The Four Golden Rules of Canary Care

Fresh Air

Keep the Canary cages away from the big birds' cages if you have big birds. Keep them 5 or 10 feet apart or across the room if you have space. The waste seeds and poop from the big birds can release spores of aspergillus fungus which can and will slowly kill your canaries. Clean all bird cages twice a week. Do not use wood chips, corn cob chips ect. Keep bulk organic material out of all cages. Again, this is because of the aspergillus risk. Don't worry about all the minute details. Mostly just get the waste out and do not use organic shredded material at the bottom. Keep your canary cage sitting up on a chest and away from windows and drafts. Up on a chest helps keep the air fresher. Drafts and pathogenic air usually travel low in the room. Keep the cage up against a wall. This makes the canary feel more secure and also helps keep away drafts. Put a mirror behind the cage. They love to see themselves in a mirror. Hang some canary toys, one with a little mirror. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get 2 mil thick plastic like they use for painting drop cloth and cut it to the size of the bottom of the cages. If you have big birds do not fly them in place. This will stir up the aspergillus spores. If your Canary quits singing, and fluffs up, watch out! It could be chronic Aspergillosis setting in! Without intervention, the Canary will go into acute Aspergillosis someday soon and be dead in 5 days. A shop vac is useful for cleaning the big birds' cages but keep the filter clean and empty the contents often.

Temperature Controlled Air

Keep your small bird cages well off the ground where drafts are worse. Even in a centrally heated house, keep a heater near the where cold air and drafts will enter the house, sliding glass doors for example. The heater should be a standing Electric Oil-Filled Radiant Portable Heater if possible.

Plenty of Sleep

Small birds are not like big birds. Big birds like macaws are highly intelligent and copy their human flock members' odd habits. Big birds figure out that if they are kept up at odd hours that they can catch up sleep during the day. They are smart enough to master the art of the cat nap. Small birds do not have the intelligence to figure out cat naps. Remember that the smaller the bird, the more care it needs. Give the Canary and small birds plenty of sleep. Cover their cages with a throw blanket and give them 10 hours of sleep at night darkness. People think that the big birds are the exotic birds but that is not the case, relatively speaking. The little birds that cost 90 bucks are the exotic birds. The big birds become humanized and take on the habits of their humans without harm almost no matter how quirky. But the little birds require extra care and a regimented life.

Fresh Water and Adequate Diet

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