#canary ask

[flock-talk]

Can you hang out with a canary like you can a parrot? People seem to see them as a bird you can’t befriend the way you can a parrot but that’s never felt right to me. It seems weird certain birds are just assumed to be unfriendable and seen as birds to cage 24/7

You totally can!

Canaries are often seen as an aviary bird that just sit in their cage so you can look at their pretty colours and listen to their songs but they are extremely vivacious little beans that can become quite social and actually thrive in a captive environment, unlike parrots.

Canaries are domesticated, far enough removed from their wild counterparts that they’re adapted to captive living making them more comfortable and capable of thriving in a home. They can also be ethically bred and raised where doing so doesn’t put excess stress on their lives- provided the genetic line of the birds is healthy.

It’s generally easier to tame a canary if you can get one from a breeder that prioritizes socialization at a young age, and that isn’t always easy to find, but they do exist! You can also tame them yourself even if they weren’t raised with tameness in mind, it just takes a bit more time.

If you’re willing to put in the work they can become delightful little companions that love to flutter around the home, play with your hair strands, sing, and even learn an array of tricks including recall!

[flock-talk]

Hello and thank you for your cute and helpful blog! You write a lot about tiels and little parrots. I am planning on getting canaries very soon. (I heard I should buy one first, tame it and then buy a second) Any specific tips?

Unless you want two canaries yourself, not for them to be friends, you don’t really need two.  Canaries can be quite aggressive, males especially, and females can be very aggressive around times of heightened hormones so keeping multiples can sometimes be very stressful on the birds.  A lot of people will advise getting two males and housing them separately because they’ll sing more, the reason for this is that the birds are claiming territory and trying to outdo the one another, this isn’t super healthy for them. If you did get two they’d have to be kept in separate areas of the home to avoid this problem.

Otherwise most of what I’d say has already been said in the ‘canary ask’ tag!

[flock-talk]

Do canaries and finches play? How do they entertain themselves? I've never seen one do anything besides beep beep beep but I've never had any extended interaction with one :o

They don’t get as mentally engaged as parrots do with toys but things like really simple foraging (pulling treats out of a twine ball or putting them inside finger traps) and basic toys tend to do well.  Most will enjoy things they can make noise out of (avoid bells because it can make them aggressive) and bright colours, hitting beads together, and things that can be easily tugged and pulled for fun. They can also be tamed and trained but it’s usually quite difficult to do unless they were hand raised, still possible but takes a phenomenal amount of work. A lot of their time is spent singing and beeping about but they do need basic toys and simple problems to keep themselves mentally active.

[flock-talk]

How can I get a canary to eat meal worms?

You can try live, killing them before serving, or dried and also dusting them, placing them with fresh foods or a separate dish of seed mix, different sized worms, or have a uv light on them (being able to see their full spectrum of colours usually makes things look more appealing to them/ things become recognizable.).  Most pet stores and breeders won’t be feeding young canaries insects so it will take a while for them to recognize them as a food source, the more frequently you present them the more likely they’ll go over and test them out.  If you’re doing live worms make sure you properly gut-load them, the worms are only as nutritious as what they’re being fed, living off of corn isn’t going to be as nutritious as greens and other varied vegetables, mealworms can also be calcium depleting so it’s best to dust them with calcium.  Do be careful when feeding these as too many can be quite detrimental to their health, there’s a lot of excess fats and proteins in worms that they shouldn’t be eating all that frequently in captivity since they won’t be able to burn it all off through indoor exercise. These proteins can also be hormone inducing which can cause problems regarding territorial and aggressive behaviours around breeding seasons, best to lower the amount of them fed that time of year unless you want to end up with a chronic egg layer or masturbating aggressive birds.

