Sunday, December 9, 2012

Canary Breeding Can Easily Become A Fascinating Hobby

By Earnestine Raber


Canary breeding can provide a great deal of pleasure and perhaps even a canary for sale. These are great pets which are little trouble. The males in particular have a glorious, uplifting song. Domestic canaries falls into several groups which differ in color, shape, size and type of song. Although they live for eight to ten years, the best age to breed from them is from one to four years.

If you found a canary for sale and brought him home, he will need a cage in which he can fly a little to exercise himself. Give him several different size perches and scrub these each week to get rid of any germs. Canaries need peace and quiet at night. The temperature in the area should not exceed 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If their cage in not in a dark area, it should be covered at night.

Once you have a male and female, place them in a divided cage. It is best to have a double partition, one solid and one wire. After several days they will be accustomed to each other. Remove the solid partition. Within a few days you may see the male feeding the female through the wire divider. The partition can now be removed completely and the birds released together.

A commercial nest or small tin should be securely fastened in a corner. Place at the back of the cage where there is solid backing so the hen feels safe. Give them a choice of nests in case they reject one for some reason. Wool, feathers, string or unravelled burlap makes good nesting material. Leave it on the floor of the cage for them. Avoid long bits of plastic or nylon which might get entangled in their claws.

If you want the eggs to hatch all at the one time, remove them each day until the hen has finished laying. Four or five eggs are the norm. Remove the eggs with a spoon. The natural oils found on the skin can harm the eggs. Replace them with marbles until you're ready to put the eggs back.

It is best to remove the male while the hen raises the young. If he pesters her too much, she may abandon them. Incubation takes about three weeks. Good canary food at this time includes mashed, hard-boiled egg along with fresh green and the usual seeds.

Your hen may have two clutches each season but should not be allowed to have more. The chicks will be of better quality and the hen will live longer if she is not worn down by continual egg-laying and rearing chicks. There is a lot of pleasure to be gained from raising canaries and even more if you venture into canary breeding.




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