More Chicks!

[chris]

hi all,

just had 4 more canary chicks hatch this morning, from a glouster cock and fife hen so hopefully there'll be a few crests on the young :D

chris

[laurab]

Chris! Slow down, I am having trouble keeping up with you!! :lol: :lol:

[chris]

is this turning into a competition then :lol:

chris :D

[PAUL HEARN]

If it is you are winning hands down so far! :lol:

Keep up the good work mate, your doing the Hobby of Birdkeeping proud! :wink:

Paul.

[chris]

Hi again,

the 4 chicks mentioned earlier are feathered up and a few have crests, i expect they will be fledging any time this week :D

also had 3 more red factors hatch yesterday morning :D

the four other red factor chicks that fledged a few weeks ago are doing great, although only now have i realised they are infact red factors and not just white (no colour food untill near the end) as i have noticed one or two new red feathers where there mother "borrowed" a few feathers for her nest earlier on :lol:

so so far that's 11 canaries in and out of the nest in total :D

Chris

[laurab]

Wow Chris, there is no stopping your birds!

[hippocroc]

i had 4 canary chicks from a yellow roller cock and varigated fife hen, but sadly they all died. they're now in the outside aviary with fifes and gloucesters and finches. my exhibition fife is making her own nest in a bush, a very elaborate affair it is too. lets hope the zebra's dont use squatters rights and take over.Hi again,

the 4 chicks mentioned earlier are feathered up and a few have crests, i expect they will be fledging any time this week :D

also had 3 more red factors hatch yesterday morning :D

the four other red factor chicks that fledged a few weeks ago are doing great, although only now have i realised they are infact red factors and not just white (no colour food untill near the end) as i have noticed one or two new red feathers where there mother "borrowed" a few feathers for her nest earlier on :lol:

so so far that's 11 canaries in and out of the nest in total :D

Chris

[chris]

hi,


i've just had 3 more chicks hatch over the past few days, 2 more eggs in the nest but i'm uncertain if they will hatch as i lost track when removing eggs for dummys:oops:

i think i may already have mentioned, but the red factor hen had laid 6 eggs in her nest, while the previous round were still in it! the chicks have now fledged, but where the hen was going to get a rest and have the nest pan removed... now she's back on eggs. i'm keeping an eye out with this last round though, to make sure it is the last round and she doesn't sneak any more eggs in:lol:

Chris

[dave85]

hey chris,

How come your breeding cross breed canarys? and not pure breed?

As most of the young produced wont be useful in the production of pure breeds,

Thanks
Dave H

p.s - i keep 4 different types but keep the same type to same type - not mixing

like now i have a White variegated fife hen x a green split blue fife cock with 2 chicks :D

[chris]

there small size makes them ideal for crossing to greensingers next year:wink: as both red factors and fifes are small canaries. the other reason is that i don't pair them up, they pair themselves up at the start of the year, could be the reason why everything seems to be going quite well

Chris

[nigel]

Chris,
You may be able to help me on this one :?:

I have also got a goldfinch which is the last remaining one out of 8 I bought last year not sure what killed the rest but may have been spooked, I am unsure what sex it is, the chap I bought them from said it quite tricky but mentioned about the blaze around its eyes and the colour of it wing feathers. It has not singin as wild coks do, but is quite protective of the perch it uses, any ideas as I would like to see if I can put it with one of the cock canaries I bought with the bishops as its startin singin shortly after I introducing it to the aviary. I aslo got a canary hen ,which laid an egg in the feeding tray the first day and which ever sex the goldfinch is I have options.

Nigel

[Waxbillman]

hello there


male goldfinches have slightly more red on their faces the=an the female, the red goes just past their' eye's.

matthew

[nigel]

If the goldfinch turns out to be a cock is it to late to pair up with a hen canary ?
If the goldfinch is a hen with the breeding season being a bit later for them will the cock canary
want to mate ?
Not had any experience with this and need a bit of advice which way round get better results

Thanks
Nigel

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nigel,

I would suggest introducing unbonded cock and hen Canaries to the Goldfinch you have, this will make it easier to determine the sex of the Goldfinch.
As Matthew has mentioned cock Goldfinch blazes continue past the the eye, with hens blazes stopping before the eye, no matter how far we are into the breeding season it wouldn't hurt to try out the pairing either way.

