What Does A Canary Eat

Info

Canaries are birds canary eat that can often be found both in nature and as pets. Their melodic trills cannot leave anyone indifferent. But there are situations when the song motifs subside, and the bird looks drooping. The main reason for this condition is poor diet. As experienced poultry farmers note, not only the health, but also the mood of the birds depends on a balanced diet. Feathered pets will please the eye only if they eat properly.

Credit: Birds Authority

What to feed canaries

You need to feed the canary with grain, seeds, oilseed feed (nuts), fortified premixes, and succulent food.

Cereals and seeds

Grain is the basis of Canary Eat nutrition; birds should be offered different types of grain crops.

Experts suggest giving different types of feed.

Credit: Pxfuel

Nuts

The Canary Eat also feeds on nuts. They are a favorite treat for birds. Since this food contains fat, you should not feed it a lot.

As for acorns and chestnuts, these foods are very rich in carbohydrates and minerals, but, as a rule, canaries eat them without much enthusiasm. Therefore, it is better to chop such food before consumption and add it to the main diet.

Fruits and vegetables Canary Eat

Succulent food must be present in the diet of song finches. It includes fruits, vegetables and a variety of greens. Such food is quickly and easily absorbed by the body, improves the functioning of the digestive tract and replenishes the need for vitamins. It is allowed to give fruit and vegetable juices and purees from the following fruits. There are no restrictions on the dosage of this type of feed.

Vitamins and mineral supplements

Vitamins for canaries are the basis for the proper functioning of the body, as well as for normal metabolism. Their deficiency can cause severe pathological disorders (vitaminosis, hypovitaminosis) and lead to deterioration in the health of singing pets. Problems can only be avoided if you constantly monitor the intake of nutrients from food.

Minerals regulate cell nutrition and metabolism, and are also involved in the formation of bones and eggshells. Mineral deficiency disrupts the normal development and growth of birds, and leads to serious pathological disorders. Therefore, these substances must be added to feed and as an additional mineral supplement.

The main natural mineral supplements are:

• charcoal;
• sepia;
• chalk;
• egg shells;
• sand;
• clay;
• glucose;
• calcium lactate or gluconate.

All of the above products are given crushed to a powdery state or vitamin-mineral tiles are prepared from them.

At the end of the cold weather, birds are given tree branches:

• Apple tree,
• cherry,
• currant,
• raspberries,
• viburnum,
• birch,
• Linden,
• maple,
• willow,
• aspen,
• ash,
• alder,
• hawthorn,
• Rowan,
• elder,
• beech.

In winter, a variety of food for canaries includes dried hay or branches soaked in water.

Successful breeding of birds involves the use of animal products:

• boiled chicken eggs;
• fish oil (1–2 drops per 1 teaspoon of mixture);
• trivitamin (1–2 drops per 1 tbsp of mixture);
• low-fat cottage cheese;
• honey;
• small insects.

 Ready-made feed

Ready-made food for canaries, which is sold in the store, has a number of advantages:

• balanced composition;
• do not require additional heat treatment or grinding;
• often contain preventive additives to strengthen the immune system.

The only disadvantage of such food is its cost.

Popular feed brands:

• Padovan,
• Vitakraft,
• Fiory,
• Rio,
• Vitapol,
• Triol,
• Prestige.

When purchasing ready-made poultry food, pay attention to the following nuances:

• Tightness (ingredients in open containers quickly deteriorate).
• Ingredients (exclusively for canaries).
• Mode of application.
• Food standards (permissible doses cannot be exceeded).
• Expiration date (expired food should not be used).

Feeding rules

When feeding canaries, they follow the following rules:

• Balanced menu.
• Periodic composition changes.
• Inclusion in the diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs (even when using factory mixtures), which are given daily, and in unlimited quantities.
• There should always be tree branches and clean drinking water near your pet.
• Feeding schedule: 2 times a day at the same time.

