A Guideline on How to Breed and Exhibit Canaries

By Candace Pezzuti

Index

Chapter 1: Terminology

Chapter 2: Selecting Your Breeding Stock

Chapter 3: Breeding Preparation and Introduction of Pairs

Chapter 4: Breeding

Chapter 5: Weaning Chicks Away from Parents

Chapter 6: Moulting Period

Chapter 7: Show Training and Preparation of Young Birds

Chapter 1: Terminology

Feather Quality:

Feather Quality by definition refers to the type of feather that the bird exhibits. A bird will fall into two types of feather quality.

Buff, Non-Intensive, Non-Frosted are all the same terms for a feather that is broader in width and will have white edging at the end of the feather shaft; it will not hold any color. A buff bird will give the appearance of being fluffier than a yellow bird.

Yellow, Intensive, Frost are all the same terms for a feather that is narrower in width and will have the color go down to the tip of the feather shaft. A yellow bird will give the appearance of being shiner in color and will have a deeper color depth than a buff bird.

As a type breeder will use the terms buff and yellow to refer to the feather quality of the bird not the COLOR of the bird.

The other terms that follow buff and yellow are terms that mean the same description only they are used by colorbred breeders.

On the show bench a bird will be judged in the type categories for conformation, feather quality, stance, and performance.

Feather quality will also affect the depth of color you will develop in your stud. Yellow improves the deep rich color you will want in your birds but too much yellow will make your birds longer looking in appearance and they will loose their type. Type meaning their conformation look.

Ground Color:

Ground color refers to the color of the bird without any melanin. There are two types of ground color, one is yellow and the other is white.

Yellow ground birds are classified by the amount of melanin that they show. Melanin is the black/brown color on top of the yellow ground color. The amount of melanin will determine which class the bird will be entered into a show.

Show Classes for yellow ground birds are as follows: Clear to Grizzle, 1/4 variegated, 1/2 variegated, 3/4 variegated, heavy variegated or self-green.

White ground color will include birds that are pure white to also include birds that are blue, blue white variegated. But a breeder will refer to all the white ground birds as white even the blues. It's the ground color the breeder is describing. A white ground bird will also give you fawns, which is a mutation of the cinnamon gene only showing on a white ground bird.
Show Classes for white ground birds are as follows: Clear to ½ variegated, ¾ variegated to self-blue, fawn any variegation of self to fawn.

Chapter Two: Selecting Your Breeding Stock

Before you purchase your breeding stock please go to as many local and National Shows that you can attend prior to buying any birds that you plan to use in your stud.

The biggest mistake a novice breeder will make is their initial purchase of breeding stock. Without attending any shows you won't know what's winning on the show bench and what champion breeders are aiming for in their stud.

A breed has a standard which probably hasn't been updated for years. What was once the popular standard is not what champion breeders today are showing and winning with. Don't be in a rush to buy birds that you think look cute. You'll only end up getting rid of them after paying big bucks and will have to start over.

Do your homework, go to shows look at what's winning on the bench and talk to as many breeders as possible. Most champion breeders are more than willing to help a novice get into the hobby.

No matter what breed you decide on, buy the best stock possible. Remember, its quality not quantity that counts on the show bench. Stay in touch with that breeder and get as much information on the pedigrees of the birds you purchased. You'll need the pedigree information down the road when you are pairing up your birds. A good breeder will always provide this information if requested.

Keep good records of your breeding from year to year. Whether it's done manually or on a computer program …KEEP GOOD RECORDS.

When selecting your stock remember the basics. You want good type/confirmation, as close to the standard as possible, feather quality, which means you, need good yellows as well as buffs. A selection of colors also is important. You don't want all green birds in your aviary. But be careful with color, you need the type and feather first, color can always come later.

White birds can be used as yellows; cinnamons can decrease the size of your birds while increasing the feather quality.

Temperament in your stock is also important. Show birds must be calm and easily trained to stay in a show cage sometimes holding a position for as long as a day or two depending on the show.

Type birds are considered position birds, which mean that they have to hold a certain stance on a perch during the entire show.

If you buy birds that are wild they will not be show birds no matter how long you try to train them. They will never take to the cage and settle down. These birds are usually aggressive in nature and will be aggressive during breeding season. They may harm the hen trying to breed or they might harm the chicks, wanting to go back to nest. If you have these birds don' waste your time and ruin your line, get rid of them. They are pet birds not show birds.

