My Canaries Get a New Happy Light!
In my home, I have a large cage that houses several Red Factor canaries. These beautiful little birds bring me so much joy with their lovely singing. Several years ago, I was concerned that they weren't getting enough natural sunlight, which is so important for happy moods and healthy energy. After doing a bit of research, I discovered a company called Verilux, a lighting manufacturer specializing in Happy Lights that improve mood, energy, focus, and productivity. I saw a real difference after placing one of these lights near the canary cage. Recently, I was sent a couple of their latest models to try out. Enjoy this blog about my happy canaries!
1 I love these Happy Lights by Verilux. They can beat the winter blues and the effects of seasonal change. They improve mood, energy, focus, and productivity.
2 This is the Happy Light 6000 Energy Lamp. When placed on a table or other flat surface near eye level, the light provides just the right kind of illumination that's easily absorbed by the eye.
3 I also got a new version called Happy Light Liberty. This light delivers natural illumination to any room with no dangerous ultraviolet waves.
4 One of the places I like to use these lamps is next to my canary cage. I designed this cage after one that came from France, built around 1900, probably to house doves or quails. Bartok would love to get inside with the canaries!
5 The light is turned on from 6AM to 6PM and it provides a warm and cheerful glow, especially when the sun isn't shining. Judging from how much the male canaries sing, I'd say they are very happy, healthy, and active.
6 These are Red Factor canaries, named for their beautiful plumage. They were developed in the early 1900s by crossing a male red siskin with a yellow canary.
7 I got my first canaries about fourteen years ago from our pet expert, Marc Morrone, who acquired them from a breeder in Belgium.
8 These great singers are one of the most popular canaries.
9 Canaries are generally divided into three main groups - Colorbred Canaries, bred for their many color mutations (Red Factor belongs to this group); Type Canaries, bred for their shape and conformation; and Song Canaries, bred for their unique and specific song patterns.
10 Every morning, the stainless steel seed bowls are washed and refilled with canary seed mix.
11 The canary seed mixes are kept in a drawer in covered containers. We feed them a variety of mixes with added vitamins and minerals. We also give them an eggfood, a baked food containing eggs and other ingredients that provide good animal proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
12 In addition to seed, the birds are given fresh fruit slices and leafy greens and vegetables to munch on.
13 Twice a day, the water bowls are removed and washed thoroughly.
14 My housekeeper, Sanu is replacing a birdbath bowl. The canaries do like their baths!
15 Drinking water bowls are equipped with hooks.
16 Those bowls hang from the sides of the cage.
17 The branches in the cage are cut from the fruit trees on the farm and are changed regularly. They provide ample perching area. The little baskets hanging at the top are used as nests for egg laying. There is also a cuttlefish bone to provide calcium for the formation of egg shells.
18 When a female canary feels the need to build a nest, she pulls strands of this cotton fiber nesting material and takes it to an empty nesting basket.
19 We've had several baby canaries hatch over the years. They are adorable!
20 Canaries are highly sensitive to poison gases. In fact, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, coal miners brought canaries into the mines as an early detection system against life threatening gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane. This is a carbon monoxide alarm.
21 On the outside of the cage, we hang 8 in 1 Bird Protectors which protect the canaries from lice and mites for months. As it protects, this product also deodorizes the cage.
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Martha,
WOW! I'm glad to hear these canaries bring so much joy. I also believe the happy lights help with mood and such. The canaries colors are so beautiful I could stare at them all day! Thanks for sharing this blog, I sure enjoyed it and learned a lot! I can't wait until tomorrow night's post.
Posted by: KLBrown | November 27th, 2012 at 1:01 am
Martha, you're magnificent. People accuse me of spoiling my dogs and iguanas and I just say "what am I supposed to do, adopt them so I can treat them badly?" You obviously feel the same : )
Posted by: JustB | November 27th, 2012 at 7:54 am
I can just imagine the melodious singing of your beautiful Red Factor canaries Martha! What a smart idea to use happy lights. It never occurred to me that canaries, like some people could suffer in the winter from lack of natural sunlight. Thanks for showing us your lovely birds Martha!
