A Visit with My Beautiful Canaries
As you all know, I keep a number of birds as pets, including a couple dozen or so red factor canaries, which live with me inside my Winter House. They have a large wooden cage I designed after one that came from France, built around 1900 - probably to house doves or quails.
I started raising canaries quite a few years ago, after I discovered how much joy and beautiful singing they offer to a home. Caring for birds is a big responsibility. It requires time and diligence to keep their environments clean, with ample amounts of fresh food and water. In return, these birds provide wonderful company, melodious song and curious, active personalities.
This week, we captured a series of canary photos to share with you, including a few of two new additions to my flock - enjoy.
-
- I love visiting my canaries early in the morning before I leave for the office – they are so cheerful. The bold colors of these red factor canaries can range in shades of light peach to apricot to orange to red. Aren’t they absolutely stunning?
-
- Red factor canaries are very popular pets. They are prized for their color rather than their song, but they are also very melodious singers and enjoy singing. My canaries also love to listen to classical music, which I keep on for them during the day.
-
- To keep my canaries looking and feeling their best, I make sure their cages are cleaned daily. They also get lots of fresh water and food. A canary’s metabolism is very fast, so it’s important to be observant of their eating needs and habits. In the back of the cage is a happy light that helps keep up their energy and productivity.
-
- First bred in the early 1900s, this canary is the only color-bred variety with a “red factor” as part of its genetic makeup. They were originally developed by crossing a red siskin and a yellow canary.
-
- I always provide natural cut branches in the canary cage for the birds to sit on. They love perching on them.
-
- These birds also love sitting on the side ledges, so they can see outside the window.
-
- Red factor canaries need certain nutrients to maintain their bold, colorful plumage. Fresh foods containing beta-carotene, canthaxanthin and carotenoids along with greens and the appropriate canary seed make up a good well-balanced diet.
-
- I also provide them with millet sprays.
-
- I love seeing the birds gathered by their seed bowls – they are very active with good strong appetites.
-
- If you choose to keep canaries, remember to get the largest cage your home can accommodate, and the nicest cage your budget can afford. Canaries need room to flap their wings and fly from perch to perch.
-
- I recently added these two beautiful male brown canaries to the flock – they are so handsome.
-
- This one is colored with shades of red and brown.
-
- This one has feathers of green with brown.
-
- Both of the males seem to be very happy with the rest of the flock.
-
- The bold color and alert expression are both signs of a canary’s good health.
-
- Healthy and well-cared for canaries can live at least 10 to 12 years.
-
- My canaries enjoy watching all the activity around the house – you can hear the males singing throughout the day.
-
- This canary is also very curious, and I don’t think he minded his photo being taken.
-
- Canaries are generally good-natured, social creatures with joyful dispositions.
-
- Canaries also love to see people, and will often recognize regular visitors to their cage.
-
- Here is a very light colored canary feasting on the fresh bowl of seeds.
-
- I provide multiple feed bowls with a buffet of seeds along with all their fresh vegetables and fruits.
-
- I am hoping the two new males will soon breed with the red factor females – we will see. Breeding usually occurs in the spring. Canaries like to breed when the temperature is around 70 degrees and there are about 14-hours of light.
-
- For now, they are all content flapping their wings, socializing and flying from perch to perch, with the males singing so beautifully – canaries are wonderful creatures.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