Don't sell your chicks too young. Most type birds don't blossom until they are a year old or more. You don't know what you have until they mature; so give your birds the time they deserve to show their stuff.

Chapter 3: Breeding Preparation and Selection of Pairs

Hens and cocks should have already been separated after the last breeding season. If you haven't separated your birds that will be the first step in selecting your current breeding stock.

All birds have faults, some you can live with, others you can't. A spilt down the back of the neck, an oval shaped corona, buffing around the eye, are all faults that you don't want in your line. Once these faults get into your line they will show up again and again. Do not breed these birds, they have faults that you cannot live with or work with. Too big a bird, poor feather quality, you can always improve by using better breeding techniques.

You should trim the vents and toenails on all your breeding stock prior to pairing them up. Do not trim or pull out the guide feather on the vent of the bird. These are the feathers that come directly out of the vent. You want to trim all around the vent area. Trim the toenails so that the hen or cock cannot puncture the eggs in the nest.

Always pair up your best birds to your best birds. Remembering the type, feather, well centered rounded corona; if it's a consort than a nice well rounded head with depth to the back of the skull. Show birds don't produce show birds. A good breeder will value the Stock bird, which is a little larger than the show birds but has the extra of everything the breeder is looking for in that show bird. If you keep breeding all small birds than your line will get to the point that the birds will loose their type.

Remembering that too much cinnamon in your line will reduce the size and make the feather too fine and you will loose the depth of color in your birds. Too much yellow will make you birds look long and narrow and you will loose the type in your line. Too much buff and you will have big, loose-feathered birds with washed out colors.

So there is a lot to remember when pairing up your birds. Refer back to your pedigrees and be careful as to how much buff, yellow and cinnamon you have in that particular pairing and what you expect to get from that pairing. Have a plan. Take your time and write down on the breeding card why you thought this would be a good pair and produce chicks you were expecting. If you don't get the results you were looking for; then these notes will come in handy for the following breeding season.

A hen will display type better than a cock. The cock bird is usually bigger, but you don't want a big rough type cock bird paired to your small type hen. The cock should also display the same qualities as the hen but somewhat larger.

Always breed your birds in pairs. The cock is a big help in feeding both the hen when she sits on the nest as well as feeding the chicks. I find that some of my cocks are better feeders than the hens.

I do not suggest breeding more than two clutches a season. If you over breed your birds then you will not have these birds to breed next year. Breeders get greedy, and wind up hurting themselves when they don't have these birds breeding for them the following year.

My last suggestion if you are really interested in breeding good quality canaries whether you plan on exhibiting or not is to attend shows where you can see the difference in a Breeder's line and speak to these breeders and really get to know the hobby before spending a lot of money purchasing stock from any one particular breeder. You'll save yourself money, time and frustration by having to start over again with different stock because what you though looked cute wasn't even a good quality pet bird. If you educate yourself before hand and avoid all the pitfalls, you'll probably stick with the hobby.

Talk with Champion Breeders that have done all their winnings for a number of years. These breeders have nothing to loose by giving the Novice truthful and useful information. It's their reputation that is on the line and they don not fear any new competition from a novice. It has taken them years to build up their particular line of birds and they know how hard that can be.

Join all the specialty clubs pertaining to your breed of bird. They need your support and will provide you with valuable information in their newsletters and websites.

Take pictures of birds you like at the shows and hang them on the wall of your birdroom as reference to what you're aiming for in your stud.

Remember a judge's opinion is subjective and only one person's opinion on any given day. Do not get discouraged. Go to another show and see how your bird does under a different judge on a different day. Ask the judges why they placed your bird on the show bench the way that they did. You can learn a lot by asking the judges after the show what they think of your bird and what suggestions they have as to what you need to improve your line.

Showing your bird is competitive, but it's also a social hobby in which you should enjoy the company of your fellow hobbyists, win or lose.

Chapter 4: Breeding Requirements:

Breeding Season: Once a year

Depending on where you live in the country most Breeders setup in February and breed through May. In Las Vegas because of our hot climate we breed from January to the beginning of May.

Lighting:

Canaries need 14 hours of daylight to breed. We increase the artificial lights 15 minutes every week starting in the December.

Remember do not go over more than 15 hours of daylight or you will throw you birds into a moult.

Nutritional Requirements:

To bring canaries into breeding condition we feed greens, niger seed, ground hemp seed and eggfood.

