supposed Male canary not singing and question about color

[cleigh9579]

I have recently aquired a male canary. Or so i was told. He is gorgeous. I brought him home and places him in a cage near my female. She calls to him but he only peeps or makes a dee dee call. No songs. They are getting 11-12 hours of light a day. He was in the bottom of the cage with 5 or so other males where i got him from. He ran back and forth a long the back wall. I chose him for his color. But now i am worried i may have a female or not so breedable male. I thought he would be singing by now.
Also i think he is a blue and white but am not totally sure. He has a patch of color on his check. Ill add pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Atbird]

What makes you think he's a male. Did the breeder hear him sing? Did he check under his feathers? You can put him with your other canary and see how they get along. If they produce chicks you have a pair

His color is white, ticked. Or variegated white if he has more than the one dark spot on his ear ( the picture looks like he has a spot on the other side too). If he has yello on his wing, he is dominant white and should be paired with a yellow bird to give you 50/50 white or yellow chicks. If there is no hint of yellow on his wings, he is recessive white. Some breeders pair these birds up with other recessive whites or with yellow birds. Just don't pair two dominant whites.

[TailFeathers]

How old is he?

Next time, when you want to purchase a male canary from a breeder see if he has an empty flight cage.

Select about 5-10 potential canaries and only select one. The one you want to buy is the one who sings above them all, attacks the rest and takes a high perch. He will dispose of any challengers with his song. If another male sizes him up and attacks him, he's the next one you want to get.

Your bird could be a male, but a submissive one and that's why he won't sing or mate.

My advice is don't breed. I used to buy birds for certain characteristics like only color, but you have to select for more than just one.

If you got a canary now in the past 3-4 months you got a cull 99% of the time, because the breeder couldn't breed him/her.

Try making a purchase this fall and buy 2015 babies.

[Societies&Zebras]

Might be a female if no singing is present. He is very beautiful though. I wish you best of luck in sexing this beauty.

[cleigh9579]

Thank you. I am pretty sure it is a submissive male. Is there anyway to make him not so submissive?
I love his color. I have a cinnamon i wanted yo try to breed him too. To try for a fawn or whatever they decided to give me.

I may put them back together. The hen calls constantly. I believe she was separated from a mate. When they are together she doesn't call nearly as much. She also hasn't shown any interest in nest building so i dont think breeding is a worry.
A little disappointed.

[cleigh9579]

He is recessive white ticked. Blue on his ear and a small spot on opposite wing. No yellow at all.

[MiaCarter]

Gorgeous bird.

I'd peek under his feathers.
If it's a boy, he should have a nub.

Do you know his age? He may just be young. I've had a few males who were quite quiet until they reached 9-12 months of age.
I've had others who started singing practically right out of the nest. So there's a lot of variability.

Generally, submissiveness and dominance are engrained personality types. But there is some room for movement in this regard. Their personalities can change over time and they can change according to the dynamics with the birds around them.
Unfortunately, there's no way to manipulate them with any degree of accuracy. (e.g. some submissive males may become more assertive, sort of rising to the challenge when placed around another male or dominant female. Others may cower and become even more submissive.)

Another thought: is he really new to your home?
If so, it may be due to a lack of comfort in a new environment. Sometimes it takes them a few weeks to really feel comfortable.

I'd also try to assess whether he may feel threatened or "hunted."
I actually just wrote about this on my site today. Birds will become silent if they detect a predator.
Here's a bit about this behavioral mechanism:
http://www.petfinchfacts.com/all-posts/ ... r-my-bird/

[sskmaestro]

the best thing to do is, keep him alone. feed him some egg food, more greens and seed/pellet mix. add calcium and vitamin E&D to water....
with good amount of light, let the hormones kick in and as he will be alone, he will be the boss of his territory and slowly start singing.... do not place any mirrors in the cage, he may think there is another bird near by and be submissive

[paul-inAZ]

This time of year I would suspect that he is going into a molt. It is that time of year for most canaries.
I have a Spanish timbrado that normally sings lustily but recently he stopped singing altogether. Soon after, a few loose feathers appeared, he looks pretty ratty and is listless.
Molting is a very stressful time for canaries.
A site that discusses this:
http://www.americansingercanary.com/uns ... lting.html

Pretty bird. I like the whites. I don't see any yellow so he looks like a recessive white.

[Stuart whiting]

What makes you think he's a male. Did the breeder hear him sing? Did he check under his feathers? You can put him with your other canary and see how they get along. If they produce chicks you have a pair

His color is white, ticked. Or variegated white if he has more than the one dark spot on his ear ( the picture looks like he has a spot on the other side too). If he has yello on his wing, he is dominant white and should be paired with a yellow bird to give you 50/50 white or yellow chicks. If there is no hint of yellow on his wings, he is recessive white. Some breeders pair these birds up with other recessive whites or with yellow birds. Just don't pair two dominant whites.

Totally agree 100 %, well said

[Stuart whiting]

This time of year I would suspect that he is going into a molt. It is that time of year for most canaries.
I have a Spanish timbrado that normally sings lustily but recently he stopped singing altogether. Soon after, a few loose feathers appeared, he looks pretty ratty and is listless.
Molting is a very stressful time for canaries.
A site that discusses this:
http://www.americansingercanary.com/uns ... lting.html

Pretty bird. I like the whites. I don't see any yellow so he looks like a recessive white.

Yep quite agree that most canaries go quiet during the moult and yes yer right mate i also think that the bird is a recessive

[Stuart whiting]

How old is he?

Next time, when you want to purchase a male canary from a breeder see if he has an empty flight cage.

Select about 5-10 potential canaries and only select one. The one you want to buy is the one who sings above them all, attacks the rest and takes a high perch. He will dispose of any challengers with his song. If another male sizes him up and attacks him, he's the next one you want to get.

Your bird could be a male, but a submissive one and that's why he won't sing or mate.

My advice is don't breed. I used to buy birds for certain characteristics like only color, but you have to select for more than just one.

If you got a canary now in the past 3-4 months you got a cull 99% of the time, because the breeder couldn't breed him/her.

Try making a purchase this fall and buy 2015 babies.

" cull 99 % of the time " I personally don't think that this would be necessary, surely these non breeding birds could be given away to hostpital and care home avaires etc, in fact would be ideal as the staff probably wouldn't have the time to concentrate on breeding them,

But in return would give the elderly and unwell people something to sit and look at,

Little jesters and gifts like this can go a long way in today's society