New Canary

[zebsoc]

new canary female

store clerk had said she was laying a lot of eggs.
She laid 1 yesterday. 

flying back and forth in her cage hopping up and down flying across almost constantly in the morning yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon taking a bath afterwards wings close to her body and 1 wing look a little bloody on top and could no longer fly.
Standard bath use for all birds. Smooth sides, no sharp edges.

Vet said slight fracture of 1 wing.
She is now in small travel cage which vet said to leave her in while she heals.

But she is constantly hopping back and forth and flapping her wings.
Only when eating does she stop moving.
I read online fractures common in older birds but she is of laying age.
Also possible due to calcium deficiency which could be due to all the egg laying.
No egg today.
I started her on calcium plus.
 How much calcium?
 I'm new in my town, so it was a new vet. She just said the wing must have been caught on the cage but it wasn't she wasn't listening. It happened in the bird bath, it is a little small tho 2-3 society finches can fit in it.Jst hitting the side of the bird bath with her wing shouldn't have caused a fracture tho. I've used this same bath when I had canary long ago and never any problem. She was in almost a state of shock after the bath.

The wing doesn't look droopy and she has a good appetite.

Why can't she stay still? She is Constantly hopping between perch and food dish.
She sometimes flaps her wings even tho there is nowhere for her to fly in the travel cage.
Found online usually takes 10 days for a simple fracture to heal.
I put a nest in this afternoon but except for a couple of pecks at it she is avoiding it.

Anything I can do to help her settle and calm down.
I love an active bird but she seems agitated and she's supposed to be giving wing time to heal.

Pic below

[wildbird]

The cage might be too small. I'd put her in a much larger cage, 30" X 18" X18" if possible. The 30" should be the length of it. THen, you could cover a corner for a hiding place. She probably feels trapped and was originally used to a flight cage or aviary and had the company of a lot of other birds.

[zebsoc]

18" height is only good for breeder cages.
Flight cages need at least 20".

Not even my zebra finch likes the 18" high breeder cage even tho it is 37" long. Made mistake buying a breeder cage since I'm not planning to breed my birds, at least not this year. Tho having breeder cage makes it tempting.

By vet instructions, and online research, she needs to stay in small cage until her wing fracture is healed.

But the goal is for her to rest wing.
Nest didn't work, she wouldn't go in it.

But a perch with a mirror has helped a little.
One it gives her less flying room between perches and she seems to like the mirror for company.
Maybe she is missing the other canary that was at the store. Could have been sisters but I thought even females prefer to be alone and would fight during breeding season.

If wing heals well then she will go in nice large Flight cage.
See pic below. But the wing must heal well First or she could be left with a bad wing for life.

[monotwine]

I think you may have hit the nail on the head. She was probably suffering from seperation anxiety and hence the to and fro flying. She may have caught her wing in the cage bars etc while doing this causing her initial injury.
Are you sure the other canary in the cage was her sister and not her mate? I'd be surprised to see a hen go all anxious for her sister and laying eggs to boot without the stimulation of a male.
Suppose you won't know the history of where she came from as it was a pet store. Maybe she was taken from her mate and sold so is not settled into her new life yet.

As to getting her to settle down for now. Cover 3 sides of the cage so she will be less tempted to pace to and fro and many perches will encourage her to hop to and fro instead of trying to flap her wings and fly. If she looks very frantic in the small cage and could possibly do more damage to herself, consider putting her in a bigger cage, but with many perches at various heights to again discourage flying and more hopping, just until she has healed up.

Did the vet take an xray to be certain it was a fracture?

[monotwine]

I just got given a Gouldian male who's partners and young were tragically killled. He also flew up and down my aviary for a few days, pacing anxiously unsure where his mate had gone. Luckily my wire doesn't enable injury. The good news is he settled down after a few days and now is acting normally.

[zebsoc]

monotwine - yes that makes sense that the other one may have been her mate.
Can a brother become a mate? looked a lot like her. Same color.
Canaries are rare to find in my area in petstores and they were at same time.
Thank you for your suggestions.
I had wondered about putting her in a larger cage with low perches close together.
The dr didn't take an xray but her wing was in noticable distress and she couldnt fly to top perches any more.. I am keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't droop.
When I sprayed her with some water she loved it and started to preen, but as her back got wet she started to act shaky and I stopped and she went back to ok again. I'm afraid of baths for her because she was fine and flying until that bath. Then she was wet, shaky and unable to fly.
I'm tempted to get the other one but I don't want to risk siblings mating
And I read online that even breeding pairs usually have to be separated during non breeding season.

[Jamm972]

zebsoc If a brother and sister pair up its no a big danger to them....However there is a risk and complication if you want to breed them. I know you can pair up a dad with daughter or a mom with a son. I don't see any harm with brother and sister. Just keep in mind that their may be some heart ache in the outcome of the eggs. Not fertile, not fully formed, dying within the first 24 hours from being weak.

So there wont be any hard to the brother and sister but maybe a slight difficulty. Chances are if they are paired up they will take the initiative to make it work. Usually canaries that are housed together form a bond. and it can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks for the bond to be broken, also could lead to them starving themselves. would suggest that you go back and purchase the other canary, but you can house them in separate cages if your worried about breeding. but at least they will be able to see each other and feel less lonely.

in breeding is practiced to increase the quality of a specific blood line for example: Strong color outcome, Strong Crested outcome, Strong Singing outcome, and lastly Strong parenting skills. Yes parenting skills are past on to their young, so that just leaves the young babies to only improve on their technique, Keep us posted on the outcome of your decision and if she improves in health.