Every Breeder has their own receipt for eggfood. I have attached a copy of mine at the end of this article.

When preparing to feed green rinse them in white vinegar or salt water before using to destroy any bacteria that may be on the produce.

Birds love frozen green peas, zucchini shredded, broccoli, cabbage, corn on cob, apples, carrots, whole wheat bread, rye bread, corn bread.

I do not sprout seed because of bacteria concerns. I do however cook my seed just until the seeds pop open.

Do not feed spinach; the iron content in spinach blocks the formation of calcium.

Seeds that canaries eat: Canary Grass Seed, Niger, Hulled Oats, Hemp, Roller Mix (canary grass seed, rape and flax), when feeding rape seed only use the red canola rape. Black rape seed is a commercial grade seed and not good for canaries.

Please continue on to Page Two

A Guideline on How to Breed and Exhibit Canaries

By Candace Pezzuti

Page Two

Caging Requirements:

Breeding cages can vary in size but you need enough room for your pair to breed and feed their young. The average breeding cage is 18"L x 15"H x 15"D.

Place cuttlebone in the cage as an extra source of calcium.

Place a nest material holder on the cage and fill it with nestling material.

Canary Nest can be purchased from supplier online that deal with canary products.

A canary nest is round and usually made of plastic. You will need to sew a nest pad, which is made out of cotton to the bottom of the plastic nest.

I the sprinkle sevin powder 5% into the nest to prevent any type of mite or ant problem from getting into the nest. I also spread Sevin Powder in the flights and bottom of the breeding cages.

Sevin Powder 5% is not harmful to your birds BUT ANYTHING STRONGER WILL KILL THEM. Do not use 10 %.

Nestling material that can be purchased, I use commercial grade burlap from any fabric store.

The burlap needs to be washed several times, at least 4 in the washer with bleach and soap to remove the oils in the fabric. You then can cut the burlap into 1" squares and pull them apart. The strings can then be placed in the nest material holder for the birds to build their nests.

Water:

Birds need fresh water daily. If you use tube drinkers they need to be washed prior to refilling. Bacteria clings to glass and plastic drinkers.

Automatic watering systems need to be flushed at least once a week.

Most problems with birds getting sick can be prevented with Proper Management of your aviary.

Always wash your veggies, give fresh water daily and make sure your seed is clean and dust free.

Good ventilation is also important for your birds because it's the air they breathe. It's a good idea to invest in an air filter system.

Baths:

Birds need baths at least twice a week. Bathing helps keep the down the dander in the room as well as giving the feather the conditioning they need to keep the skin soft. This will help to prevent feather lumps especially in older birds.

Bathing also insures hatching since living in a dry climate eggs need a certain amount of humanity to break out of their shells.

You can also keep a small container of water in your aviary to keep the humanity level up. I add a drop of iodine in the water to prevent bacteria from accumulating.

Pulling your eggs:

I pull the eggs every day and replace them with a dummy egg. This way all the chicks will hatch on the same day.

I place the eggs in a plastic square container that is filled with walnut shell. I place a small piece of index card with the cage number on it and line them up beginning with cage number one. After the hen lays her fourth egg I replace all the eggs under her and take away the dummies.

If you use this method it will ensure all the chicks are the same size when born and have the same opportunity to get fed and banded all at the same rate of growth.

Candling Eggs:

I candle my eggs between 5-8 days old. The better you get at candling the less time it will take you to know the difference between a fertile egg and a non-fertile egg. If the eggs are no good remove the nest for 5 days before putting it back. Give the hen and cock time to breed again and rest.

Producing eggs takes a lot of calcium out of the hen's body she use her own calcium that is stored in her bones. So we don't want to over breed her or you might not have this hen to breed next year. Don't be greedy.

Hatching:

Eggs hatch between 13-14 days old. If the hen sits tight the eggs will hatch on the 13th day. This all depends on when you set your eggs and some breeders do not include the day the egg was set.

Hens that do not sit tight will usually hatch them 2-3 days later. Watch your bird and see if she is sitting tight on the nest and how often she gets off. New hens are the ones to watch, this is all new for them. If your hen is not in full breeding condition she will not sit tight and you will have a problem with her hatching them and feeding them. Don't rush the process.

