Let's Breed Type Canaries
by Kevin Wirick, all rights reserved,
Copyright © 2002
Type canaries are birds that are bred for their type rather than their color or song. Type birds come in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. In this article I will try to outline some of the varieties. They are in alphabetical order to avoid putting my favorite first and all of the others behind it.
Belgian Fancy
The Belgian is a bird that is bred for its type, body and hump. They are known as birds of position. The Belgian is a bird that when it stands on a perch shows what some would cal a humped back. This bird comes in buff, yellow (hard feather for purposes pertaining to type birds is yellow), white and green. A Belgian is to show no red factor in its wing and/or overall feathers. This bird was established in the middle of the 19th Century. It has had a very difficult time reestablishing itself as a breed because of the war in Europe much of the breeding stock.
To the best of my knowledge, I have been one of the few in this area who has bred these. I first saw these in my third National Show in Los Angeles. A Belgian is a little harder to breed that most colorbred birds. The youngsters surprising come out of the nest with "hunched backs". These birds are shown in a square black wire cage that shows their curve to the fullest. Prices start at $60.00 and up each and are normally sold in pairs rather than trios.
Borders
The Border is probably one of the most popular breeds in the United States and Europe. The ideal bird should be no larger than 5 1/2" in length. For many years, judges have awarded the best Border to birds that were far in excess of the standard. The Border's head should look almost like a marble placed on its shoulder. The bird should have a definite "nape" in the neck. The back should be rounded rather than on a 45 degree angle as in colorbred birds. The chest should be full and rounded. Borders come in buff, yellow, green, cinnamon, white and combinations of variegations. The stress should be placed on type rather than clearness or selfness of the bird. No Borders should be shown that has tendencies to red ground, as they will be disqualified from the show bench.
For many years, people have crossed Borders into their colorbred canaries to better their type. You should be very careful what you pick for such a pairing. Try to find out the pedigree of the bird to be sure that he/she is from clear or self-stock. Ideally, you want a bird that has total clears or self in their pedigree for at least four generations. Look for a bird that is not a perfect Border, you are interested in increasing your size not putting a Border look to all your colorbred birds. For increasing size on you lipochrome, I would suggest breeding a white x red and you'd produce one-half red and one-half white. Breeding a yellow Border to a red will produce re ground canaries of poor color. By the time you recover the color you have lost, you will have also lost your size. When you breed self-birds, you could cross a blue to a bronze. Follow the same basic pattern as above but you are using self-birds. Don't hesitate to talk to canary breeders in your area to get more ideas.
Margie McGee once encouraged me to breed more type birds because I would be able to see what type is on my colorbred birds. Whenever you breed birds for type you quickly learn to see what type is and how it affects the birds you breed. Prices start at $50 each and could go as high as $150. Border males are more plentiful and therefore colorbred females can be secured for trio breeding.
Frill
This is a very old variety that encompasses several breeds. The most noted characteristics of the Frill are the curling of the feathers in a distinctive pattern.
First, the Parisian Frill which is the largest of the breed with a size of 7 3/4" to 8 1/4" in length. The Parisian is very robust in appearance and vigorous in action and showing a great deal of bounce and vitality. The Parisian's cost is in the neighborhood of $125 to $200 each.
The Dutch Frill is a smaller counterpart of the Parisian. The Dutch Frill is approximately 6 1/2 " long. This bird also has smaller curls that the Parisian. The Dutch Frills cost $50 and up each.
The Italian Humpback Frill is also know as the Gibbers Italics and is a creation of the Italian fanciers. This bird is very small and stands tall with a hunched back and very small curls in the feathers. It also shows its thighs through the lack of feathers covering this area. I saw my first at the National Cage Bird Show held in Los Angeles. Many people remarked that they didn't like the bird as it looked as though it had been through a wringer. This variety I believe, is an endangered species and many breeders may be trying to save the breed from extinction. These birds cost at least $125 each and would probably be available in Europe if at all.
Fife Canary
The Fife is a smaller version of the Border Canary. The standard calls for the birds not to exceed 4 1/2" in length. These birds have been shown by our members and are starting to become more readily available. This bird first came into the bird rooms in the early 1980's. The cost would probable be comparable to the Border canary or slightly less.
Gloster
Gloster's come in two varieties, the Consort and the Corona. The Consort is the plain head the Corona is the crested variety.
