![]() ![]() The site content is primarily for the beginner and for Australian conditions. Everything on this website is absolutely FREE. There are plenty of Tips & Tricks and Articles, use the Menu at the top of this the Home page or at the top of every other page, or use the Index - Click here. The index is the most valuable tool on this site.! The Tips and articles which have been selected for this site are relevant to both the beginner and may help in reminding the enthusiast of the basic principles of keeping Canaries. The content changes from time to time as the authors produce more text. We are also limited by the WEB storage capacity, therefore some articles will disappear. See also Tips & Tricks. |
![]() ![]() This
site is specifically targeted at the Fife Canary. I love the Fife
because it is so active, small, sings like a little beauty, and breeds
like a rabbit. |
If your keeping a single bird as a companion you can use
an all wire cage that you buy from a Pet Shop or Produce Store.
Remember to keep your bird out of strong drafts and it helps to cover
the cage at night. Make sure your bird has plenty of clean water and
seed and give a little greens each day.
If your going to breed, then to have a consistent breeding quantity and quality however, you need to breed in a smaller cage that is closed in on all sides except for a wire front. A cage like this is often referred to as a breeding box and when there are many separate compartments is known as a breeding cabinet. In each box you would only have 1 hen [girl] and 1 cock [boy]. This gives the breeder the ability to create a more consistent quality and also is a more reliable method than an Aviary You can also keep the Fife in an aviary. At a minimum the aviary must have a closed in area for protection from the cold, wind and wet. Be particularly careful in colder climates as Canaries don't like to be chilled. When breeding in an aviary you usually have more hens than cocks, to avoid the cocks fighting. I personally breed in cabinets and then release into Aviaries for the rest of the time. Breeders who show, keep their birds in cabinets to keep them better trained and not as wild. see also |
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COLOUR | DESCRIPTION |
Yellow |
An intense yellow not washed out or pale. Sometimes called Intensive
Yellow. The Yellow is lipochrome (a fat-soluble dye that colours the feathers) for more information on |
Buff |
A shade of yellow, which is caused by the
bird having bigger and more rounded feathers, where the edge is frosted white. Sometimes referred to as Frosted. for more information on |
White |
A white canary is "white" but may have very
slight tinges of yellow on its flanks. for more information on |
Green |
This is a yellow or buff bird with a black and brown pigment [melanin]
superimposed over their ground colour,
which gives the bird a greenish appearance. This is the colour of the
wild-type. A true green bird also has dark skin on legs and feet. for more information on |
Cinnamon |
This is a yellow or buff bird with a brown
only pigment [melanin] superimposed over, which gives the bird a
brownish appearance. Cinnamons have pink eyes which can be observed easily when first born. for more information on |
Blue |
Blue is a
White Bird with the same colours over as the Green i.e. Black and Brown for more information on |
Faun |
Faun is a White Bird with Cinnamon, i.e. Brown melanin over for more information on |
Grizzled | Any Coloured bird with a patch of light grey. This is a term used when showing. |
Lightly variegated (LV) | Is associated with colour in that the bird has less than 50% dark feathers, Green, Cinnamon, Faun or Blue. This is a term used when showing. see also |
Heavily variegated (HV) | Is associated with colour in that the bird has more than 50% dark feathers, Green, Cinnamon, Faun or Blue. This is also a term used when showing. |
Ticked | Is associated with colour in that the bird has a single small patch of dark feathers. In Australia it would be less than .10c. This is a term used mainly when showing. |
Foul | A bird that would would have been classified self, except for a light feather usually in the wing or tail |
Self | A dark feathered bird that contains NO light feathers; i.e. it is 100% dark feathered |