Paul.:wink:

[nigel]

Well I have done it, I managed to catch the Goldfinch and by the looks of it I have come to the conclusion its a
cock bird. I have paired it up with the red factor hen and they have settled in together very nicely, which
again leads me to believe that the GF is a cock as there is not swobbling at all, I am eagily awaiting any results.
Can anyone tell me what sort of time scale I can be looking at or is it a long waiting game to see if they
can produce a clutch of eggs ?

Thanks

Nigel

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nigel,

I'm afraid there are no set rules on Muling, it is very much a hit and miss challenge.:-|

First of all you will have to wait for a pair bond that could happen in days, weeks or in the worst case not at all.
This is why only certain Birds prove to be good Muling or Hybridising Birds and others not so good, it's a case of fingers crossed at the moment.

Also you may find that after the two Birds form a pair bond, build a nest, lay eggs and incubate them, that it was all for nothing as the eggs could be infertile.:mad:

Cheerfull chap aren't I?:grin:

All you can do is watch the Birds and see how things go, another thing to watch out for, is that cock Goldfinches are known to sometimes puncture the eggs, so if you do get eggs it might be a good idea to place a wire slide between the Goldie and the incubating hen until she hatches the young.

Paul.

[nigel]

I am planning my first birdrooom in part of my garage as I have always had my birds in an outside avairy, is it essential to have a small indoor flight within the birdroom, when I hopefully breed canaries next breeding session I was wondering if the young will time indoors before putting them in my outdoor flight. This would reduce the space available for breeding cages of which I am planning to start with 3 or 6 double breeding cages depending on the requirement for an indoor flight. I want to start small to consentrate on building a good breeding stock.
I will be looking to buy some good breeding stock in the autum, if anyone can point me in the direction of a good place to look let me know.

Nigel

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Nigel,

I would recommend that you include an indoor flight in your Birdroom for your Canary hens to keep them fit for the following breeding season, cocks can be housed in cages outside of the breeding season and will always be fit enough to breed when the time comes.

You haven't stated which Canary Breed you are looking for, please let us know so we can hopefully help find you the Birds you want for next year.

Paul.:wink:

[nigel]

I am looking at a few options at the moment, either Fife or Borders to start me off.
I am drawn to red factors but with this been my first attempt at breeding properley then the additional task of colour feeding may be an additional task to concentrate on. I have been to a couple of bird auctions but I am more interested in buying good stock from a proven breeder.

Nigel

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Nigel,

I know a Champion Fife Canary breeder, if you are interested in exhibiting your Birds it would be worth buying Birds from my friend, if you are interested in buying excellent exhibition Birds I could put you in contact with him.

But if you just want Birds from a breeder who's Birds are that much cheaper and not of exhibition quality, I could put you in contact with people who could help you also.

Paul.:wink:

[gregd]

Hi NIgel,


Fifes are fantastic wee birds and are generally very reliable breeders. Also the price of decent birds is not too expensive.

Borders of a similar quality are however only available if you have a platinum credit card or are friendly with an established breeder. It is worth bearing in mind that Borders reliability as parents is not what it used to be and many breeders are now reporting fertility problems.

On the other hand there are a number of other varieties of canaries available such as coloured , glosters, rollers, Scotch fancy or the daddy the norwich. Truly the king of all canaries. Not wihout its own problems but definitely well worth more than a cursory glance.

The norwich painstakenly prepared for the show bench is without doubt one of the most fantastic sights to behold. The depth of colour, the huge stature in the show cage and the admiring looks of fellow breeders makes it definitely worth your consideration. These are truly splendid birds.