Features of feeding during the molting period

The molting period is a physiological process, but requires special care and attention from humans. At this time, it is worth controlling the canaries’ diet as much as possible, enriching their menu with an increased amount of greens, sprouts, fruits, berries, and vegetables. Even if the birds overeat, they will not be at risk of obesity, since all the nutrients consumed will be used for new plumage.

Feeding during the nesting period and feeding chicks

If you plan to create a home nursery or breed canaries at home, then diet is a prerequisite for successful reproduction.

2 weeks before the nesting season, birds increase the amount of protein-containing foods and vitamins:

• fruits, berries;
• vegetables;
• grains;
• greens and microgreens;
• low-fat cottage cheese;
• small larvae, insects, five to ten pieces per bird;
• honey;
• fish oil.

During mating, poppy seeds are added to the mixture (0.1 g per bird), and removed from the diet when the female lays her second egg. After the first egg appears, all products with proteins are removed, otherwise the eggs will be unfertilized.

During incubation, special attention is paid to the female, since incubation is stressful for her body. The basis of nutrition is grain, seeds and sprouts. Also useful are hemp, flax and canary seeds, chalk, and eggshells.

During the period of feeding the chicks, caring for them falls entirely on the parents. The female feeds them with goiter milk for the first couple of days, and from 3-4 days she regurgitates semi-digested adult food for the babies.

After about three weeks, the young leave the nest and switch to adult food, but the parents continue to feed them until day 40. After the chicks are separated from their parents, they are first fed grain mixtures with the addition of sunflowers, eggs, and fish oil. Over a couple of weeks, the amount of egg mixture is reduced to 2 times a week, and the menu is gradually completely transferred to “adult” mode.

As a rule, canaries are excellent and caring parents. But if there are a lot of chicks, they may not have time to feed them. Then the baby will have to be fed artificially (from the 8th day of life). Using tweezers, a diluted mushy yolk (hard-boiled) is given into their beak. There are cases when adult individuals, for unknown reasons, abandon the brood. In this case, the chicks will also have to be fed artificially. This is a very troublesome task, but anyone can do it.

Prohibited Products

Despite the fact that canaries will not refuse almost any food offered to them, not everything suits them.

The following are strictly prohibited as they can cause the death of your pet:

• grapes, raisins;
• papaya;
• mango;
• avocado;
• persimmon;
• potatoes (provoke acute gastrointestinal pathologies);
• spicy herbs – dill, parsley, celery, cilantro (cause allergies);
• plants containing tannins – oak, pear, bird cherry (spasm of the respiratory tract, constipation);
• all coniferous plants – resinous substances in their composition poison birds;
• poplar (promotes the development of general intoxication);
• stone fruit trees – plum, cherry, sweet cherry, apricot and peach (contain many toxins in the stones);
• chocolate;
• smoked meats;
• spicy and pickled foods;
• salt.

Is it possible to give food to other birds?

Experts recommend never replacing special store-bought food for Canary Eat with others for other types of birds. Unsuitable food can disrupt metabolism, cause obesity, digestive problems, severe allergies with a fatal outcome.

How much water should you give Canary Eat?

Thanks to water, metabolic processes take place in the body of all living creatures, including canaries, useful substances dissolve, they are transformed and delivered to the necessary departments. In addition, water ensures normal thermoregulation.

Water bowls should be kept close to the birds at all times, with easy access to them. The volume is not regulated – the bird independently chooses the right amount required by its body.

For drinking, choose Canary Eat only soft filtered water (otherwise the birds will get hard, toxic salt compounds). Water temperature is room temperature. Drinking bowls are replaced daily.

As you can see, maintaining proper nutrition when keeping canaries is not difficult. By following simple rules and listening to the advice of experienced breeders, the melodic trills of canaries will not subside in the house. Well-fed pets, whose body will receive enough nutrients, will delight all household members.

Also check: How To Distinguish A Canary 

Also check: Is It Necessary To Let A Parrot Out Of Its Cage To Fly?

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