FINCHforum

I have adopted a 1.5 yr. old timbered canary from a friend who's allergic to him. His name is caruso. I love caruso, but I have a feeling he's lonely. I would like to get him a friend. I know he won't sing as much, but that's okay, He's singing ALL the time now, a little less singing will be okay

a couple of questions, I do not want to breed, but I heard 2 males will fight, so I will get a hen. Does it have to be another timbrado? Or can I buy any hen? Of course I will discourage breeding doing to all the things such as no nest, material, decrease protein, decrease light. ect.... and will take away any eggs if laid


I never had to introduce birds before. I know I need them in separate cages at first, but my hope is to eventually move them into the same cage. This is why I am getting another canary. Or do you think he's happy being an only canary? I need your opinions and suggestions. Thanks

deshud
I have a male yellow American Singer named Ra that was housed in a cage on his own. He was an enthusiastic singer with a sweet melodious song. On his own, Ra would sing from early morning until sleep time.

Since I loved his songs so much, I had the great idea of breeding Ra to get baby singers. The first female I introduced Ra to was a huge failure. In the divided breeding cage, they seemed to get along fine. Once placed together, however, they bickered constantly with the female either running away from Ra or pecking him. Ra stopped singing. I gave up on that pairing. Once I put Ra back in his own cage, he started singing again.

I still had hopes of breeding Ra, so I put him back in the divided breeding cage with a red factor female, Esmeralda. They had a lovefest going so I removed the divider. The two canaries went on a mating frenzy, and Esmeralda started nest shopping. After rejecting several different nests and nesting materials I offered, Esmeralda finally chose a wicker basket and settled in to lay 2 eggs. She is now sitting on her eggs, so I might get some babies finally.

The downside to placing Ra with a female is that he doesn't sing anymore. In fact, he hasn't sang since being placed with Esmeralda. While I enjoy the chance of getting some baby singers, I do miss Ra's songs terribly. I like to think that he's not singing because he's happy with his domestic arrangement, but who knows . . .

I don't have a definitive answer for you, just my own experience with Ra as an example.

Good luck with Caruso.

I keep a pair of canaries and the male sings less when he has a mate. He hardly sings at all when she's on the nest, but he was singing earlier in the breeding season to show off and he'll sing later, right before the molt.

It does not matter what type of canary you get because you are not planning on breeding. The different types are like the different breeds of dogs/cats.

A male female will fight too if one is in the breeding mood and the other isn't. Right now I have my pair together, but separate from their daughter because the male was harassing her. During the non breeding season they get along, but when their hormones are raging, they can get aggressive. So if you decide to get another, you need to have a way of separating them during their hormonal period.

deshud - Experiences mentioned by vienneparis & Atbird are similar to my experiences. I have an American singer in a flight with 2 older spice finch & 1 society finch. The canary sings to the others throughout the day. The 4 of them perch together & look like a happy "family"
Mary

deshud

Hello fellow Albertan.

As you already know, two males will fight (most especially during breeding season). If you place them in seperate cages, you will get double the singing (as they will try to outdo each other).

A female may or may not work for you, as some male/female combos will fight as well. Your male will want to mate during breeding season, and will chase your female around, or vice versa. If there are no nests available, she will lay eggs in a food dish or even on the cage floor and sit on them.

Good luck.

By the way, male Canaries, are usually fairly happy on their own. They do enjoy mirrors to admire themselves in. And they do enjoy human interaction (although not being handled).

Do you have other birds around? I know my Luciano, has been, and still is housed with different species without any major problems.

~Elana~

Thank you for your responses. Sorry for the late reply. My father passed away suddenly, haven't been on the computer much. I think I will leave caruso by himself, he's been by himself for 2 years. There are 2 other birds in the same room with him, and he does seem to enjoy that. Thanks again

Sincerest condolences on the loss of your father. Any family loss is difficult but even more so when it is unexpected. Take care of yourself, stress is very hard on you.