FINCHforum

Hi all!

I have a canary in a large, walk-in aviary that laid one egg three days ago. No more eggs. She is sitting tight on the egg and only leaves the nest to eat and drink. Is it common for a canary to lay only one egg? She seems fine and doesn't appear to be egg bound. I am feeding her egg food w/ crushed shell and lots of greens.

Thanks!

Looks like she was just practicing. She abandoned the nest today so I candled it and it was clear. She'll make a good mom when she finally lays fertile eggs.

Is she being exposed to natural sunlight? She could be lacking vitamin D to
Absorb the Calcium. My female Gloster hen only would lay 1 egg till I made sure she had exposure to natural sunlight then her following clutch 5 beautiful healthy eggs.

Razasings, thank you!! She's in an outdoor aviary so she gets lots of natural light. My birds have only been in the aviary for 3 1/2 weeks. I got them from a hobbyist who was moving out of state and they all lived in breeding cages prior to the aviary.

Little momma canary started nesting as soon as soon as she entered the aviary and only laid one egg. She didn't seem to have a "husband" though. Canary dads are typically involved in the nest and baby rearing, right? She abandoned the nest and egg after 5 days of sitting but the egg was clear. I accidentally broke it when I removed it and the nest from the aviary and it definitely was not a viable egg (and not just because I broke it! ).

I'm getting different nests today. I have the plastic cups that are lined with felt but, since they are outside and it's the rainy season in FL, the nests never seem to dry out. There is a roof on the aviary but it rains sideways here. I'm going to get the woven grass cups since the canaries seem to like the cups the best.

Hi Sharon, sorry about the egg. I am not an expert on canaries, but you can get metal baskets at some pet stores and they hang on the cage like the bamboo ones, if you put a coffee filter in it it will cover the holes and maybe dry out faster . Just a thought !

lem2bert, I love the coffee filter idea! I'll get a couple of each and see which ones they prefer. Thanks!