FINCHforum

Hi! I have a large number of canaries, and there is one behavior that has always puzzled me. Several of my birds--maybe 5/100--seem determined to spend much of their time sitting on the floor of the cage, even letting their legs dangle through the cage bars. I first noticed it in unpaired females, and wondered if it were an odd egg-laying behavior performed in the absence of a nest or cup (or male). I was wary of early signs of egg binding and was sure to provide supplemental calcium, but the behavior has persisted for several months, and the birds never showed signs of discomfort. Now, one of my males is sitting on his cage floor as well.

Usually, a bird motionless at the bottom of his cage is a sure sign of sickness. But these canaries have no other symptoms I can detect, are bright-eyed and active when I approach, and have not "worsened" after many weeks. Is this a normal canary behavior? Or, is this a sign of some deficiency I could fix?

Thank you!

Anhinga

That is strange. Can you post a picture?

Well that's definitely curious!

Agreed with Anna that a photo would be helpful.

I will say that they seem more apt to spend time on the floor when in a short cage, like a 30x18x18.
But this does seem a bit unusual.

Are the birds who do this together in the same cage? Or alongside each other?

I ask because sitting on the floor when not sick seems to be a "cultural" sort of thing. (Another "cultural" behavior is bathing.)
So one bird starts the trend and others mimic the behavior. You end up with a cage with birds who sit on the floor. It becomes part of their unique culture.

A culture of floor-sitting would be too funny! These birds actually are in different cages, and shouldn't easily be able to see each other. My male here at home seems to do it less frequently and started only recently, but several ladies in my main aviary have made a habit of it.

I'll try to get a photo ASAP, though it literally looks just like you'd imagine: a canary looking up at you with his legs dangling through the cage grating. My usual camera has been having focus issues, but I'll see what I can do!

Hi, I would also check their toes to make sure none of them have "lazy toes". I have one that has 2 abnormal toes that do not perch properly and she spends most of her time on the floor of the cage and sometimes others will sit with her for company I suppose.

If you put your hand in the cage will they fly normally and perch?

Anhinga
Do they have a variety and different sizes of perches, so they can exercise their muscles and toes etc? Also, I'd put paper towel over the grate, so you can monitor the droppings. I have some finches who will sit on the bottom, on the paper towels when their foot is irritated from pedi perches. So, I offer a variety in each cage. Mine love the natural branches as perches, especially if the branch has a fork that forms out into two limbs, then, they rest in the "V" where the perch branches into two limbs. I think they rest their feet that way and use their tummies to sit as if that is a form of a chair, for lack of a bette word.

Thank you--these are very helpful comments! They have a variety of perch sizes, but not perch textures. I'll take a look at their legs and feet and see how I can help.