Breeds and mutations: Red factor, whites, gold/ yellow, green/grey, crested, blue also combinations of these colours and forms. Many, many different breeds.

Sexing: cock birds sing, hens don't usually sing however some have been known to sing but this is usually just the hens chatting and isn't real singing. Can be DNA sexed, but this usually costs more than the bird!

Food: a good canary mix, as a staple diet will do fine for most birds, however I do like to add sunflower, niger, some hemp, and millet to my mix. Provide a good quality grit and oyster shell all year round, as well as cuttlefish bone.
Greens should be offered once or twice a week at least (e.g. dandelion, lettuce but not iceberg, grass, cucumber) eggfood should be offered during the moult and breeding period.

When breeding offer fresh soaked seed and moistened eggfood for the chicks. Some parents may take live foods, if so add aphids and mealworms in small amounts daily.

Also, if red factors are kept either carophyll red or eggfood containing the red pigment should offered during the moult. Eggfood can be offered as usual, carophyll needs to be dissolved in warm water or mixed with soaked seed. A general guideline is 3ml per 2 litres of hot (not boiling) water.

Housing: canaries should be housed in minimum of a 3'by 6' by 6' aviary. This will accommodate a single breeding pair of canary. Shelter should be offered for winter months and bad weather, this can either be an inside aviary of the same size or bigger, or a double breeding cage with a hole in the back allowing the birds to pass freely between the cage and aviary outside.

The cage size used is approximately 10" deep, 12" high, and 36" long.

Canaries can be permanently kept in cages, however I prefer to use aviaries as it allows the birds to fly more naturally and helps keep them healthy. A minimum cage size for permanent housing should also be 10" deep by 12" high by 36" long, but the bigger the better. A cage of this size is only big enough to keep 1 pair in.

Aviary mesh: I use 1" by 1/2" 16 gauge mesh and have never had any problems as of yet

Breeding: breeding begins early spring from late February-march onwards. Either pair birds in separate cages or aviaries. Canary breeding cages are usually 10" by 12" by 18" and this is fine for a single pair for short-term use, but the bigger the better!

A 3' by 6' by 6' aviary will house a single pair of canary, and a 6'by 6' by 6' will house 2 pairs, however it is best to house either a single pair or 3 pairs to reduce aggression over feeding areas and nest sites. 3 pairs can be housed in a 9' by 6' by 6' aviary. If housing multiple pairs in flights, offer many different nest sites (2/3 per bird) and plenty of cover e.g., conifer branches or live plants such as hops, clematis, honeysuckle, passion flowers, blackberries, roses, conifers.

Nest sites should consist of canary pans, either plastic with felt in the base, or the woven types available. Nesting materials should be natural fibres, coconut fibre, grass, sphagnum moss, and feathers.

Provide soaked seed, moist eggfood, and live foods if your birds take it for the parents to feed the young on.

Hope this is some help I’m still pretty new to the hobby so probably something I missed in there or maybe got wrong.