Posted by: Cindy F | November 27th, 2012 at 8:01 am
I want to be one of your canaries - with all that attention to detail, I think I would sing too! Thanks for today's lesson and those Happy Lights are something else. By the way, I had another look at Jude in the 'chicken coop' and it wasn't that at all. She was somewhere near these bird cages. I guess I need new glasses! Trish
Posted by: Trish | November 27th, 2012 at 8:42 am
Oh my goodness, Martha!! You are brilliant, and kind! How lucky your canaries are! And how intuitive you are to figure out that they really needed more light. I think I'm going to invest in one of these Happy Lights and put one next to me as I work at my computer. I live in Oregon where the winters can tend to be dark.
Perfect, Martha!
Mrs Polly Rogers
Posted by: Mrs Polly Rogers | November 27th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Martha,
How does the 8 in 1 bird protecter work? Do you use it with your chickens ?
I have happy lights and they are very helpful thur the dark days of winter. Chickens, birds are such creatures of light. Thanks for all the information that you share .
Posted by: Jill | November 27th, 2012 at 9:38 am
Hi Martha, You are the most knowledgeable, animal and bird lover that I have ever known! It is so great that you will take the time and present us with such super information about how to care for them and keep them healthy and loveable! I have been an animal and bird lover all of my life and I appreciate learning new things from you whenever possible! You are an awesome teacher, Martha! Your happy canaries are so lucky to live with you and your wonderful housekeepers! These photos and this information is fantastic! Those Happy Lights from Verilux are the best! I gave one to my brother and it improved him tremendously! Bartok sure loves checking on your canaries! What a cutie he is, too! Your Red Factor canaries are so beautiful and healthy looking and I would love to hear them singing-beautiful! How wonderful that you got your canaries from Marc Marrone 14 years ago! He is a superior animal and bird person! Your housekeeper, Sanu, was doing a great job feeding your canaries such delicious foods and keeping everything so clean! Sure would be fun to see the baby canaries, also! Thanks again for sharing another great blog! Hope you have another great day! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | November 27th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Martha, not many of us will need Happy Lights after seeing your fabulous new "Countdown to Christmas" videos, which I've been watching all morning! They are so beautiful and so charming and so informative. I love each and every one! Thank you for putting together such a nice little video series for us. It's great to see you at home working your magic. Truly enjoyable.
Posted by: Andrew Ritchie | November 27th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
How cool that must be to watch baby canaries hatching. They must be so cute! I love the colors of your birds... the bright orange or apricot, a sign of good health. They have a very well rounded diet!
Posted by: Judy | November 27th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Holy Kilowatt Batman..
I need one of those nifty lights!
I suffer from lack of sunlight-itis in the Winter!
I'm originally from sunny CA and have lived in NH for the last 12 years. Winters are long and dark and bitterly cold!
Love learning about the fine feathered friends you have in house.
gail
Posted by: gail pierson | November 27th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
All creatures great and small, live a beautiful life with you Martha and that makes you exceptionally wonderful.
Posted by: Sonya | November 27th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
I live in the Canary Islands, where these birds have their origin. I enjoyed the article has been beautiful all the care that you give to these birds, they live like kings!
Posted by: Ana Gonzalez | November 27th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Those lights look fantastic! I never thought to place them near a bird cage. I'm going to place one next to my two budgies. Thank you Martha for the great advice!
Posted by: Elyse | November 27th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
I was wondering if that 8-1 bird protector would be beneficial to put in my small chicken coop. They have an inside coop as well as an enclosed outside coop. I let them free range during the day and then they happily march back into their coop at dinner time.
Posted by: Karen Love | November 27th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
I miss you Martha on television. Although I watch your classes on PBS, not the same as your old show. Leave it to you to find the most wonderful thing to satisfy your birds, Wonderful! as Meryl Streep would say.
Posted by: Carla De La Cruz | November 27th, 2012 at 8:24 pm
I was so delighted to see the beautiful birds. i had a very special family friend who raised birds in san francisco and then moved to Concord Cali. He had all different kinds of birds ( I had 2 finches Frankie and Johnie) They were our favorites. Please keep posting about your birds and other animals.
Posted by: Stella | November 27th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
These are beautiful birds! I hope to have some one day. The light is a great idea, and I am glad it helped them.
Posted by: Lora Lee | November 27th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
They are lovely, but perhaps the birds' moods would improve if you moved the cat?!
Posted by: Mrs. Q. | November 27th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Martha, I am a canary lover too. Would you be willing to share the design of your bird cage? I'd love to replicate it.
