Aria From A Bird Cage

American Singer Canaries 

  According to Webster Dictionary:     a-ri-a. (ä΄rēַə), noun,  1. an elaborate melody sung by a single voice    2. a striking solo performance  [Italian, from Latin ǎera, literally means air]

There are many aspects to Canary and birdroom management, ranging from birdroom layout and equipment to the challenge of breeding season... providing for the needs of an entire flock of birds as opposed to a handful of birds kept only as pets.

This section will not attempt to cover all of those details, but will offer to you some unique tips and techniques that I have found useful in my own birdroom.  I highly suggest that you read all you can get your hands on that relates to canaries and breeding them... before you purchase your first breeding cage. 

This is a very rewarding and satisfying hobby, but can also be very demanding of your time and attention, not to mention the expenses of setting up a workable birdroom. 

I'll welcome you into my birdroom, and show you my simple and functional setup.  Although it is a work in process, my hope is you gain some good ideas to help you on your way to managing a successful birdroom of your own.

• Organization and Setup  

• Uniformity

• Versatility

• Recordkeeping

• Other Resources

• Enjoyment

As much as possible, keep the cages and equipment in your birdroom uniform. This enables you to rearrange and interchange things easily. 

I've found this especially useful in things such feeding cups and drinkers.  By using the same style throughout the birdroom, I always have clean containers to replace the dirty ones.  They clip right into the holders that are already in the cages, making this a quick process.  The dirty ones can be placed in the sink until I have time for washing and disinfecting them.

This extends to even the cages themselves.  All of my breeding cages are identical, and outfitted the same.  I always keep an extra cage or two clean and ready, and when I am pressed for time, I can pull a dirty cage off the shelf, slid one of the extra cages into its place and put the occupant into the clean cage.  The dirty cage can wait until the weekend when I have time to give it a thorough cleaning.

When choosing cages for your birdroom, think "versatility".  When I first started, I equipped my room with a battery of twelve double breeding cages, each one having a wire divider that would easily slide in and out from the front of the cage.  I cut out some solid dividers of corrugated PVC signboard, the kind that makers of outdoor signs use.  It is durable, rigid, lightweight, and washable.  In addition to making slide in dividers with this material, I cut pieces to slide along the outsides of the cages so the occupants have privacy from their neighbors.  Without them, the males would be busy scoping out the hens in the next cage, and the hens would be making eyes at the someone other than her "intended".  This isolation also helps them to claim that space as their own, and feel secure.  This modest setup allows me to divide the cages to make twenty four individual cages or remove the dividers and make twelve large cages. 

I should also warn you that within a year, I was doubling the number of cages I had, as my interest mushroomed.  Don't let that scare you, because one of the keys on any hobby is managing its size to stay within your own budget, how much time you have available to devote to it, and your individual resources.

I chose a cage that was 24" long, 16" tall, and 16" deep.  This size makes a very nice home for a single male during most of the year.  When breeding time comes, the dividers go in as I introduce him to the hen.  The pair raises their chicks together there, and the chicks eventually get transferred to another divided cage for weaning.

When I started out, I also looked for versatility in room arrangement, so I placed my cages (both breeding and flight) on rolling stands.  This made for easy cleaning, as I could roll a set of cages out into the middle of the room and have access to the walls and floor space.  I was also able to change the configuration of the room to suit the season, and having the moveable cages made it possible.

I used the bottom cage space of the rack to hold a covered plastic tote, giving me extra storage space.  This bottom space would not be a good place for birds to occupy because of the possibility of drafts so close to the floor, plus the fact that I would have to stand on my head to observe them and would constantly be bending over to tend to their needs.  I'm finding that middle age makes things like that important, and the less bending, the better.

Every keeper of birds needs contacts and resources far beyond what can be offered in this simple website.  Look for a breeder to purchase your foundation stock from that is willing to answer questions you have along the way and serve as a mentor for you.  Having someone to obtain sound advice from and point you in the right direction is extremely valuable. 

Visit my Good Connections page to find a listing of resources I've found to be particularly helpful.

Last, but not least, one of the things I've found to be most important for those keeping canaries and managing birdrooms is ENJOYMENT.  This is a hobby that is and should be fun. 

Hours and hours of time are required in being devoted to this fancy to be successful.  I have heard that the key to success in anything is this....hard work.  Although this is true, I have also heard that if you work at something you enjoy, you will never work a day in your life.  This means that it won't seem like work so much if you're doing something you enjoy.  Success in canary keeping is the result of enjoyable work.  The hours I've spent in my birdroom are hours of my life that I will never get back, but I can't think of any other way I would have rather spent them.

I've placed an overstuffed chair in an area where I can sit and observe the birds and their activities.  It gives me a quiet place to "consider the birds" and marvel at what intriguing creatures they are.

If you keep canaries, enjoy them, enjoy the work, enjoy the planning, enjoy the challenges.  Enjoy the songs they offer up to you in appreciation for the care and attention you give to managing the details of their lives.

Aria From A Bird Cage