Information on Canaries
Canary Color Terms
- Yellow--may be soft or intense, depending on plumage type. Yellows don't change color after the molt.
- White--a straight white bird. Feathers come in white and stay that way.
- Redfactor--a soft orange through a bright red. Redfactors appear yellow until the molt. Redfactor canaries fed carrots in their youth will show a brighter color.
- Lizard--feathers have a large black center. The base color may be yellow or redfactor. Yellow-based lizards look green, and are often called such.
- Clear--a yellow, white or redfactor canary without any dark marks.
- Ticked--canary has a small patch of dark feathers on an otherwise light body.
- Foul--canary with a small patch of light feathers on an otherwise dark body.
- Varigated--large patches of light and dark feathers.
- Self--canary has completely dark feathers, without any light patches.
- Cinnamon--light brown
- Blue--a dark, almost black color.
Canary Feather Types
Canaries can have either "hard" or "buff" feathers. Hard feathers lie close to the body, and are generally darker in color than the buff. A hard feathered canary looks skinny.
Buff feathers are more loose, and stand away from the body somewhat. The ends of buff feathers don't hold color, making the bird appear light or frosted. Buff birds look, well, buff.
Crested or Plainhead
A crested canary is one who has a "funny hair-do." The feathers on it's head radiate outward. A plainhead is one who's head feathers follow a normal, smooth pattern.
Canary Breeds
- Song Canaries--canaries bred for their song.
- American Singer--the "normal" canary, known for it's vigourous song.
- Roller--known for it's soft, rolling song.
- Type Canaries--bred for what they look like.
- Border--fairly normal finch conformation. Breed for good proportion.
- Norwich--generally larger, seem a bit blockier.
- Gloster--bred for crests. Not all Gloster have crests, but many do.
- Scotch Fancy--has a funny forward posture, some frilling of feathers on the chest.
- Parisian Frill--the feathers swish sideways all over the body, creating a frilly effect.
Choosing a Mate
There are some specific rules about who a canary may chose as a mate.
- A white bird may not be mated with a white.
- A crested bird may not be mated with another crested.
- Buff birds can't be mated to buff, and hard can't be mated to hard.
- Canary breeds may not be intermixed without special permission.
- Birds from the same clutch may not become a pair.
Canary Breeding
- Your canary must be an adult.
- Your canary must have a mate. This mate must be in accordance with the canary mate rules. It must be mentioned on both canaries' pages that they are mates.
- The female canary must have a special glow globe on her page to make sure she is getting the right amount of light.
- The female canary must make a nest.
- Different types of nesting material will be provided on the accessories page.
- Canaries will also use in their nests whatever they can get their claws on, up to and including strips of the background. The more you provide, the fancier the nest will end up.
- After the nest is built, the female canary will lay between three and seven eggs.
- The number of eggs layed will depend on:
- The mother's inherent abilities
- How well the canary pair are being taken care of.
- The mother and father may each keep an egg.
- The rest of the eggs will be distributed by the shopkeeper.
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Page last updated: Wed. Jan. 12, 2000
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