[flock-talk]

I've been wanting a bird for a while now, but soon I'm starting a full-time job. I'd like to ask your opinion on a few things - first, I'm assuming that since I'll be gone most days and some nights, I should avoid most (all?) parrots, since they need lots of socialization. Is that correct? And second, could something like a canary be left alone during the day (+ occasional overnights) safely, or would I be better off just avoiding having a bird altogether? Thanks for your time ^^

In general it is best to avoid species who will require a lot of human contact to be healthy, if you have even a sliver of doubt for your ability to spend enough time with a parrot then definitely don’t go with one, their health is top priority.  Some species don’t require as much human interaction as others, budgies, lineolated parakeets, parrotlets, and lovebirds would likely be alright on their own for some time provided they have enough mental enrichment and plenty of time spent with them once you get home.  The issue with that is dependent on your energy level after work, will you have to patience to work out behaviour problems, keep up with a hyperactive bird, and overall be able to provide adequate enrichment once you get home.  Most canaries and finches do just fine on their own and don’t tend to like or require human interaction.  As long as the bird has a large enough cage for flying and enough things to keep them stimulated they’re fine being left alone for a majority of the day, they may appreciate music, radio, or television left on for them though! 

[flock-talk]

What are some good treats and toys for canaries? Thanks!

Treats

honey sticks

millet

sunflower seeds, safflower seeds (may need to have the shells removed)

treats seeds

dehydrated fruits

Toys

string-based toys

things they can pull and tug at

simple foraging (tucking seeds in to weaves, grabbing millet between bars)

sound-making toys (caution as some birds may begin displaying territorial or breeding behaviours at which point they should be removed)

never use mirrors

swings

light plastic toys, ones to peck at that cause parts to move 

lots of colours

[flock-talk]

Can Canaries eat birdie bread? We make it for our Parrotlets as a treat, and I was wondering if I could give my Canary any? Or would he need his own batch, if he can eat it at all?

It mainly depends on the ingredients because canaries are much more sensitive to some foods than parrots are. It’s not really necessary for them, the amount of grains and starches in bird bread don’t tend to sit too well with them for extended periods of time but once and a while would probably be okay.  Canaries mainly need greens and sprouts in their diet so a vitamin loaded veggie mash is not usually needed.

http://www.beautyofbirds.com/finchcanaryfood.htm

[flock-talk]

Does your canary require as much time as your lovebirds do? I know you said he's getting old but I was considering getting a bird but I don't think I can spend all day with a bird like you do with your parrotlets.

There’s definitely not as much time spent with Flippy as there is with the Parrotlets, the interaction is quite different.  Parrotlets need hands on interaction and socialization whereas Flippy just needs fresh food and water and his favourite veggies. When he was younger and would fly about it was a bit more work than now, obviously, he had to be trained to fly back in to his cage and was taught to not be afraid of people.

Canaries do not get as easily bored as parrots do and can keep themselves entertained for prolonged periods of time, parrots need a lot of change in their environment in order to not become bored and develop feather destructive behaviours.  In this sense, they don’t require as much time.

It really comes down to what you want out of a relationship with a bird, if you want someone to come home to, chat with, and have a relatively hands-off bond then canaries can be loads of fun with that.  Just because I can’t touch him doesn’t make him any less important, he still manages to yell at me if I don’t give him the right vegetable or cue me when he wants a bath and his song is something I can probably never live without.  There’s a ton of character and we’ve still got a special relationship where we actively communicate and enjoy the company of one another.

A bond with my parrotlets is much different, I’m not going to say it’s better because it’s really not it just has different interactions.  With them I can physically interact with them, touch them, have them be a part of my daily activities. 

They’re both really great fabulous bonds, just different.

The thing to add is that canaries can also be hand tamed and learn commands which adds another level to their relationship.  It really just depends what kind of a relationship you want with a bird.

I would definitely say that caring for Flippy is a lot more basic than caring for the parrotlets, with the parrotlets I have to be constantly moving toys around, training, making new toys non stop because they always destroy them, make sure to spend enough time interacting with them, just a lot more goes in to keeping them happy.   This isn’t to say you can’t do those things with a canary, it’s just that a canary can be perfectly happy without the things which are necessary in parrot care.