Steve the Crested Canary - and some little questions. :)

[Sheather]

I just adopted this lovely little fellow yesterday from a local breeder. He's a 6 month old, adolescent green crested canary with the sweetest personality and not a fear in the world. I already love him dearly. He is just now beginning to sing.






These pictures do not do him justice at all. He's extremely curious and personable and nothing bothers him. But boy does he eat a lot compared to finches - especially of his greens, and apple, which the finches won't eat at all.

Now, as Steve is my first canary, I do have just a couple of questions for the experts.

-Steve is currently eating the same foods as my society and Java finches - a few mixed petshop seed mixes, all finch-specific, and Zupreem finch pellets (just nibbling those though). I plan to get him a specific canary seed within a week or two, eating finch seed for this time isn't a big problem is it? He's happy to eat it. He also gets veggies, and boiled egg since he's sorta... kinda... moulting now. I think he's almost through the cycle.

-Steve's cage is 24 x 16 inches. He will be be getting a few hours to almost all day of free-flight time once he's settled in in my bird room, so this is big enough right?

-Steve is tame, but not hand-tame. Would it be possible to train him to come onto my hand/finger with sufficient food rewards? He's currently happy to come right up to me and peck at my hands, but not come on them. He wasn't hand-raised but is still far more docile than the finches.

[Corkysgirl]

Lovezebs knows a good amount of information about canaries. Congratulations on your new addition!

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Hey Dylan.
Stevie is adorable. All of a sudden canaries are 'in'.
I am far from an EXPERT , but can answer some simple questions.
Regarding the food. Stevie should be ok for the time being with some finch seed. However, as you already know he will need a canary seed mix. If I remember right, finch seed mixes are higher in fat. With my guys, I mix finch/canary together, because Luciano has Socie flight mates. They love veggies and fruit. Try some carrot greens just hung from the cage top. Luciano loves those, along with beet greens and red chard. Also apples, chopped grapes and banana slices.
Regarding hand training. I never hand trained canaries, but I'm assuming that with patience it could be done, especially as he's already eating from your hand.
If your boy gets free flight, then the cage will be mostly a bed room and feeding station, so wouldn't worry too much about size.
Give him a swing. He'll have great fun with it.
Congratulations.

[adoumski]

Congratulations, your on your way to taming him since he is already not scared of u. Thats is very good.
Try to feed him from ur hand, then once he is ok with that, place food on the palm of ur hand so he will step on it and see its safe. With time he will start coming to ur finger.
Ps: it takes a lot of patience and some more patience to tame a canary.

I tried and gave up with my first clutch of babies, i didnt have the patience.

[lovezebs]

adoumski
Adam, you're still with us (?) Haven't heard a peep out of you in ages. How are the canaries? The Teil? Are you working away from home? How's your Mom managing with the birds?

[adoumski]

lovezebs hey.

I've been around but haven't posted in a while. Im still home and started work for the time being in my homentown.
My birds r doing great, my tiel is a cute bipolar, hormonal bird, she is getting a baby brother soon hehehe. I couldnt resist.
And urself, how r the birds, is ur canary still a terror .

@Sheather sorry for hijacking ur post but you will learn alot

[Stevie]

-Steve is tame, but not hand-tame. Would it be possible to train him to come onto my hand/finger with sufficient food rewards? He's currently happy to come right up to me and peck at my hands, but not come on them. He wasn't hand-raised but is still far more docile than the finches.

People do say I could do with a little more training. Oh! You said Steve not Stevie.

Seriously.

I'm finger taming mine with this
I am ten days into hand taming my two which started at a similar stage to Steve. Mine have come on leaps and bounds by following this How I hand tamed my bird - Youtube

This though, for a budgie, is a very, very common sense way to tame a bird. Entirely based on gaining trust and going the birds pace not the owners pace. Slowing down seems to be the key, we are predators they are prey. I had a little tear in my eye , when the shy budgie finally 'gets it' at the end and becomes finger tame. Then, I watched it a second time and realised the budgie in the film is an 'actor budgie'. Still makes me cry even though I know the truth.


My experience after only 10 days using this method

A shy bird
My canary CC - approx 7-8 weeks old.
Loves the daily readings (I sing and play my harp as well) - comes to listen and cocks head. Very confident around people and with my voices and voices 'cc' knows. Still very weary of hands being too close by. Though when out for flight time will fly and sit close to me at times. Very occasionally will land and sit happily on heads and shoulders now.

