or Dandelion is suitable. The sly canary can be called a Rogue. Very often they use changed names or surnames of their owners. For example, Ivanov - Ivanka or Vanechka, Alexander - Alex or Alex. The name can be chosen as the season or month in which the bird was born.

Keeping canaries brings not only troubles to the house, but also joy. You should not get canaries for those who are not ready for their early singing and do not know anything about how to care for them.

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