A Healthy Fife LifeStyle
Here at Fancy Canary, we take great pride in the care of our birds. This starts with providing a nutritious diet comprised of seed, vitamins, minerals, fresh produce and daily water changes. In addition to a healthy diet, the environment is also a key factor in raising a well balanced canary. A 6x4x2 flight cage is used to provide exercise for our hens in order to enhance breeding condition and overall strength. Routine cleaning and maintenance is required in order to uphold the pristine standards we live by. Grooming of our Fife Canaries consists of nail trimming, insect prevention, and frequent bathing.
2019 Breeding Season
As the years have gone on the amount of knowledge, tips and tricks that we have gained, particularly thru a network of fellow breeders, has immensely increased. In some ways this makes certain areas of breeding easier and in others much more involved and intricate. The initial breeding set up, nest boxes, lighting, extra supplements etc. are all second nature while the pairings still continue to be a challenge. Pairing up two of our "best" birds isn't what is going to make the "best" bird anymore as it did ( or so we thought) in the beginning. Having learned over the years thru research, trial and error and more experienced breeders-its all the extra factors that matter into trying to get that "perfect" fife. It still takes me a good amount of time to make the pairings and some work and some do not.
A Peak back in Time
Its always fun to see how much we have grown over the years regarding the quality of our birds. Breeding is a constant learning process. Each year presents its own challenges in trying to find the perfect balance in our birds. Comparing year to year allows us to see what our birds need to improve and shows a positive progression of quality.
2015 Breeding Season
Week 1: After much contemplation and planning the fifes have been paired up with their mates in divided cages. Pairing up the birds is always one of the more challenging parts of the year. In order to achieve the best overall fifes you want to factor in color, shapes, temperaments, desired potential outcome etc. The hens should begin to use the various nesting material provided to begin construction on their nests. This is also a great time to keep up with their vitamins and minerals to prepare them for producing eggs.
Week 2: The nesting boxes have been nicely constructed nests and breeding has commenced. The upcoming days we will be checking for eggs. Some people like to remove the eggs once they are laid and place them in a warm area until all the hens eggs have been laid. Once the hens have laid all of their eggs the eggs are returned to the nest and she sits on them until they are ready to hatch. This technique is a great way to control the babies so that they all hatch at the same time hopefully eliminating the chance of their being a "runt" in the nest. Others prefer to leave the eggs in the nest and let nature take its course as intended. This is also the week that we begin to fill out our cage cards and track progress of each pair.
Week 3: Continuing to monitor eggs and checking for fertile eggs and discarding those that are not. We have recently added a pair of borders to our bird room . Although borders are a nee adventure to us we are very excited to see that this pair has produced fertile eggs.
Week 4: Babies are here! Egg food is being provided three times daily to ensure that the feeders have plenty of fresh food to retain a fresh crop and adequate nourishment for the babies. It is so important to make sure that food is always fresh and available as a canary has a very short time frame that they are able to go without food and water. We are also making sure that the babies are in fact being fed. In rare occasions you will see that a fife parent may not be doing their job fully and you may need to intervene with "foster" parents or hand feeding.
Week 1: After much contemplation and planning the fifes have been paired up with their mates in divided cages. Pairing up the birds is always one of the more challenging parts of the year. In order to achieve the best overall fifes you want to factor in color, shapes, temperaments, desired potential outcome etc. The hens should begin to use the various nesting material provided to begin construction on their nests. This is also a great time to keep up with their vitamins and minerals to prepare them for producing eggs.
Week 2: The nesting boxes have been nicely constructed nests and breeding has commenced. The upcoming days we will be checking for eggs. Some people like to remove the eggs once they are laid and place them in a warm area until all the hens eggs have been laid. Once the hens have laid all of their eggs the eggs are returned to the nest and she sits on them until they are ready to hatch. This technique is a great way to control the babies so that they all hatch at the same time hopefully eliminating the chance of their being a "runt" in the nest. Others prefer to leave the eggs in the nest and let nature take its course as intended. This is also the week that we begin to fill out our cage cards and track progress of each pair.
Week 3: Continuing to monitor eggs and checking for fertile eggs and discarding those that are not. We have recently added a pair of borders to our bird room . Although borders are a nee adventure to us we are very excited to see that this pair has produced fertile eggs.
Week 4: Babies are here! Egg food is being provided three times daily to ensure that the feeders have plenty of fresh food to retain a fresh crop and adequate nourishment for the babies. It is so important to make sure that food is always fresh and available as a canary has a very short time frame that they are able to go without food and water. We are also making sure that the babies are in fact being fed. In rare occasions you will see that a fife parent may not be doing their job fully and you may need to intervene with "foster" parents or hand feeding.