Not that I am biased:-P

Greg

[hippocroc]

hi greg, for some reason i'm getting nigels messages. i'm not bothered by that, but nigel might think he's being ignored! p s you forgot to mention the yorkshire and glocester.
On the subject of glocesters, what's the lethal thing about 2 corona's mating. any ideas?
sue

[dave85]

hey sue,

The pairing of corona x corona in glosters produces - 25% non viable (dead chicks) 25% double crested scruffy birds then 25% corona & 25% consort i believe.

The reason for the lethal factor is that it cause problems with the young canaries skulls causing them to die before hatch i believe.

If anyone could add to this if they think different though?

So always its best to pair corona x consort - & you get 50% of each produced.

Thanks
Dave H

[nigel]

Thanks for the replies to my canary breeder questions, I would be interested in none exhibition to start with as I will not have much spare time to start showing my birds. Any details of breeders in the Northwest region would be appriciated but would travel if the birds were worth it.

Thanks
Nigel

[chris]

Hi all,

they're at it again:grin: one of the fifes outside has nested at the top of the aviary and is laying. and my red factor hen is insiting on nesting in the food pot upto the point where she has crumpled up her tail feathers sitting in it:neutral: . i'm not sure about letting the latter continue as the chances of rearing the young in a food pot as small as she's in are slim. but if she still insists after this attempt i will pace her back in another double breeder with her mate and let em get on with it.

looks like i'm going to be ordering me some annodised split rings at some point in the near future so i can identify all these bloomin canaires lol. thinking of getting them customised to have my initials on it, how many of you lot do this?

Chris:wink:

[laurab]

:razz: :razz: If you placed the food pot in something bigger, do you think she would still sit on the eggs?

I like the idea with the rings ;-)

[chris]

Hi laura,

i don't know but it's worth a try. to be honest i don't really want her to breed any more this year for fear of it putting a strain on her. plus she's in with 8 other red factors for colour feeding so i don't get orange golden bishops as was happening before i separated them!

Chris:wink:

[dave85]

hey chris,

I ring my birds - well i ring zebs, bengies, javas, cockatiels and hopefully gouldians when they breed lol

Need to get some for my other birds.

I have mine with consecutive numbers, initials and year on.

Thanks
Dave H

p.s - this year is dark green

[hippocroc]

can anyone help?
i have a varigated fife male canary, he's a proven egg pecker, so i put in some fake eggs. this did the job as he hurt his beak, but since then he's had an audible squeek/ wheeze/ creak to him after he eats. i've given him a drop of honey anf lemon, and apart from loving it, it's had no effect. he's indoors away from the others and still making the noise. otherwise he's quite well. sings well and eats well.
any suggestions would be appreciated
sue

[chris]

hi,

i wouldn't know what might be causing that, it could be air sack mites but if it were this you would notice other birds doing the same. maybe he's got a cold (yeah i know it's summer, but that doesn't mean you can't get em). if it gets any worse or he show's any other signs of ill health it might be worth a trip to the vet. personally i'd go anyway just to be on the safe side.

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Sue,

I'm with Chris on this one, in the view of a visit to the Vet to be on the safe side.

I don't believe that the dummy eggs are a cause of your Fifes problem at all.

Another option would be to treat him for Worms as a precaution.

Paul.:wink:

[kenny]

hi sue,
sounds like air sac mite to me also,you can by preparations but best to take him to the vets if it persists.

ken:grin:

[Waxbillman]

hello sue,

what ever kind of mite or parasite it is, you can treat it with a product called moxidectrin, it can be used as a preventetive every 3-4 months as well as a cure to the problems. i don't know how many people know of this stuff but its reputed to be very good, i have just started using it. its is made by the Australian pigeon company.

matthew

[chris]

Hi matthew,

Please please tell me where the hell i can get hold of this moxedectin stuff! i've asked around for ages for "scatt" which is basically the same chemical, yet i've never been told where to get it from other than austalia:shock:

Chris:wink:

[kenny]

hi chris

i am afraid that all the sites that is listed on that i can find are all abroad,unless someone else knows anywhere.

ken

[nigel]

Hi all,
Just spoken to a guy who runs CCBA (colour canary breeders accociation) and he has given me a couple of breeders names who live 10 mins from me. Spoken to one last night and suggested I go to his house to have a look around, hopefully they will be able to sell me some nice birds to start my birdroom off. Thought of different breeds of canary to start with but decided to stick with red factors/colour variety.