If the eggs don't hatch by the 16th day I remove them to see if they are still alive. I use a stethoscope that comes with a blood pressure kit to listen for a heart beat. But do not put your finger on the hearing piece or you will get a false reading. You will be listening to your own pulse and not that of the heartbeat of the chick. Place the egg gently on a soft surface and place the round end of the stethoscope to the egg and listen for the heart beat. If you don't hear anything, the chick is dead in shell.

If the egg is dead you should open it to examine why the chick died. Was it fully formed? Did it look like it died from low humanity, was the egg not turned by hen in the nest, Ecoli problem, etc. This information will help you prevent this from happening again if you can find the cause.

Eggs are porous and they intake oxygen and also anything else that is in the air or nest.

Always wash your hand prior to handling eggs. I also recommend that you keep a hand liquid hand sanitizer in your birdroom. I never touch my eggs, chicks, and birds without washing my hands first and then applying a liquid hand sanitizer. Prevention is always the key.

Banding:

Chicks should be banded between 8-10 days old. Closed bands are used in this country. The band can be obtained through your local clubs or through the specialty club of that particular breed of bird. The band will include the initials of the club, band number, color of the year and year date.

The club secretary will have a record of those bands you purchased. A buyer can contact the secretary of the club and ask who the breeder was of a particular band number/year for a bird.

Closed bands are a requirement as proof of a breeder when entering a bird for exhibition for a show.

There are 6 years of colors and then the repeat. The color is dependant on what year it is.

Year	Band Color
2003/09	Red
2004/10	Blue
2005/11	Silver
2006/12	Orange
2007/13	Purple
2008/14	Green

Procedure for banding: You hold the birds foot with your left hand and take the first three toes and hold them forward, keeping the back toe behind them, slip the band over the first three toes and then over the back toe, you will need a toothpick to pull the back toe forward and over the band. You can apply a dab of Neosporin on the foot prior to banding, this will prevent infection if you scrape the birds foot while banding it; its also a good lubricant.

Recommended Reference Sources:

Linda Hogan's book called " Canary Tales" www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/6364/

"IGBA" International Gloster Breeders Association-US Chapter www.igbaglostersusa.com

"NPC" National Norwich Plainhead Canary Club www.npcnorwich.com

"NCBS" National Cage Bird Show www.ncbs.org

"ACFA" American Canary Fanciers Association www.acfa-canaryclub.com

Chapter 5: Weaning Chicks away from Parents

Weaning chicks away from their parents takes time and good knowledge on part of the breeder. You should have been watching your chicks as they grew. Some chicks are more aggressive and therefore become more independent than their clutch mates. Each breed, especially the larger breeds take longer to wean.

Fifes and Glosters can start to wean as early as 3-4 weeks but they may still be getting feed on some degree by their parents. I do not take the chicks away until at least 4 weeks for Glosters and Fifes and 5-6 weeks for the Norwich. But I watch each chick individually the day I separate them to see if they like their new environment and if they take to eating aggressively on their own.

If a chick does not look happy after being separated you will notice right away, within a few hours. Put the cock in with the chicks for a day or two if the hen is already back on the nest and has laid her second round.

If not place the chick back in the parent's cage for another day or two until they are psychologically ready. Birds are like people it's not only our physical needs but our psychological ones as well.

Once in a weaning cage try to place the chicks according to age. Keep the same food regiment as they grew up on.

Give them daily baths especially if you plan on showing your birds in the fall. Adding Epson salt or pigeon salts to the water gives the feathers a softer and more finished look.

Do not over crowd your birds. They fight for perch hierarchy, food, water, flying space etc.. You do not want to stress your weaning chicks by giving them an environment that is not bird friendly. This applies to all your birds, adults and well as fledglings.

When feeding put several dishes of feed around the flight so that all the birds do not have to compete for one dish or feeder. This will also reduce the stress of too many birds trying to get food.

Once you start to see your birds coming into their own you can separate what you think will be a show bird. Each show bird should have it's own cage until after show season.

You will want to keep these birds separated so that you can critic them along the way and give them the special attention they will need to win on the show bench.

Chapter 6: Moulting and Color Feeding

Canaries will start moulting from June until September/October after breeding season has ended. At this time you can reduce your lighting to natural light in your birdroom. Keep the temperature moderately cool and give your birds' daily baths.

Feed extra protein for the proper development of their feathers. Hard-boiled eggs sliced into quarters makes a good source of easily digestible protein. Keep giving them vitamins along with eggfood. Fresh, greens and fruits. Fresh water. Cuttlebone should always be in your flights and cages. Unflavored gelatin by Knox is a good source of calcium and protein that can be added to your eggfood for better development of the feathers.

