Canaries and Finches???

[Ginene]

debbie276

That size is fine for a pair of canaries

...OK...only 1 more question ...I have read that male/male and male/female pairs will fight...is this true for female/female too? Just thinking that maybe a companion would be better for Gretel, rather than a mate.

[debbie276]

I only ever had 2 hens and a male, they were glosters, not sure if that makes a difference. I'll let the canary experts answer your concerns.

[Rox]

Ginene

I have 4 Canaries in with my mixed lot of finches (2 males, 2 females, based on singing). They all get on great and the canaries are wonderful to introduce the finches to new foods. But I have a large aviary. I would suggest putting in 1 finch with the canary to start off with and see how it goes. Just keep an eye on it. I definitely wouldn't put a pair of canaries in a small flight with finches though. They can have some serious mid-air fights (more warning, hardly every contact) and in a confined space, that could be dangerous for the smaller birds.

[Ginene]

Rox
I am considering avoiding the finch/canary combo completely and just getting a 2nd hen. I have a male green singer that sings ALL DAY LONG, so I'm OK with not having a male canary. I was curious how 2 females would get along...What do you think?

[Toddmin]

We have 2 opaline canaries together with 4 orange breasted wax bill finches, as well as 5 diamond doves, and have not experienced any issues yet. We have noticed the canaries are more aggressive and have taken over one of the finches' nests. In fact, the canaries are sitting on eggs.

Please excuse any typos, I'm on my Samsung. Whenever I tried entering canaries, autocorrect tried to change it to Canadians or candles. Lol

[Ginene]

Toddmin

Please excuse any typos, I'm on my Samsung. Whenever I tried entering canaries, autocorrect tried to change it to Canadians or candles. Lol

Lol!!! Auto correct has the WORST timing!!! Never there when I need it and butting in when I wish it wouldn't . I didn't notice any spelling errors though, Todd. But I try not to keep my Canadians in the same cages as my finches .

Are your opaline's a M/F pair??? I'm thinking of going with 2 females...after all I do have a serious aversion to breeding ...I heard that males get aggressive with females except during breeding season. That is not OK with me...

[Toddmin]

They are a m/f pair, and the female is sitting on a clutch. I don't know how many there are, I can't see in there. You are right, the males can get a bit aggressive, but I haven't noticed it being bad when they are in a large enough cage/flight. The females will not sing like the males, if that makes a difference to you. Otherwise, why don't you get only one male? Oh wait, you already have a female!

[Zebrafincher]

I keep my canary(Kevin), my star finch (Merlin), and new zebra finch (Beaky), all in separate cages to avoid aggression! The funny thing is that when I let them all out together (I stay in the room to supervise) Kevin ignores the other two, and its the star finch which is picking on the new bird!

[Zebrafincher]

I keep my canary(Kevin), my star finch (Merlin), and new zebra finch (Beaky), all in separate cages to avoid aggression! The funny thing is that when I let them all out together (I stay in the room to supervise) Kevin ignores the other two, and its the star finch which is picking on the new bird!

[Ginene]

Zebrafincher
Lol! Silly Star Finch...My female probably doesn't need company company, its just a human hang-up

You are right, the males can get a bit aggressive, but I haven't noticed it being bad when they are in a large enough cage/flight.

My cage isn't very big...30Wx18Dx25H. It's an OK size for a pair of amicable birds...but if he's on a rampage and she needs shelter from his storm...I don't think she'll find it . I'm not very worried about the song...I have a male and female green singer pair that sing an endless duet everyday and I don't think they would appreciate the competition anyway . Gretel is a variegated American Singer. She is so pretty...yellow, white and tan. I would love a Red Bronze or Mosaic companion for her. I just feel bad that she's all alone ...Like I said to Zebrafincher...it's a human hang-up

[30 Seconds to Bob]

Canaries are not social birds and in the wild do NOT live in flocks. Outside of breeding season, they are solitary birds and do not require company to be happy.
That being said, female canaries can usually be housed together sucessfully with only minor and occasional bickering. Two males can and will fight, especially if kept together in a small cage. Matter of fact, a few years ago, a major bird fighting ring was broken up in the state of Connecticut. No, not roosters - it involved male canaries! Look it up. Bob

[Zebrafincher]

I had my canary, Kevin, with another yellow canary, Ringo, and they seemed to enjoy eachothers company. Having said that, I have Kevin on his own own now - with two finches for company. They all twitter to eachother, but Kevin really is more the solitary bird!

[Zebrafincher]

I had my canary, Kevin, with another yellow canary, Ringo, and they seemed to enjoy eachothers company. Having said that, I have Kevin on his own own now - with two finches for company. They all twitter to eachother, but Kevin really is more the solitary bird!

[Lisa]

Ginene, I had two females that I picked up at the bird meeting housed together. They were fine for a day or two and then started having major fights, they would literally knock over the food dish in their squabbles. I now have them separated. I don't think you will have any better luck with female/female than anything else. As Bob (canary whisperer! ) mentioned above, canaries are solitary birds who would prefer to be alone.

[Ginene]

Ok...its settled...Gretel is going to be the 1 and only bird in her cage. Thank you EVERYONE for sharing your experiences with me (both good and bad) . She will have plenty of birds to view and chatter at from a safe/drama free distance