questions?

[chris]

no questions for me then :roll: :lol:

[PAUL HEARN]

Come on Dave,

I'm sure you have a Canary question for Chris, go on man it will make his day! :lol:

Paul.

[dave85]

Ok ill try to think of something!

Errrrrrrrmmmmmmmm

Whats the best thing to bring hen canaries into condition? and how? then how do you get cocks into condition? some cocks are in condition others arent.

Plus why do hen canary's build a nest then leave it? and lay no eggs. happened 2 times now but the 2nd time the hen has gone back to it now adding to it again since the nice weather we had today?

Also java sparrows - how come mine at present are going through a bad moult? 7 all together decided to moult and they are losing a lot of feathers with some places you can see the skin? 1 hen has almost finished now after having a bad moult with bits were you could see the skin but now her mates going through the same? any ideas?

may i just say i had 2 heaters on up until the good weather recently? could the extra heat have caused it?

Thanks
Dave H

p.s - paul always glad to be of service lol

[chris]

hi dave,

to bring canaries into condition i feed ordinary canary mix after it has been soaked for 2 days, i also add a handfull of hemp and niger to the mix as this helps bring them into condition also. the main thing that seems to encourage them to breed isn't diet, but hours of light per day. if you place an artificial light on the breeding cage and increase the light by say 2/3 minutes each day they should be breeding in around 2/3 weeks.

personally i keep all my birds in the aviary outside and feed soaked seeds, provide nesting material and multiple nest sites. i then observe the canaries, see who is pairing to who, and who has started nesting. i then remove the breeding pairs into a double breeder and provide the same diet but with more eggfood and greens (dandelion is a very good conditioner!), and a nest pan in the corner of the cage with all the nest material they need. normally it takes a day for them to settle in and after that the hen in building and the cock is feeding the hen moreso.

when i had got all my birds paired up and inside, i left the main light on in the shed all day, this seems to have got them breeding a few weeks earlier than most other people i know.

as for hens building and leaving nests? thats new to me, if you have disturbed the hens while they have been building that could have caused it, or more likely a week of bad & cold weather.

as for your javas, since i've never kept java's i can't really help that much, could you possibly have put them into a soft moult with the extra heat, and then turning off the heaters causing the temperature to drop?

any ideas paul? :lol:

chris :wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

On the subject of your Javas going into a heavy moult, I'm not so sure it could be due to the change in temperature, but have you altered the lighting time in your Birdroom? This may have more to do with a sudden heavy moult, also you describe areas of visible skin I haven't noticed this when my Javas are moulting, but I will suggest you treat (ALL) of your Birds for Mite as a precaution.

I would like to add to Chris's comment on why your Canary hens have started nests & not continued, it might just be that the hens are not fully in breeding condition yet & are just going through the motions before commiting to breeding properly, just be patient & things should work out in time.

Paul.

[dave85]

hey paul,

There was only 1 normal cock java who had moulted really the worst i said - its not mites as i treat all birds by spraying them fairly reguarly.

Hes alot better now with lots of new feathers coming through, ive not altered light as they have natural light most of the time as 3/4 my birdroom has a glass roof and artificial light only mainly being used in the winter and for bout an hour at night now.

The only change is the heat as it was pretty warm in there over the winter but its a mystery to me why only the javas have moulted and not none of my other birds.

Nevermind there all coming through it now and soon be ready for breeding!

Thanks all for your help
also ive put a pair of canaries in a treble breeder now as the hen carrying nesting material in the flight but my finches that are also in the flight were wrecking her nest as she built it, so fingers crossed she'll build now & lay.

Thanks again
Dave H

p.s - paul do you know anyone with a spare gouldian hen? as i have a lone cock bird whos in breeding condition singing his head off all the time!
Get back to me soon please

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

No offence, I'm just trying to keep the Forum tidy but this is a Canary section I have tried to answer your query on the Javas here but now you are posing a question on Gouldians (I don't need to remind you these are Foreign Birds), if you need a hen Gouldian please post a wanted advert.
For the record, no sorry I don't know of anyone with a hen Gouldian for sale.

Paul.