Canaries More

WHAT IS A CANARY?
A canary, if you have never had one, is an excellent first bird. He is very easy to care for and will make your house like spring all year round with his beautiful song. He may not sing as much a couple of times a year when he is molting, so if you see a lot of feathers around his cage, you know that is what is happening.

WHAT DO I FEED MY CANARY?
I have provided some things in this bag to get you started. In it are some regular seed and some Kaytee pellets. Birds tend to get a bit stressed whenever they go to a new home, so a little conditioning food purchased at a local pet store sure could not hurt him. You can find everything you need for him at your local pet store such as Chow Hound, PetsMart, and Pets Supplies Plus. You will find there are many other products for your little bird as well. He will need fresh water everyday and maybe a little bowl of cold water once a day to bathe in. I provide my birds with pellets to eat at all times and a dish of seed once a day. The pellets have everything they require nutritionally but the seed provides needed fat and they really like it! He will make a bit of a mess with his food, but a vacuum takes care of that nicely. He also loves to splash in his water and shake it out, so please protect fine wood if you have his cage on anything of that sort.

There is quite a controversy in the bird world about whether or not to use grit, but the consensus among veterinarians seems to be that grit should only be provided for birds that do not shell their food such as doves. Canaries shell their food so do not require grit. If you feed the Kaytee pellets, this is absolutely unnecessary. Commercial mite sprays are also not a good idea. A cold bowl of water for a bath every day is all he needs.

DO CANARIES NEED A FRIEND?
Canaries do not get lonely, so he should not need a friend and especially not another male canary. He does not like any other man to share his territory.