2014 Breeding Season
Week One Progress: The hens have been removed from the flight cage after receiving lots of exercise to help gear them up for a successful breeding season. The birds have been paired up and placed side by side divided in a breeders cage. The hens are receiving small amounts of eggfood as a high protein/calcium source that will be much needed when it comes to producing and laying their eggs. Be on the look out for pictures of this years breeding teams.
Week One Progress: The hens have been removed from the flight cage after receiving lots of exercise to help gear them up for a successful breeding season. The birds have been paired up and placed side by side divided in a breeders cage. The hens are receiving small amounts of eggfood as a high protein/calcium source that will be much needed when it comes to producing and laying their eggs. Be on the look out for pictures of this years breeding teams.
Week Two Progress: Nest box cards are filled out and nests are lined, ready to be placed with the hens this week. Along with nest boxes various types of nesting material will be hung on the cage to provide the hen with all she may need to build a nest. The solid divider has been removed from the middle of the double breeders cage and replaced with a wire grate. This enables the hen and cock to begin to "flirt." You may notice them pecking through the bars or the cock showing off in various ways trying to feed the hen. or increased singing.
Week Three Progress: Check out our breeding pairs below! Nests are beginning to be built by hens. Making sure that there is always nesting material available until the nest is complete is important. Otherwise your hen will find and use any other material she can get her beak on...feathers, bedding etc.
Week Four Progress: Checking lots of nests this week for eggs. We check to see if the eggs are fertile by holding a small flashlight very gently to the egg. If it is fertile the egg will have a pinkish reddish tint while an infertile egg will be yellowish clear. Canaries will lay their eggs first thing in the morning making it an easy routine to check for eggs daily. and pull them out of the nest. We will return the eggs to the hens on the fourth day so that all the babies will hatch the same day.
Week Five and Six: Continuing to monitor daily to see who may have new eggs, new babies etc. It is a great ides to adapt a system that is easy to track that way you can avoid disrupting your sitting hens. Many of our first clutch eggs have successfully hatched or will be hatching this week. Typically once eggs have been returned to the hen it will be 14-16 days until they hatch. We give a blend of homemade and store purchased eggfood to all the cages with new babies for nourishment. You want to see nice full crops (necks) in your baby birds...this is a sign that they are being well cared for by their parents. Another very important tip is to change the eggfood multiple times throughout the day to ensure that it is fresh and safe for the babies
Week Three Progress: Check out our breeding pairs below! Nests are beginning to be built by hens. Making sure that there is always nesting material available until the nest is complete is important. Otherwise your hen will find and use any other material she can get her beak on...feathers, bedding etc.
Week Four Progress: Checking lots of nests this week for eggs. We check to see if the eggs are fertile by holding a small flashlight very gently to the egg. If it is fertile the egg will have a pinkish reddish tint while an infertile egg will be yellowish clear. Canaries will lay their eggs first thing in the morning making it an easy routine to check for eggs daily. and pull them out of the nest. We will return the eggs to the hens on the fourth day so that all the babies will hatch the same day.
Week Five and Six: Continuing to monitor daily to see who may have new eggs, new babies etc. It is a great ides to adapt a system that is easy to track that way you can avoid disrupting your sitting hens. Many of our first clutch eggs have successfully hatched or will be hatching this week. Typically once eggs have been returned to the hen it will be 14-16 days until they hatch. We give a blend of homemade and store purchased eggfood to all the cages with new babies for nourishment. You want to see nice full crops (necks) in your baby birds...this is a sign that they are being well cared for by their parents. Another very important tip is to change the eggfood multiple times throughout the day to ensure that it is fresh and safe for the babies
2013 Fife Canary Breeding Season
Week One Progress: The hens are busy at work constructing their nests. Three hens have laid their first egg of the season with an expected 3-4 more to come from each in the days to follow. This week is an important week to supply plenty of egg food and cuttlebone. These are a rich source of calcium and the egg food is high in protein ensuring that the hens gain lots of strength.
Week Two Progress: Just about all the hens have built their nests and have finished laying their first clutch of eggs. Fifes lay one egg per day and most of our nests have five eggs. At this point in the process we are checking to see if the eggs are fertile. By day nine this is usually done by using a small handheld flashlight gently against the egg. Typically there will be a color difference between the fertile (reddish toned) and unfertile eggs( yellow toned) . As the egg progresses you may even be able to catch a glimpse of a heartbeat. Within a few days we should begin to see the first of the eggs hatch!
Week Three Progress: The first few pairs have successfully birthed baby chicks! The hens are busy keeping their babies warm, while the male works hard to feed his babies, as well as, his mate. With baby chicks it is important to make sure that there is a constant supply of fresh egg food. Egg food is sometimes called soft food and is basically a protein rich supplement that is easily digestible for the baby's young stomachs. For more information on egg food see Canary Care. New chicks will be arriving on a daily basis at this point through next week until the first clutch is completed by all the pairs.
