FINCHforum

You have a beautiful set up there! Canaries must love it !! Are they permanently loose in there or do they return to their cages at night. Mine mostly all go back to their cages.

Sheather wrote: But when do they molt?

I asked.
They can do it randomly at any time if the year.
Some even molt twice a year.

Thanks Ron!
During the off-breeding season, a lot of my birds like the privacy of a sleep station at night. They think they're all alone but in reality, roosting about 1/2" away or less from the next guy.

W.j,

Molting twice a year must be really stressful on the bird and a breeding season that lasts more than a few months can really limit a canaries life span.
In my case, I withhold the nest material and nests until March. They're so intent on nesting at that point that they move into their private apartments on their own. I usually end their breeding season with the last clutch in June no matter how much they want to continue raising babies...or how valuable their babies are to me.
P

Yeah, I am sure that's the price canaries here pay for living in ethernal summer of 12 hours daylight and 22-32 C temperature year-round.
As long as they live, they look perfectly healthy though.
As I've never kept any myself, I can't give more details though.

Molting twice a year is the norm for many (most? all?) local species here, so maybe the canaries just "go native"!