[kenny]

hi nigel,

best to stick with what you know mate,if your not happy going into other stuff.

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Banana Man,

You can buy Ivermectin from your Vet (over priced twisting b$£%$?£, oops sorry mate I forgot your gonna be a Vet one day:oops: ):lol:, anyway Ivermectin is used to prevent both Mite and Worms by spotting onto the back of a Birds neck.

I hope this helps if you can't get your hands on the other stuff, but I've used Ive it for the past five or so years with great results.

Paul.:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Chis,

the stuff has to be ordered from Australia but it lasts ages, and if you have many birds keeping friends you can share the stuff, thats what i do, if you wanted the maker's address just let me know mate!!

matthew

[kenny]

well matt you article writing loaded people can afford to just order stuff from abroad:grin: :grin: :grin:

ken

[chris]

Hi paul,


i've been deliberately avoiding ivermectin, simply because it's not designed for use with birds and if dosed inncorrectly it can be fatal. now the scatt stuff can't harm the birds whatsoever, it works by interfereing with the mite's central nervous system(CNS) rendering them paralysed which means the lil blighters starve to death:twisted: and since mite have a totally different CNS to birds and other animals the treatment is harmless.

anyways, i'll have a chat with the local over-priced twisting ******* and se what he suggests:lol:

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I did have a very close call after I dosed a pair of Cuban Finches a couple of years ago:-|, I was lucky to not lose them by overdosing (which is very easy with Birds of that size), but I have now learn't that there is a very fine line when using Ivermectin on tiny Finches and Waxbills.

Good luck with the Vet.

Paul.:wink:

[chris]

Hi all,

back on the topic of "more Chicks!", the canaries have just hatched another 4 chicks. i know who the mother is, but the father:? as both cock birds are now feeding her and the chicks. if there's one thing i'm learning from this years it's don't colony breed canaries, as i don't know "who's the daddy:? ".

ah well, live and learn i suppose

Chris:wink:

[kenny]

:grin: hi chris.

i dont see what the problem is at least you have got youngsters from the pairing even if you dont know who the daddy is ,i bet there are people who wish they had bred them this year.unless of course you need to know for bloodline purposes then that is a little rough.you will just have to look for the cock bird with the biggest smile on his beak:grin: :grin: :grin:

ken

[chris]

Hi kenny,

it would have been usefull to know whop the father is so i know who's genes are in there. that way i don't do any inbreeding with them next year. it really is a bit confusing watching both cocks feeding the hen and the chicks:lol:

still, i bet the chicks aren't complaining anbout the extra food!

Chris:wink:

[kenny]

hi chris

they are going to be as fat as butter mate:grin: :grin: :grin:

ken

[chris]

Hi, only 2 of the chicks survived, i found the other 2 on the aviary mesh a day apart from each other as though tey had been flown out of the nest and the birds had attempted to throw them outside. why they have done this i do not know, but i do have 2 fledged canary chicks, one red factor and one fife:grin:

i think that's a total of 16 canarys bred this year ( not including the hybrids ), not bad for my second year breeding

Chris:wink:

[kenny]

hi chris

that really is a shame mate,did you ring the birds as sometimes they sling them out of the nest because of it,but all sorts of strange things are happening this year people losing birds when they think they are safely through a danger period who knows why these things happen,but as i always say what dosent kill you always makes you stronger and as you probably know its part and parcel of breeding birds but i know that will not help much mate

ken

[chris]

Hi kenny,

none of the birds have been closed rung this year but i will try to next year. i think the cause may have been the larger weavers i have as this happened last time the canaries nested outside, the only difference being all the eggs were smashed and the chicks taken from them and scattered over the aviary. i was half expecting it to happen again so know not to let the canarys breed outside with the weavers in future.

thanks, Chris:wink:

[kenny]

hi chris

i have had weavers in the past and they have all been a bit on the nasty side especially when they are building a nest or looking after young

ken