A confident bird
My canary BB is about 1 year old.
Loves the daily readings. Took to it from the start. Sped through the confidence with hands part. Very happy to land on heads and shoulders during flight time now. Has developed a particular call that signals to me 'open the door please. I want to fly around'. Will take the millet lours on the hand on and off now though not consistently. Not finger tame yet. I may need to take a step back in the process to make sure it is set in 'BB's head - hands mean food and play. I think I rushed it too much.


Overall
I am surprised at how fast mine have come in just 10 days by sticking to the programme set out in this film. I never catch mine to get them back in their cage/aviary I always guide them in by walking slowly towards them. Unless they are sick or need healthcare, during this hand taming stage I am not handling my two, at all. CC my younger one learns by watching BB so I think that may apply to the hand taming. We will see.

I have let mine out the cage during the 51 days training. It has not made any difference to keep them in the cage in my experience.

Hope my experiences help too. If no then I'm sure you will find the film useful.

[lovezebs]

Stevie
Way to go!!! sounds like things are coming along by leaps and bounds.


@Sheather .
Dylan, we almost lost you here.
How is Steve or is it Stevie (the cute Canary)??? It gets confusing with the Steves, Stevies, Stevens, Stephans, Stefans...



adoumski
Glad to hear things are going well and that you found work close to home.
My Luciano is molting right now, so not a peep out of him at the time being. He's happily sharing a flight with six Societies and being a very good boy.
No new additions the the zoo. I think two dogs, two cats, eighteen birds and a tank full of fish is my limit.
Enjoy the summer and good luck with new Teil.

[Sheather]

Steve is great! I'm not sure any bird can be cuter than a content canary fluffing out his feathers in the sun after a bath.



He knows he looks good.





I got him a suitable seedmix as well, and he loves his fruits and veggies, as much he wants he gets, and he is looking better and better every day! He might have been a little malnourished when I got him but is catching up now. He's also begun to sing!

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Dylan, he is very, very cute. I do love that 'right after the bath' fluff.
Yes, a content canary will sing for you. Does he have a nice song? You know, if you play canary videos to him with some world champions singing, he will learn new songs, and his own song will improve.

[Sheather]

A month later, and Steve is a very settled and beloved member of the flock.

King of the room, high atop the (eternally shut off) ceiling fan branch carousel.



Pics of his room.





Steve enjoying breakfast with the finches.





After a bath, time to dry off in a sunny patch on the windowsill.







And he's no longer alone!









That's right, despite a mixed consensus on whether or not the canary is a species fond of companionship, Steve has been introduced to a lovely hen canary named Kari, a purebred and banded American Singer of 2 years, rehomed by a local man who's health had declined - and the pair is absolutely, completely, inseparable. They do everything together during the day, and sleep side-by-side in a single cage at night. Steve, typical or not, is a very social canary indeed, and he and Kari are extremely close to one another.

Quick, pull in that gut, stand up tall, it's a pretty girl!





But he hardly needs to win her over, it was love at first sight!

They eat together.



Followed by a tender moment.



What a sweet couple, huh?

Despite this, however, the canarys' two personalities could not be more different! Steve is a calm, cool-headed, gentle fellow who takes his time, prefers the hop to the fly (raised in a small cage, 'flight' is still one of Steve's less perfected skills, presented more as the 'elongated flutter-hop'), and gets along with everyone.

Kari is hyper, never stopping for long! She flies laps around Steve, and she doesn't let anyone push her around, not even the Java sparrows. If Steve is the sugar, then she is the spice! A little pistol, always on the move, getting into something, making trouble somewhere - but she's just so sweet. She loves to play with nesting material, but has no idea what a nest is and enjoys flying about and spreading pieces of paper all over everything with no rhyme or reason.



To be honest, the relationship of Steve and Kari reminds me of a Disney movie; the frumpy kind-hearted mongrel and the angelic, purebred who fall in love despite all their differences. It's so very cute. Steve is so charismatic with that 'hairdo' of his, he really looks like a cartoon character and has the personality and clumsy but well-meaning habits to match.

Also, a few cameos of Steve's neighbors', Max and Luna Java.



And an even stranger neighbor, a wild sparrow who comes to visit the bird room window every now and again. Before he met Kari, Steve even seemed to have a little crush on this bird, though she probably cares more about coming to eat the food in the house than to socialize with the birds inside.

[Sheather]

This isn't a very active forum section, is it?

[KarenB]

I absolutely love this little Steve story! And that he got a girlfriend, too, awesome! I know zero to nothing about canaries, but this actually makes me want one. And I absolutely love your bird room. I wish I could do that, alas I have no room that I could close off like that.

So happy for you and Steve, Kari and the entire flock

[Sam007]

Both Steve and Kari are very pretty and I enjoyed reading their interesting story!