Week Four Progress: Babies, babies, babies! Our nests are full of healthy chicks being cared for by their parents or in some cases "foster" parents. Just as in real world situations there are some parents that are better at parenting than others. In these rare cases we use "foster" fifes. These are our birds that may not be able to produce their own babies but have proven to be nurturing and make exceptional "parents" to the chicks. We are excited to see the babies starting to develop their feathers and we will be able to see what color each chick will be and whether or not they may be lightly or heavily variegated, clear, or ticked.
Week Five Progress: This week many of the first nests of chicks have begun to venture out of their nests and explore. These chicks have their feathers and we can tell what color and markings they have. Mothers were given new nests and plenty of nesting material as it is natural for the hens to want to begin their second nest at approx. 14 days after their first clutch hatches. Replacing nesting material and providing a new nesting pan at the opposite side of the cage is essential in making sure that the hen does not begin to find other sources of nesting material such as its previous chicks feathers and avoids them from building a nest in the bottom of the cage or food dish.
Week Six Progress: The babies are fledging their nests and beginning to explore their homes. Egg food is placed into a low dish so that the chicks can walk around in it and peck at it. Pretty soon they will be dependent completely on themselves. Many of the hens have laid eggs in their new nests and are now sitting keeping their second clutch warm. The fathers will continue to help feed the babies and care for his partner. It is very important to keep a close eye on the existing chicks in order to make sure that they do not climb into the new nests where the eggs could be punctured.
Week Two Progress: Just about all the hens have built their nests and have finished laying their first clutch of eggs. Fifes lay one egg per day and most of our nests have five eggs. At this point in the process we are checking to see if the eggs are fertile. By day nine this is usually done by using a small handheld flashlight gently against the egg. Typically there will be a color difference between the fertile (reddish toned) and unfertile eggs( yellow toned) . As the egg progresses you may even be able to catch a glimpse of a heartbeat. Within a few days we should begin to see the first of the eggs hatch!
Week Three Progress: The first few pairs have successfully birthed baby chicks! The hens are busy keeping their babies warm, while the male works hard to feed his babies, as well as, his mate. With baby chicks it is important to make sure that there is a constant supply of fresh egg food. Egg food is sometimes called soft food and is basically a protein rich supplement that is easily digestible for the baby's young stomachs. For more information on egg food see Canary Care. New chicks will be arriving on a daily basis at this point through next week until the first clutch is completed by all the pairs.
Week Four Progress: Babies, babies, babies! Our nests are full of healthy chicks being cared for by their parents or in some cases "foster" parents. Just as in real world situations there are some parents that are better at parenting than others. In these rare cases we use "foster" fifes. These are our birds that may not be able to produce their own babies but have proven to be nurturing and make exceptional "parents" to the chicks. We are excited to see the babies starting to develop their feathers and we will be able to see what color each chick will be and whether or not they may be lightly or heavily variegated, clear, or ticked.
Week Five Progress: This week many of the first nests of chicks have begun to venture out of their nests and explore. These chicks have their feathers and we can tell what color and markings they have. Mothers were given new nests and plenty of nesting material as it is natural for the hens to want to begin their second nest at approx. 14 days after their first clutch hatches. Replacing nesting material and providing a new nesting pan at the opposite side of the cage is essential in making sure that the hen does not begin to find other sources of nesting material such as its previous chicks feathers and avoids them from building a nest in the bottom of the cage or food dish.
Week Six Progress: The babies are fledging their nests and beginning to explore their homes. Egg food is placed into a low dish so that the chicks can walk around in it and peck at it. Pretty soon they will be dependent completely on themselves. Many of the hens have laid eggs in their new nests and are now sitting keeping their second clutch warm. The fathers will continue to help feed the babies and care for his partner. It is very important to keep a close eye on the existing chicks in order to make sure that they do not climb into the new nests where the eggs could be punctured.
We are proud to announce
Fancy Canary was
Best Overall in the Fife Category
at the 2013 G .S.B.A !
Some of the 2013 fife babies all grown up!
2012 Fife Breeding Season
Click the individual image for a larger view and captions for select pictures.
2013 Breeding Gallery
Below is a sampling of Fife Canaries that will be paired for the 2013 breeding season.
We currently breed clear yellow, clear buffs, greens, yellow greens, buff greens, buff green variegated, yellow green variegated, and blues.
We currently breed clear yellow, clear buffs, greens, yellow greens, buff greens, buff green variegated, yellow green variegated, and blues.