Feed seeds rich in oils such as nyger, and flax seed.

Color Feeding has to start now while the birds are producing those new feathers. If you raise Norwich, Yorkshire, Lizard or colored bred canaries, now is the time to introduce color feeding.

Color feeding recipes vary from breeder to breeder and ingredients have changed over the years. I use the following formula to color feed my birds. Canthaxanthin, bogena, Orlux Can-tax, Orlux yellow color intensive. Mix together in one large container, will last one breeding season depending on how many birds you color feed. I add 1 teaspoon of the above mixture to about 16 cups of eggfood. Watch your birds closely as they begin to color in. You do not want your birds to look "burned" which would look like a rust color instead of the deep orange red your looking for. Better to color your birds in slowly then to overdose them and get the burnt affect that hinders you on the show bench.

Yellow feather birds will hold the coloring faster and deeper than a buff bird. So keep an eye on all your birds as they color in. Some birds eat more than others so they will color faster. If the bird is fully colored, separate it. Color feeding takes months and constant diligence on the part of the breeder. You can't color one day and skip the next. You have to be consistent with color feeding or your birds will not develop an even coloring.

Remember feathers are mostly made up of protein, so when developing these new feathers they need extra protein in their diet.

Moulting is very stressful especially in young birds so keep the environment as quiet as possible and give the supporting care we discussed in the previous paragraphs.

A young canary will moult all of its feathers the first year except their tail and wing feathers. Therefore, they are called "Unflighted" as compared to adults, which will loose their tail and wing feather and are called "Flighted" birds.

Chapter 7: Show Preparation and Training

Picking out your show team is probably the hardest thing to do. Pick the bird that catches your eye. If you have been attending shows you'll have a better handle on it. You will know that show bird in the flight. Show birds need the type standard but they also need the show personality as I call it. Some birds are perfect in type for the show bench but will not show because they do not have the personality to stay in a show cage for any period of time, no matter what you do in the training process. Do not waste time on these birds they may settle down for you the following year. If not, we discussed this topic already in selecting your pairs. I believe breeding in temperament is as important as trying to breed the standard type profile.

Start training your young birds after the moult usually the beginning of September. Introduce them to a show cage on a gradual basis. Try 1-2 hours at first. Place a drinker on the front of the show cage for now; later on we will discuss training them to drink from a show D Cup.

Put nyger and roller mix in the cage and maybe a piece of spray millet. You want to make it a pleasant experience for the bird; one that they will look forward to. Place your show cages under a direct light source because they will need to get use to bright lights on the show bench.

After a few days place the D Cup drinker on your show cage and fill it with water and place a small piece of roman lettuce, watercress or their favorite veggie in the drinker. The birds will smell the water and see the vegetables and will slowly get use to putting their head through the hole in the show cage to drink from the cup. Again, you have to watch your birds and know which ones take to it and which ones need more encouragement. Be patient, it takes some birds longer than others.

Gradually increase the length of time that the birds spend in the cage. Most shows are 2-3 days long. So your birds should be trained to remain in a show cage for 3 days.

Always present your birds in a clean, well-painted cage. The judge will take into consideration the presentation of your bird in its show cage. The bottom of the show cage should be filled with roller mix for Glosters, Fifes and Norwich.

Each breed of canary has its own type of show cage, seed requirements and water drinker cups. Educate yourself for your particular breed on the show requirements and the standard and points of judging that can be found in most show catalogs. Again, here is another reason to attend shows; it will provide you with show catalogs that have breeders advertising available stock, show standards and points for each breed. They will also include all the specialty clubs and membership forms.

Flying to a show will require a special traveling case. If you drive you will still need to keep your birds in a traveling cage to keep them from ruining their feathers and hurting themselves.

When you get to your show destination you should let your show team rest in individual cages a day before entering them in a show. Traveling does take its toll.

Bring your own bottled water or buy bottled water. Never, use the local water at a show. You do not know what is in that water system and you do not want your birds getting sick. Refer to my article on Giardia. Hope to see you at the show.

Disclaimer:

The information provided here is for educational purposes from my own personal experience and research. Do not hold me liable for anything printed within these pages. Please do your own reading and research. Consult your avian veterinarian if you have any concerns or problems.

Reprinting of this booklet without permission of the author is prohibited.