The Gloster is to be small and cobby in size. A Consort should carry a broad head and a Corona should have a nice circular crest with the eyes still being visible. Gloster's are bred Consort to Corona. They come in yellow, buff, green, white, cinnamon and any variegation thereof.
Lizard
This is a very old variety that is again reaching new heights of popularity. The wars in Europe almost wiped out this breed. Serious breeders however only sold birds to other breeders until the breed was reestablished. Now Lizards are again easier to buy; however, good birds are still hard to find.
Lizards come in three ground colors, yellow (gold), white (silver) and red. Lizards are bred for a cap and spangle or rowing on their backs. These birds come with full caps, broken caps and no caps. A breeder normally breeds a full cap to a broken cap.
A Lizard breeder is an individual that accepts the reality that only a few good birds are raised each year. If a bird has a fowl tail feather or wind, it is discarded for the purpose of showing or breeding.
Lizards should be color fed at one-half strength to show excellent color. These birds will cost in the neighborhood of $50 to $100 each and may be available in trios.
Norwich
The Norwich is a large canary similar to the Gloster in cobbiness. The Norwich breed is over 100 years old and is sometimes called the "John Bull Canary" because of its bullish size. The Norwich has very heavy eyebrows and sometimes you can barely see their eyes.
The Norwich is not a real dependable feeder so some breeders foster their eggs to colorbred or American Singer canaries. On the thickly feathered birds, I would trim their vents to be more successful in the breeding season.
I have bred some Norwich in the past and because of the cost I have fostered out their eggs to other birds. These birds seem to come into breeding season later that the colorbred birds.
Norwich canaries like the Lizard canaries should be color fed at one-half strength. You can expect to pay $80 to $150 each. Sometimes, these birds are only sold to members of a national Norwich club, as they are still somewhat rare.
Scotch Fancy
This bred being a rarity today is starting to make a comeback. The Scotch Fancy is a bird of position and stands on the perch in the form of a C whereas the Belgian stands more in the shape of a backward 7. Most Scotch are in the yellow and buff series. California seems to be the best place to find these. I presume the cost is $80 to $150 each. Again as in most type birds, you can buy extra males but hens are extremely hard to obtain.
Yorkshire
The Yorkshire is the largest canary that type breeders work with today. This bird's average length is 6 3/4" in length and is bred in yellow, buff, green, cinnamon and white series. Yorkshire canaries are color fed at one-half strength. Prices may run $100 and up. The Yorkshire being much larger requires a bigger nest container such as a small wire strainer.
Type bird breeders are a very special group of individuals. The birds do not breed as easily as the colorbred and the quantities produced can sometimes be few. But, as Sheldon Dingle, past editor of the American Federation of Aviculture wrote in the April/May 1981 issue of Watchbird wrote:
"It is immoral to raise birds just for the financial profit of it. It is wrong to raise thousands of domesticated birds such as canaries, cockatiels, zebra finches and lovebirds just to make money."
"Don't misunderstand me - it is perfectly legitimate to raise domesticated birds for the pet trade and make a handsome profit at it. But, dear friend, even the Lord demands His tithe of the increase. What do I mean? Should you donate a red-factor to the rabbi, a parrot to the priest? No, I don't mean that. The rabbis and priest have enough problems already but you should donate a portion of your time, skill, and facilities back to nature if you want an equitable balance."
".....If you have five or ten aviaries, devote a couple of them to a rare or difficult bird. If you have a few breeding cages in your basement, include room for two or three pairs of birds that won't survive much longer without help."
"It is one thing to reap profits from the birds nature as provided. It is another thing to rape the birds of the world...Use a portion of your profits to specialize in one species of rare or endangered birds. If only a hundred aviculturist each specialized in a different species of endangered birds, almost half of the endangered birds might develop a self-sustaining captive population. What a boon to nature...."
If you would be interest in a certain breed, I would advise reading as much as you can find in all the old and new books and article. When looking to buy a type bird, check past issues of caged bird magazines or the National newsletters for winners of a particular type bird you might be considering. Contact other breeders in the area for their issues of his/her birds. I would also recommend that you attend shows in your state and surrounding states to see examples of good birds before you decide to purchase a breed. Leave you mind open but try to buy the best you can afford as you will save years of work in the long run.