FINCHforum

I have a lovely red factor canary, and for the past several days, he’s been singing less often and much more quietly. He also doesn’t sing his whole song, just a few notes and then stops. It’s like he’s losing his voice! He’s still active and looks healthy. Droppings look normal. Eating and drinking normally. I have seen a few feathers on the ground. Is he molting? If so, isn’t it out of season to be molting? Any ideas what I need to do to get my singer singing again?

I have tried playing recordings of canaries, and that gets him to sing for a minute, but then he stops.

A few ideas--

Sometimes young females sing in the fall, but then sort of stop, like you're describing.

Is there a female in the cage with him? They often times sing quite a bit less if there is a hen in their territory.

Are you controlling the day length? Canaries should be at about 10 hours 45 minutes now, and dark for the rest of the 24 hour period.

Thanks, Dave, for your response. I hope my canary is not a female. I was told he was a male when I bought him in October, but the seller may have been mistaken.

There is no female in the cage or in the house.

I hadn't been covering his cage until the last few nights, but I am now. Will that possibly bring his singing back? Is there any way to tell a male from a female besides the singing?

Thank again!

hfinney

Hi,

If your Canary was a real singer, then we're probably looking at a male.

Male Canaries, will usually stop singing during their moult.
Normally most Canaries will moult in late Spring and Summer, but at times daylight hours that are too long can cause them to go into a molt that is out of season.

Has your bird moulted this year yet?

If you are finding feathers, then my guess would be that he's moulting.

To help him moult faster, I would order some Feather Fast and use it according to instruction. It's quite amazing.

To answer your question about sexing Canaries...
It involves checking out the bird's sexual organs. Unless you really know what to look for, you're better off asking an experienced breeder to look at him.

Also, just to be on the safe side, I would pick him up and listen to his chest. You should be hearing normal breathing, with a frantic little heart beat. You should not be hearing any clicking, ticking, or cracking sounds (which may mean airsac mites, or a respiratory problem).

Good luck.

Got it. I’ll check for clicking sounds just to be sure. I only got him at the end of October, so I don’t know if he molted before that. He was also born sometime this year so I don’t know if that matters. I’m new to birds but I’m learning as much as I can. Enjoying the process immensely! Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Elana has good advice. Improper molting could well be the problem, and that could be because the day length wasn't being seasonally adjusted before you got the bird. Did you get it from a pet shop or store?

Sexing Canaries is never a sure thing until a hen lays an egg--then you know that you have a hen. Even breeders that have had Canaries for 50 years get fooled sometimes.

That is one reason people keep Canaries singly, in their own cage. It is easier to observe them that way.

I got him from a guy at a pet show at the end of October. I don’t know if his daylight hours were being adjusted or not. I’m adjusting them now though.

I’ve seen several more feathers today so I’m thinking he is molting. I’ll get the feather fast, as Elana suggested. Anything else I should do for him? Special diet?

Thanks for your help. Eager to hear my boy singing again!

hfinney

Moulting can take a bit of time with some Canaries, but the Feather Fast helps move things along faster, and helps with new feather growth.

Regarding diet, I would offer some hard boiled eggs daily while he's moulting, greens and veggies, and spray millet along with his regular diet.

If he's a red colour bred, you will want to feed him some grated carrot, some grated beet, and some red Swiss chard as well as other veggies and greens to help maintain his colour (unless you wish to colour feed him).

Follow up to this...Titus is singing again! Yay. He's singing as frequently as he was before, and he's finally worked his way back up to his usual volume.

I had found several long feathers on the bottom of the cage and on the floor he stopped singing, but as he started singing again, that stopped. However, yesterday and today I've found a couple more.

Is there any other reason for a canary to be losing feathers besides a molt?I've listened to his chest, and I don't hear any clicking. Droppings look normal to me. Eating and flying and singing well. Just random feathers on the ground, so I want to be sure I'm not missing anything before I assume he's just molting.

hfinney

Unless you are seeing some other symptoms, I would just assume that he is in the last stages of his molt.

If he's singing, he's feeling well and is happy.

I would still offer some hard boiled egg, to help him grow the last of his flight feathers, along with some apple and greens.

Glad to hear that he's back to singing as loud as ever,.. .

Great. Thanks!