Posted by: Donna | November 27th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
My red-factor canary died about a year ago... his name was Orange Marmalade. Now I have Lemon Lily (a yellow canary), a dove and a parretlett. Everyone enjoys my "lights". When they come on in the morning the cats automatically go and sit by them. Good thing for the birds, too.
Posted by: linda rector | November 27th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Martha, I'd like to have one of those lights. Where would you get them? I tried to find one loacally a couple of years ago, and no one had them. I finally setled for a day light bulb. I sleep under one.
I used to have a couple of parakeets, but haven't had one since around 1967.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | November 28th, 2012 at 1:31 am
What a beautiful way to start your day to the melodious singing of your beautiful canaries!! And the cat is a hoot... how funny and curious he is!!! I, too, would like to know the design of your bird cage. You think of everything, Martha, and your world of creativity and imagination is such a wonderful inspiration to all of us! I enjoy and appreciate everything you have to say...thanks so much, Martha, for adding color and flavor to my world as well!
Posted by: Nancy Roberts | November 28th, 2012 at 1:54 am
I have the very same light (on the left) on my desk. It is a fabulous pick me up during the cold frigid winters here in Ohio. TRULY. <3
Posted by: Michelle | My Personal Artist | November 28th, 2012 at 9:52 am
Martha - Love your blogs. So much info.. Thank you. Maybe next time you could post a picture of a baby canary. I have never seen one but would love to. Jude is so lucky to have you as a Grandmother.
Posted by: Dee | November 28th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Martha, I wonder if you are aware of the Microsun Company that makes beautiful traditional looking lamps that have a "sun" bulb that does this and also has 2 smaller regular bulbs. This way the lamp can be used for regular use during the summer and with the "sun bulb" in the winter. We have used these for many years to combat our low light here in Maine. They are really helpful to combat the winter blues.
Posted by: Jan B | November 29th, 2012 at 10:15 am
In addition to online sources, Seasonal Affective Disorder Lights are available from bricks-and-mortar medical supply stores - the kind of places that sell wheel chairs.
Posted by: John J | November 29th, 2012 at 10:43 am
I have a Happy Light too! It's also on my desk most of the time, but I'm going to move it to other spaces I'm in also! I read in Dr. Rosenthal's 'Winter Blues' book that many different kinds of animals (as well as birds) also seem to have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and do respond favorably to those lights! Not surprising at all, to those of us who find the dark and cold really hard on the system...emotionally and physically.
(Some folks seem to feel that way with too much sunshine, believe it or not!...at least according to his book). Thanks for letting us all know about how your birds react, Martha!
Posted by: Joan Baldwin | December 1st, 2012 at 1:41 pm
I have 2 parrots, an African Grey and a Cockatoo, I use the Ott Lites on them, they are less expensive than the Verilux, and can be found most anywhere, craft stores, and Office stores. It definitely helps with their moods, and to stop feather picking in the winter months
Posted by: Sharon B | December 1st, 2012 at 1:50 pm
I got either this brand or something very similar at Costco several years ago for my daughter who seems to have SAD, even in So. Cal. This time of year has been a little difficult for me, too, recently. Such low light and short days! Thank goodness that will turn around before long.
Posted by: jw | December 2nd, 2012 at 1:04 pm
I am more depressed without the Martha Stewart Show! Do they make a Martha Stewart light to make those blues go away ? I keep watching the 40 I recorded and have saved, but I still feel the loss of someone that got me through things and always cheered me up. Looking at the bird house created many envious sighs but I know I don't have the energy to change their water, etc., twice a day, or I would have some too. Thank you for sharing. Do hope you return : ( another sigh here!
Posted by: Marcy Hammerstein | December 5th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
Every precious detail for their care is covered...right down to protecting them from carbon monoxide! How kind and loving you are!
I agree with the previous post from Marcy...I miss the Martha Stewart Show, too!
I am going to try the light because it is a good idea...but...my sadness is from missing you on your show. I'm sure all the bloggers here agree with me, too.
Thank you for being the person we all love and miss so much, and blessings to you and yours.
BTW...I love your bulbs, and can't wait to see them in the spring! Now, THAT makes me happy! : )
Posted by: Barbara Mayer | December 6th, 2012 at 9:16 pm