Hi Sunnymom,

I'd like to know more about canaries too - I suppose I thought they were good for looking at, but not much else! In my ignorance I'd assumed it wouldn't be possible to tame one enough for it to come to you willingly. That should teach me not to make assumptions!

Do canaries eat a varied diet, including fruit and veg, or are they seed-lovers?

Please, share your experience with us!

Glyn.

This site has a lot on taming canaries:
http://www.robirda.com/handpraise.html

I think they are hard to tame since you usually can't get young ones. Usually they don't sell them until they're old enough to start singing.

Karen and Chico (greencheek conure) and Pippin (budgie)

That's a great link, thanks for posting it!

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA

My DH had a female canary that talked (peeped) to him all the time especially if he was eating fruit :) She would get louder and louder till he gave her a piece.She wasn't handable but had a great personality She was yellow and her name was Sissy.She was 8 years old when she died.


just me an jabber

i adore my Waterslager canary! i was happy to see there's a few others here interested in canaries. i was interested in purchasing a canary, & internet research led me to the Waterslager variety.

i was lucky enough to find a local breeder who shows his songbirds competitively & sometimes sells his available stock as pets. he watched his flock for a bird that sang well & brought him to his house for me to see. he also brought his competing team in for me to observe. i was so impressed! Sebastian (the canary breeder) tells me he prefers to let the mothers raise the chicks, but he has hand fed a few birds when needed. i don't know that there is a difference in hand-fed vs. parent-raised birds like canaries or finches when it comes to improving handling ability.

i paid $125 for my bird & am still confident in my purchase. here is Sebastian's website if anyone is interested: http://abirdinthehand.info/Home_Page.php
he's a friendly, knowledgeable bird breeder & i highly recommend him if you are in the California Bay Area (SF) & interested in these canaries.

Ami is an excellent songbird & lights up when my husband & i come home. he is definitely friendly, not getting upset when i am in & out of the cage, even becoming more "chatty" when i am refilling his treat dishes.
Ami *loves* veggies, in fact he eats a wider variety than my Bourke's parakeet! i feed him a pelleted diet with seed only as a treat & fruits & veggies making up a large part of the rest.
i don't handle Ami (which is why i got my Bourke! for a more interactive bird) but a canary is by no means a boring bird!