As my breeding season draws to a close I have time to look and assess the performance of my birds and my management contribution.

Foundation Stock

What a wonderful start I have had. Firstly a little background on me. I have novice experience of Roller Canary breeding back in the UK, but that was over a decade ago. My foundation American Singer stock has been sourced from three breeders within the MASCOT club, who corresponded with each other to set me up with a well matched pair. I had done my homework. I noticed these breeders names appearing on the show results posted on the internet before contacting them. I explained that I had serious intentions to contest and have an active role within the fancy. But I’m also working on a student budget. I was eager to get started so had approached them at the wrong time of year. (August/September, far too early to have assessed the current year stock). However, I was just as interested in picking up some spare older stock to get me started. I am sure this has helped me. Both males were proven fathers and one hen was an 05. The other two 07 hens, were presumably chosen by the breeders as suitable matches. I left myself at the full mercy of these people, but as I have been involved with canaries before, I know how genuine enthusiasts are more than happy to encourage newcomers and I trusted they would do their best for me.

Accommodation
It was great to attend the first show of the season and meet up with people even though ever so briefly and I was immediately taken by the birds they had picked out for me. It was a very enjoyable ride home, indeed one cock even starting singing in the carry case home! My set up is simple. I have a fairly large unfinished basement where it has been easy to devote one corner to my new hobby. I have a six by three foot, walk in flight and constructed three double breeding cages made of wood with wire cage fronts.



The measurements are 26 inches by 18 high and 16 deep. (with the divider out, the cages are over 50 inches wide and are designed to act as flight cages outside the breeding season). Such box cages are the most popular used back home in the UK, both because they provide privacy for the hens, and cut down on draughts. (important when most bird rooms are rudimentary wooden sheds in the garden)

Basic Diet
The birds settled in quite quickly and seemed to appreciate a good routine. A basic, good quality canary mix (from ABBA seed) supplemented with soaking seed and a little egg food once or twice a week. Fresh greens also, especially sweet apple and broccoli. The bath in the bottom of the flight cage is always available and is replenished with clean cold water every day. My egg food of choice is Cédé, a well known European product I have used before. Because it already contains powdered egg, I have not bothered to add anything other than a little cold water to moisten. That makes daily feeding chores very much quicker and easier!

One thing I was introduced to, half way through the breeding season were frozen peas! I will definitely be keeping these as a regular part of my basic diet. Mark Bange and Jeanne Pieper gave me advice on this. Frosted or wilted greens are not a good thing to feed to canaries. They can cause some digestive problems, but freshly frozen peas seem to provide no issues. I rinse them under hot water before giving them to my birds, and they devour them, and seem to enjoy them considerably. A great tip to have learned this year.

Results
As I write this note to myself, I have 18 live chicks from a total of 6 nests, with one more nest to hatch. The 05 hen’s first clutch of 3 failed to hatch so I’m giving her the opportunity to raise a second brood from a third nest. As a rule I would not usually allow a hen to lay a third round, but she was helped very effectively to raise her first clutch by the cock, so I don’t believe I have over stretched her at this time
I’m delighted with this performance, better than anything I have ever done before. Excellent fertility, although a few more dead in shell than I would have wanted. I have only lost one chick so far that managed to hatch out. It had fallen out of the nest somehow, although I managed to revive it, it was dead when I checked the next morning.

Reasons for Success
One of the major reasons I feel I have had a successful season is the support I have received from fellow club members. The stock I acquired was clearly healthy from the start. I have to make a special mention of Mark Bange. Not only did he supply me with a wonderfully natured male my sons have christened ‘Peter’, but I have needed to be in almost constant contact with him to gain advice. I’ve felt compelled to send almost daily reports on progress and have gained great knowledge and confidence from Mark as I relearn the hobby. I’m lucky he has been patient and has devoted much time to mentor me. I’m also pleased that soaked seed has been so well received by the birds. The birds eat approximately twice as much soaked/sprouted seed as they do egg food. Using the soda bottle method has provided a regular supply of fresh sprouts.




My first clutch of the year

Unconventional Twist.
Most of what I have tried to do, as I learn again to keep these wonderful songsters has been pretty conventional. I try to keep a routine and consider clean cages and fresh food pretty simple and reliable steps for success. Two things I have done however, may buck conventional wisdom. Firstly, I have not utilized any dummy eggs, preferring to leave well alone. I’m admittedly clumsy so you only need to break a couple of eggs in transfer to shy away from dummy eggs. I’ve had my heart in my mouth a couple of times though, my most prolific hen hatched 5 over a three and a half day period, but despite some size difference they were all weaned successfully in the end. (she repeated the same feat with her second clutch, another 5 chicks reared and she is a novice 07 hen!)

The second thing I did was use an unconventional lighting pattern. Emboldened by experience from my poultry career and reading articles from Bill Summers in Colorado, I held day length steady until the week after Christmas and then increased lighting by more than two hours in a single week. It certainly had the desired effect with all three hens going to nest within about 10 days to two weeks. Fertility has been good. I’m not yet prepared to advocate this method for anyone else as I need to see how birds react to the oncoming molt etc. But I’m pleased with results so far.

What do I need to change?
Firstly, I need to be a more vigilant when banding youngsters. Four birds were not rung with closed bands by the end of the season (That’s about 20% - far too many!!) One I missed, when the hen must have removed the ring in the clutch of five. The second was even more concerning. The ring had migrated above the knee and got stuck. I noticed the problem when I became aware that the other two chicks had left the nest but the third kept still and didn’t seem to be thriving. Luckily I caught the problem before it was too late. It was necessary to cut the ring off, and although stressed to begin with, the chick seems to have made a full recovery. The final 2 chicks were missed because I had to attend a memorial service for my Father in Europe, unavoidable, but I’m still disappointed that I failed to band them properly At least one of these birds in undoubtedly a cock and will miss the competitive arena. I have used split rings to identify all of these birds, so may retain them, bearing on how their siblings perform. But I’m sure if I had been more vigilant at least two of these birds should have been properly rung.



< Jake Dight (not quite two!) He helps with all the feeding routines, and insists on helping in the bird room every day!

Secondly, with all my poultry experience, I can’t believe I fell into the trap of ignoring pest control !! Despite the house being less than two years old, I managed to get mice in the basement and I think this was the cause of my 05 hen losing her first clutch, the eggs were fertile but had subsequently died. I think she must have been disturbed by the rodents one night and the eggs became chilled (after a concerted effort, I caught twelve mice in a week! - and no signs since.) The other thing I did, was not have a red night light in place. I addressed both these issues and the rest of the season has gone fine.








The end result
I don’t profess to be any kind of expert, but at least by sharing my experience, I hope newcomers to the Fancy may gain insight and old hands will have something to mull over. I’m so pleased to be keeping canaries again, and equally pleased to find a club of members who share my enthusiasm.