First published in the Rocky Mountain Society of Aviculture newsletter.
This is the long awaited time of the year for canary breeders. This is when we have high hopes of producing those "new colors" of excellent type.
The breeding season is the hardest time of all for the canaries as now the birds must give of themselves to raise their young: especially the hens. Mother Nature has build a system into the birds so that if they are not in good physical condition, they will not raise many youngsters. The most important thing to remember is that you cannot take "so-so" care of your birds during the moult and then just before the breeding season treat them like kings; it just does not work that way.
Lighting
Light plays such a important part in the breeding season. During the
moult, turn you lights on at 8 a.m. and off at 4 p.m. to allow the
birds plenty of rest. Before the breeding season begins, increase
the lights. This seems to be a real science that will need your full
concentration. The birds in the wild receive two minutes a day
increase in light a day. The birds will need to receive thirteen
hours of light before you start pairing up. Since increasing you
lights two minutes a day is impractical, I would increase the lights
on a weekly or bi-monthly basis. I don't increase my lights to
drastically because the birds can go into a moult with to much of a
change. Times are the only way to go if you have canaries. There are
a lot of different models on the market. The best one that I have
seen was recommended by Jan Ritter, (a colorbred and American Singer
canary breeder) is a digital timer called "Micronta Programmable
Timer" made by Radio Schack. The timer has eight on/off settings and
has a battery that will keep the time correct in case of a power
outage. I believe this was $24 or so but it was well worth the extra
money.
It is very important to use the correct light. I have used the florescent bulb called Vita-Lites for many years. This bulb is manufactured by Duro-Test. In numerous tests, Vita-Lites have proven to be the best built on the market as it is as close to natural sunshine as you can buy in a tube. Zoos have been finding that birds, fish and other creature waste away under standard fluorescent lightings and flourish under simulated sunlight.
One doctor who has been interested in studying the effects of light is Dr. Richard J. Wartman, director of the neuroendocrine laboratory in Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Studies done by Dr. Wartman on the endocrine system of laboratory animals exposed to different types of light have shown that rats raised under "cool white" florescent light called "cool" because it emits so little ultraviolet and it's read and yellow color emissions are so unlike the sun's not only have larger spleens and smaller hearts than rats raised under full spectrum light, but also their gonads (female ovaries and male testes) were smaller.
Only "Vita-Lite", artificially duplicates the full spectral properties of natural sunlight. It is, the only commercial lighting bulb which has the a mixture of all colors an in nearly the same amount as sunlight. Many zoos have installed full spectrum artificial lighting and report increased absorption of calcium, more natural coloration, and successful breeding of birds which previously had refused to breed even though they were being maintained in habitats natural in every other environmental way except full spectrum natural lighting. Such a report was made by the New your Zoological Gardens and achieved the first know hatching of a Tuffed Puffin in captivity, only after installing full spectrum artificial lighting.
I had so few birds that became egg bound over the years and attribute this to the Vita-Lites which helped the birds to absorb calcium. Prior to that, egg bound hens were much more frequent and often lethal.
There are always many new breeder in this or any club. It is important to point out some of the do's and don't for the upcoming breeding season.
The use of a night light in your aviary is a must, year round. I have always used a 7 1/2 watt light bulb which is available at many hardware stores for less than $2. The red bulb is dark enough to allow the birds to sleep but light enough to allow the birds to find their way back to the nest should they be startled off.
Be sure to check your bird room windows and see that car lights do not flash in the windows at night, as they can startle your hens and cause them to abandon their eggs. Larger birds could possible injure themselves.
Pre-breeding
At least two weeks prior to pairing up your birds, separate your
males and trim their nails as many a egg has been punctured and a
potential chick lost because of a long toenail. Males that have been
separated from the other males seem much more virile than those just
caught out of a flight cage for the first time. When your catching
your males and trimming their toenails, check their vents to see if
they are in top breeding condition. Blow on their vents to be sure
the males are swollen and ready. When a male is ready for breeding,
his vent will look like a "L" or a hook. The females will be rounded
and come straight back. It is quite possible that a young hen might
be mixed in with the males. After the males have been separated for
two weeks it is time for the hens. The hens should also have their
toenails trimmed prior to going in with the males. Be sure the hens
are swollen and ready to breed.
