Month by Month

January

One of the quietest months of the Canary year, the breeding team are housed in their flight cages and fed twice weekly with greenfood, egg food is offered once a week, along with multivitamin in the water and a calcium supplement. Baths are offered weekly.

The breeding cages are cleaned thoroughly, and where necessary a fresh coat of paint is added, the perches are soaked in an antimite treatment and rubbed down with sand paper.

February

The birds are still housed in their flight cages, greenfood is now offered three times a week, a mixture of halved satsumas, broccoli and baby spinach, egg food is offered twice weekly and the calcium supplement is also offered twice weekly. Multivitamin is giving once a week and baths are offered twice weekly.

The nest pans are given a thorough wash, treated with an antimite solution and the nest felts stuck in, the breeding cages are given a treatment with poultry shield to prevent mite infestation.

March

The cocks are removed from their flight cages, sprayed with an antimite treatment and their claws are clipped, being careful to avoid the vein that runs through the nail. They're then placed in their single cages and fed the standard seed mixture, some additional conditional seed, greenfood three times a week and egg food once a week, baths are offered twice weekly.

The hens remain in their flight cages, with baths offered twice weekly, until the third week of the month, at this time they're caught up, their claws clipped, sprayed with an antimite and placed in their breeding cages. I like to put the nest pans in before i put the hens in, i find it easier to see when hens take an interest in the nest.

The birds are offered calcium supplement several times a week, and a little nesting material. The cock birds are introduced to the hens in breeding condition in the morning and again at night, this is repeated until the second egg is laid, for the few that i run as pairs the cocks are introduced and, assuimg there is no reaction, left with the hen.

April

The breeding season is now well underway with the first nests set early in the month, calcium and multivit is offered several times a week, with oystershell grit and cuttle fish always available. The incubating hens are offered baths four days before the first round is due to hatch.

Egg food is offered twice daily to the rearing hens, as is greenfood and after the third day, soaked seed.The single cocks are given greenfood and eggfood a couple of times a week.

May

The cocks are run over the hens when the first round young are around 14 days old, at 18-19 days I offer a second nest pan to the single hens, those hens that are run as pairs will have a second nest pan after 14 days, as the cock will generally take over the feeding of the young.

The first round youngsters start to leave the nest at around 16-18 days, and once they can be seen to be feeding themselves are rung and removed to the weaning cages, they're fed twice daily with eggfood, greenfood and for the first week soaked seed, this is then replaced with a kraker tonic hard seed mix.

The cages are given a thorough clean and sprayed with Ardap to prevent mite,a new nest pan is added and the breeding process of early April is repeated. The second round is set, with single cocks fed greenfood and eggfood a couple of times a week.

June

The second round hatches and is weaned, and a select number of hens are used for a third round. The second round of young are weaned, and depending on space the first round youngsters are moved to the flight cages to moult out.

The breeding season is reaching it's conclusion with the third round nests set towards the end of the month. Greenfood and softfood are still readily available to all of the birds.

July

The conclusion of the breeding season as the third and final round, and any second round stragglers are weaned. The adult birds, cocks and hens are sprayed with an antimite treatment, given a regular supply of multivitamin and liquid calcium and placed together in the flight cages to complete the moult.

The breeding cages are given a thorough wash and sprayed with poultry shield and prepared to take the first round young.The first round young, now on hard seed and eggfood mix daily, are placed in the single cages to moult out.

August

All of the birds are into the moult, with feathers everywhere!. Egg food is offered to all of the birds daily, with greenfood, multivitamin and calcium offered a couple of times a week. Baths are offered three times a week to both the first round birds and adults in the flight cages.

Thoughts turn to the show season and the show cages are taken out of storage, checked over with any missing paint touched up, the first show schedules start to arrive.

September

The early bred birds are now almost through the moult with just the heads to finish off. The first selection of the flighted birds that are to be retained is made, the first draft of the show team is selected and those birds that will be sold are selected.

Baths are offered frequently, but eggfood is finished for the year, greenfood and multivits are offered weekly.

October

The first selection of surplus stock to leave the birdroom is made and preparation for the show season is now well underway with the first shows of the season towards the end of the month.

Any outcrosses for the stud are purchased and the flighted cocks and hens given frequent baths and plenty of greenfood.

November

The main show month of the year with a specialist show almost every weekend of the month. Show cages are cleaned and prepared early week and the showteam is bathed on the Monday, sprayed heavily on Tuesday and given a light spray on the Wednesday. The general fitness of the stud is assessed, ensuring that only fit birds are put on the show bench.

The team is housed in single cages, with the flighted birds enjoying regular baths and green food in the flight cages.

December

The final shows are early in the month, any remaining surplus stock is sold and the show cages are cleaned thoroughly and put away for the following year.

The young birds that will form next years breeding team are sprayed with an antimite treatment and then placed in the flight cages, the cocks and hens are seperated at this time, with the hens placed in the flight cage that receives the most winter sun.