FINCHforum

I bought my red factor canary back in April. At the time, he had a dark grey patch on the back of his head which has since molted out. Does this mean he is a red factor split for variegated? I'm still trying to wrap my head around bird genetics.

Also, how old should a canary be for breeding, and which color female is the best match for a male red factor?

Hi Nereine,

Yes, it means your red factor carries some variegated genes but if it molted to clear, that's a good thing. If you want to keep this bird and try to breed some clear red factors, you might try to find a clear red factor hen.
Feather type is also important. Old timers say that for best results you should always try to match a hard feather with a soft feather (sometimes called frosted). Hard to hard makes smaller birds and soft to soft can cause some feather problems in the offspring.
My breeding season doesn't start until early March. Just finishing up the molting season now and still using a color enhancer in the water called canthaxanthin until early next month. They get a variety of seed and plenty of high protein egg food through the winter months to help with the molt and also because other species in the aviary, like the gouldians, are still nesting.

Thanks Paul, so I guess my next question is, is my canary a hard feather or a soft feather? Posting some pics below, let me know if you can't view them, or need better photos.

Nice bird! Your third pic looks to me to be a hard feather.
Here are some examples of the soft (or frosted) and hard feather birds. The one in my profile is also a hard feather.
If you're color feeding you might want to continue for a few more weeks to get a more even finish like this one. Paul