NEW ARTICLE
“4 Steps To Getting Your Canaries Into Breeding Condition”
Whether or not you intend to breed canaries, the info in this article will still help you to take care of your canary during this time of year.

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January 11, 2007

Hi

Many people are now finding eggs that their canary hen has laid. And some are even finding eggs in the same cage as their “guaranteed male” canary they bought last summer. Whoops! I guess little Henry is actually “Henrietta”.

The real problem is this: These canary owners have not conditioned their canaries for breeding and it has pretty much happened by accident.

Maybe you’re in the same boat.

These accidents can be very draining on your canary. So today I’ve got a new article for you entitled 4 Steps To Getting Your Canaries Into Breeding Condition.

It’s important that you don’t let your canary lay eggs unless she has a male AND you intend to raise baby canaries. Don’t let it “just happen”.

So whether or not you intend to breed canaries, the info in this article will still help you to take care of your canary during this time of year.

NEW AT CANARYADVISOR.COM

I also want to announce a new addition to CanaryAdvisor.com. My photo and an audio is now in place on the home page. Ever wondered what I look like? Or sound like? Now’s your chance to find out.

Visit CanaryAdvisor.com Home

Whether you like it or hate it, you can let me know by replying to this message. You can be totally honest. I won’t be offended if you hate the sound of my voice or expected me to be better looking. ;-)

On a personal note, I’ve received many emails of support regarding my fat loss success that I mentioned last week so I just want to say “THANKS” to those who have sent encouraging notes. I’ve lost another 1.9 pounds of ugly fat and gained 1.1 lb of muscle during last week. So, the info in the Burn The Fat book I mentioned last week has really helped me out. I’m feeling great!

NEXT TIME

In the next issue we’ll discuss cleanliness. We’re going to have a guest author that is a canary breeder and grew up on a chicken ranch. He has some very interesting things to say about how often we should clean our bird’s cages.

One more thing...I’m working on a new report (actually this one is more of a full-blown “book”) regarding how to treat your canary when he’s sick. A lot of people have been asking for this and if you’re one of the people who has purchased the LISTENING REPORT, you already know it’s coming as it was first announced there. It is very much a PART 2 of the LISTENING REPORT.

It’ll be ready in just a couple of weeks. I’ll send out a special mailing when it’s ready so you can check it out if you’re interested.

Until next time...

Make Your Canary S-I-N-G!

Your Friend,

Darren P.D. Walker
CanaryAdvisor.com Make Your Canary S-I-N-G!
CanaryBirdLISTENING.com Your Canary is “SPEAKING” to You. Are You “LISTENING”?

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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4 Steps To Getting Your Canaries in Breeding Condition
By Darren P.D. Walker

You may be one of the many canary lovers that are interested in breeding canaries.

Well, it certainly is a lot of fun. It’s also educational...not only for you but for any children in your life.

The joy of watching a hen lay her pretty blue eggs, nurture them with incubation, and then watching the baby canaries hatch out and quickly grow is really incredible. Some would say miraculous.

But before you take that leap from having pet canaries to breeding canaries it’s important to know the step-by-step process of getting it done right.

These little birds are not dogs or cats that seem to constantly be reproducing.

Canaries need some special attention. Your pair of canaries can’t just breed anytime and anywhere, under any circumstances. They need to be “CONDITIONED” for breeding. And it’s very simple to do. In fact, nature will pretty much do it for your if you give it a chance.

CONDITIONING CANARIES FOR BREEDING

Under natural conditions, in the wild, canaries breed in the spring when CONDITIONS are right. But here at home, canary breeders have to CREATE, or at least NURTURE, those conditions.

Here’s how we do that...

--By using lighting correctly

--By providing the right room temperature

--By providing a healthy diet

--By introducing our two soon-to-be parents at just the right time.

1. LIGHTING

Canaries naturally breed in the spring when daylight hours reach about 12-14 per day.

One of the most common problems owners of several canary birds have is hens laying eggs in the fall or winter. These hens--and perhaps the males too--are confused. There bodies are telling them the wrong things at the wrong time of year.

Think about this...A canary hen that is not getting the right kind of lighting may...

