An egg too early

[Dave]

Wow, one of my canary hens made a nest and laid the first egg. It really surprised me, because this group of canaries are in an outdoor aviary. We have 10 hours of sunlight now, plus an extra 1/4 hour extra of electric light in their building.

On top of that, this aviary and building is unheated. We've been as cold as -3° F (-19° C) this month, and the 24 hour average temperature has been 41° F (5° C) for this month.

In the past my canaries didn't start to lay egg until something like 13 hours of light.

The males have been singing frequently since November 1, and over the last month have been staking out territory. A couple of hens have been carrying paper and string around. I put in some nests, really just to have that chore finished. One hen was in the nest within the hour, and within a day had lined it and laid an egg.

Do you think the males could be fertile yet?

[Shannylee]

Yay! Dave, every single one of the nests that I have provided is full of a mom + eggs and/or chicks in my outdoor aviary. I live in Central FL so my climate is a bit different than yours but they acclimate. One little hen built her own nest in a shelf I provided. She has chicks but I don't know how many. The boys....omigoodness. I'm finding some pecked eggs on the floor of the aviary. I'm not sure if the dominant male is killing off the chicks that he knows are not his or if the nosy spice finches are raiding the nests.

[lovezebs]

Dave

It is possible, but I would think that it might be infertile, but who knows for sure.

Personally I would think too early in the season, and not enough daylight hours, but..... I have been known to be wrong before, lol.

[Dave]

Shannylee, do your outdoor canaries usually lay this early? Or is this an early year?

I've been struck in the past by this: canaries over a big swath of geography seem to have 'early' years and 'late' years. Even birds that are raised indoor under lights seem to do this.

That might just be anecdotal, but people that have raised canaries for years will likely agree. Something quite subtle must be an influence. I wonder what that is?

[Shannylee]

Dave, this is the first breeding season that I've had canaries. I had one chick fledge yesterday and another one will hop the nest any day now.

[Dave]

Shannylee, I guess rules are meant to be broken. Or, someone slipped the wrong calendar into your aviary.

Or...you don't have a street light near, do you? Are they on natural light, with something like 11 hours of light and 13 hours of darkness now? 'Dark' should be too dark to easily read a newspaper. Of course, that doesn't explain my hen with eggs.

I'm amazed that you have a fledged out chick already.

[Shannylee]

Dave, I don't have any artificial lighting near the aviary and it only gets morning (until 11am) and 3 - 4pm sunshine. Shaded the rest of the day. I, apparently, did not have enough nest cups so one little hen built her own nest. I have no clue what she has in the nest because she's too high up. It will be a surprise! 3 other hens are sitting on eggs. The 4th one that was sitting tight ditched her eggs yesterday. This is her 3rd attempt but I think that in all of the color breeding, they bred the brains right outta her.

[Dave]

Today I found a nest in the canary aviary that was WELL hidden, tucked into a rafter. It has 2 or 3 canary chicks in it, about 3 days old.

We're not even up to 12 hours of light per day yet, so I'm officially amazed.

These birds are in an outdoor aviary, with an unheated building. It has been warmer this winter, but jeepers--this is central Kentucky, not the tropics.

As per above, Shannylee has birds on natural light and already has Canary chicks this year. Anyone else?

[Shannylee]

Dave, I have a canary hen feeding 3 brand new chicks. There is still one egg in the nest that should hatch today.