Nests
Most breeder use plastic nest these day. The old wire nest have not
been sold for sometime. Us a nest pad on the bottom of the nest to
help absorb shocks and keep the youngsters warm There are next pads
on the market or you could buy a ready made one and go to a fabric
shop and make your own. When you use the plastic nests, you will
either have to put a few drops of white glue on the nest to hold the
pad in place or baste it with a needle and thread. Most breeders
give burlap to their birds for nest building. They are not as
plentiful as they use to be but I have seen them in farm/hardware
type stores for about a dollar a bag. I have seen these at Country
General in Brighton, CO in the past but call first to be sure they
are still in stock. Wash the bag in soap and water and then through
a cycle of plain water. I put mine in a regular dryer (by
themselves); you will get a lot of lint. After your bags are dry,
cut them into two inch square pieces and unravel. place the
unraveled pieces on top of the cage and your birds will pull the
burlap through to build their nest. If you place the burlap material
on the floor of the cage, your birds may get their feet caught in it
and possible injure themselves.
Eggs
The eggs are the next logical step. If your birds are in
breeding condition, the robin colored eggs will appear in two to
seven day. I remove each egg from the nest in the morning as it is
laid and replace it with a artificial canary egg to keep the hen
believing she is still setting on her eggs. (It is best to do this
about 8 a.m. which will allow the egg to harden.) As the eggs are
removed from the nest, I place them in a dish of seed (large end up)
to prevent breakage. When the hen lays her third egg, remove the
male and the artificial egg from the next. She will hatch all three
eggs on the same day allowing all the young a better chance for
survival. It seems that the third egg laid will hatch on the
thirteen days while the other eggs will hatch in fourteen days. It
takes approximately twenty-four hours for the eggs to reach their
temperature and the cell division to begin. She will lay anywhere
from one to three more eggs. The last egg laid seems to be a
different color, a much lighter blue.
Because of the dry climate in Colorado, I spay my hens with warm water or offer them a bath a day or two before the hen is due to hatch. Some chicks get stuck in the shell and the extra humidity tends to take care of the problem.
Egg Food
Egg food or nestling food must be given to your hens to
raise their youngsters. Buy the bast you can afford as the
difference in the cost of bad egg food and good will surely pay for
itself in the young you produce. I hard boil eggs for five minutes
and allow them to cool in the pan of water. Overcooking can destroy
the nutritional value. Grade your eggs in a Folly Food Mil or a
salad maker (something to grade them fine). Add a carrot per egg
(graded fine to look some what like carrot salad). To this, I add my
dry mixture and mix well . I normally make up what my hens will need
in a day or two and refrigerate the unused mixture. Normally, I try
to feed the hens four times per day when they have young. For a
added treat, sprinkle a little poppy or anise seed on your nestling
food. Remember to clean you egg food dishes often in bleach and
water because to much bacteria buildup can quickly cause a hen to
abandon their nest. The young many die from diarrhea and the hen
will get ill also.
Banding
Banding your birds is the best way to keep accurate
records of who your birds are bred from and whether or not they may
be a carrier of a recessive or a sex- linked factor. i band at
approximately five days or when the young open their eyes. Close
bands are the best as they can guarantee a young birds age to another
breeder and it can be entered as a young bird at the show in the
fall. Otherwise, a bird with a open band will always be considered a
old bird. The band color for 1996 is green; 1997 red; 1998 blue;
1999 silver.
Second Nests
To take a second next from your hens, place another
nest in the cage alongside your first. I place my males back with
the hens when they are fifteen days old. At this time, the hen is
willing to be re-bred and you'll have fertile eggs. Place the male
with the hen for five to ten minutes or until you see that copulation
has taken place. One session is usually enough, however you may
re-breed the following day if desired. My hens seem to start laying
when the your are nineteen days old and by the time they young are
twenty-one days and weanable, I can set the hens with another clutch
of eggs.
Weaning Young
When weaning the young, place the youngsters in a
small flight cage with a feeding cock or hen. I feed egg food to
these birds three times a day and sprinkle in dry seed after the
first week (feeding on the floor as well as in a cup). Always have
fresh seed available in the cage. I gradually cut down on the
eggfood until I'm giving it only once each day. It takes about three
weeks to gradually switch your birds to see entirely. Soaked seed
can also be give as a "soft food" for young canaries.
Conclusion
Remember the basis of genetics and don't just pair
anyone together just to produce birds. As a club, we should be
promoting the perfection of the breeds in type and color and we
should always keep this objective in mind. Remember the following
statement if you have gotten nothing else from this article, "you can
feed a good bird for the same price as a poor one."
Houck, Cathrine, Moneysworth, November 1979.
Hogen, Linda,
Sunlight-The Great Giver of Life, National Colorbred Association,
December 1992.