--Lay some eggs in the winter

--Lay some eggs in the spring

--Then start the annual molt in late summer

--Then lay more eggs in the fall

This canary is primed for a serious illness and a pre-mature death. It’s just too much for a bird to handle. By this time she’s exhausted and her body doesn’t know what to do next. For more on discovering how to spot symptoms of a sick bird see CanaryBirdLISTENING.com

YOU CAN BREED YOUR CANARIES EARLY OR LATER

A. Later Breeding. Let nature progress naturally by covering your bird’s cage (or turning lights off) at sundown and uncovering the cage (or turning lights on) at sunrise. If you do this, your mature healthy canaries will be ready to breed around March.

This is the best approach for your canaries. It has been noted by many breeders that canaries that are allowed to come into condition naturally in the spring are..

--more fertile

--better parents

--are healthier in the long term

--and have healthier babies.

B. Early Breeding. You can use artificial lighting to get a jump start on the breeding season. Every week you can increase daylight hours by about 30 minutes per day. In other words...

--During week one you may expose your canaries to 10 hours of daylight per day.

--During week 2 you’ll expose your canaries to 10.5 hours of daylight per day.

--During week 3 you’ll expose your canaries to 11 hours of daylight per day.

--And so on.

Start around the first or second week of January and by mid-February your birds will be getting into breeding condition.

But remember, as noted above, this is not the best situation for your birds or the babies they produce.

2. TEMPERATURE

Warm temperatures can also help put your canaries into breeding condition.

For instance, even if you have the lighting correct, your canaries may have difficult time coming into breeding condition if it’s 30 degrees F in the aviary!

A temp in the 65 to 85 degree F range is recommended along with the slow increase in extended daylight hours. If you keep your birds in your home, as many first time breeders do, keeping the temperature in the right range will not be a problem. Unless, of course, you live in an igloo.

3. DIET AND NUTRITION

Canaries don’t need a special DIET for the time leading up to breeding. But make sure they are getting the normal ingredients for healthy canary diet. For instance, my recommendations for a year-round diet are...

o Fresh seed, fresh water, and cuttlebone at all times.

o Small servings of boiled egg twice per week

o Greens or soak seed 3 to 6 times per week.

o Small servings of fruit 3 times per week

o Include one additional healthy treat per day like corn, grated carrot, dry oatmeal, millet spray, cooked brown rice, cooked couscous, or whole wheat bread. Something different every day. But only in tiny amounts. For instance, two or three flakes of dry oatmeal per bird is enough. Your bird is tiny, make his servings tiny. (Now if I could only take my own advice and limit MY serving sizes. SUPER SIZE ME!)

4. INTRODUCING THE PAIR

Your male and female may actually come into condition at different times.

It’s best to keep them separated until both are in condition. That way you’ll avoid fighting and the laying of infertile eggs.

SIGNS OF CONDITIONING

Try to place each bird’s cage next to each other or use a breeding cage with a divider.

Look for the following signs of birds that are in breeding condition.

--Will “kiss” through the bars.

--The hen will carry nesting materials and begin building her nest.

--You may also see the hen doing a vague courtship dance by squatting on the perch and tweeting to the male.

--The male will begin the “mating songs” which are loud and hearty.

At this time you can put the male into the female’s cage, NOT the female into the male’s cage.

Of course, you don’t have to use 2 cages or even a breeding cage. If you have male and female canaries that are always together, year-round, you can just let them come into breeding condition together and hope for the best.

So, once again...

1. Lighting. Increase slowly to 12-14 hours per day

2. Temperature. 65-85 degrees F

3. A varied healthy diet. The normal canary diet at this time is fine for most birds.

4. A proper and well-timed introduction. When BOTH are ready.

Now that your birds are together and getting along OK you’ll have your first egg within a few days. CONGRATULATIONS! Now the fun really begins!

, Feel free to forward this email on to any friends or family that may be interested in the content. Let’s see how many canary owners we can help out. :-)

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HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURS? The Classic Canary CD is full of beautiful canary song that will keep your canary S-I-N-G-I-N-G! For details and to hear a sample go to...
Canary Song

Are You LISTENING?
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While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this writing, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning animal health or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source of animal health care advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern animal health care or other related practices in your country and state.