Canary singing: how to choose a bird and train it. Diseases of canaries Buying a canary in the market
Prevention of many diseases in canaries quite simple. The most important thing is to keep the feed, perches, pallet, and the cage itself clean. The grain must be of the last harvest, not moldy, without foreign odors, dry and clean. Wet food should always be fresh. Water must be changed daily, and in hot weather twice a day. Sand and paper on the pallet are changed at least twice a week. If the cage contains several birds, then more often.
The perches are washed with soapy water once a month. 2-3 times a year, and with a large number of birds in a cage and more often, they disinfect it: scald it with boiling water, clean it with a brush or rag with washing powder or a 1-2% solution of lysol, cresol , chloramine or formalin. After disinfection, the cage is thoroughly washed with water and dried.
A newly acquired bird must first be placed in a separate cage, which is installed in another room, away from your other pets. The quarantine lasts one month. During this time, by the appearance of the bird and its behavior, you can determine whether it is sick or not.
When buying a bird and during the quarantine period, pay attention to its development, exterior, landing on the perch and plumage. The latter should be dense, smooth, shiny. A pointed, protruding keel (it can be felt well with fingers) indicates that the bird is sick. Half-closed eyes, inactivity, feathers stained around the cloaca - all these are also signs of the disease. It is quite difficult to accurately diagnose it by the appearance of the bird. Better to have it done by a veterinarian.
A white sheet of paper is placed at the bottom of the cage during quarantine. The consistency of the litter is clearly visible on it. With diarrhea in birds, the droppings are liquid, greenish in color. In this case, you need to pour a small amount of poppy into the grain mixture, which has good fixing properties, and pour a weak solution of potassium permanganate into the drinker. Greens and soft food should not be given to the bird at this time. For constipation, flaxseed is placed in the grain feed, and a drop of vegetable oil can be poured into the beak and cloaca of the canary.
With improper and monotonous feeding, metabolic diseases occur in birds. At the same time, the canary looks disheveled, the feather does not lie tightly and does not shine. Often birds refuse to feed, They have swelling of the eyelids. Young people lag behind in growth and development. The most common metabolic diseases are lack of vitamins A, B and D groups. In this case, it is necessary to improve the conditions for keeping birds, give them more varied grains and soft food with a lot of proteins, germinated grain (millet, canary seed, wheat, etc.). You can also use complex vitamin preparations, for example, trivit. But care must be taken, since an excess of vitamins is just as harmful as their lack. From mineral top dressing, you can offer bone meal, crushed egg shells, shell rock, chalk, calcium gluconate. In summer, sunbathing is necessary, and in winter, irradiation with mercury-quartz or erythema lamps is effective. It should be remembered that mercury-quartz lamps have rather harsh ultraviolet radiation, so they must be used with accurate dosage and ensure that only light reflected from walls or ceilings hits the birds. You need to start the course with two minutes of exposure per day and continue it for two weeks, daily increasing the duration of exposure by half a minute. Then a two-week break is made and the course is repeated again. As a rule, two or three courses are enough for the complete recovery of the bird.
Sometimes canaries have excessive growth of the beak and claws.. In this case, they must be periodically cut with scissors. Previously, the beak and claws are viewed through the light. Remove only their transparent horny parts. Try not to break the blood vessels. But if this happens, lubricate the wound with an iodine solution. It's safer to just file the beak with a nail file.
In some females, during the laying period, the egg is retained in the oviduct. The bird sits ruffled, sometimes at the bottom of the cage. Her abdomen is swollen, the cloaca is inflamed, Sometimes an egg is visible in the ajar cloaca. It is necessary to introduce a little vegetable oil into the cloaca, then drip cold water on the abdomen and place the bird in heat - under a 25-40 W electric light bulb. The bird's beak should be periodically moistened with water. The next egg, as a rule, the female carries safely. Try not to crush the egg in the oviduct, this will most often kill the birds.
Fortunately, with proper care, canaries rarely get sick and live quite a long time. There are cases when males still sang at the age of 14 and lived up to 16 years.
V.A.Ostapenko "Canary"
The canary will easily become a favorite of the whole family. After all, this bird is motley and vociferous, always cheerful and mobile. So it just won't let you get bored. However, in order for the bird to feel comfortable, it needs proper care. When choosing a canary, it is also extremely important not to make a mistake, because sellers can slip a not quite healthy canary. Choosing a bird is not so difficult.
To get started, choose everything you need to care for your future feathered friend. After buying a cage, it must be thoroughly washed and a place for it must be found. There should be: light, warm and most importantly, without drafts. You should not place the cage by the window, in the kitchen, where people often pass, near electrical and heating appliances.
You should buy other accessories: a drinking bowl, a feeder, a bathing container, install perches and swings. Buy canary food in advance.
Now you need to think about what kind of canary you want. They are: decorative, singing, colored. It is quite difficult to find a decorative breed; for this, it is necessary to find a person who breeds just such a breed. There are practically no such birds for sale. The most common are colored and singing canaries.
Singing canaries
Canara singers are mediocre in appearance, but they sing a lot and are pleasing to the ear. There are exceptions when the bird both sings and looks beautiful. Breeders of such songbirds do everything possible to achieve precision, melodiousness and purity of sound from kenars.
Colored canaries
They come in yellow, gray, red, white and green colors. One-color yellow canaries are considered the most beautiful birds. However, sometimes there are individuals with a very diverse set of shades: from white to bright yellow. There are even piebald birds with brown or green spots.
Canary breeders continue to work on getting the latest color options for canaries. In Holland, for example, ivory, orange and bronze canaries were bred in the 1950s. There are no complaints about the singing data of these birds.
In the open sale, in most cases, there are canaries of the "forest tune". With these birds, no one was engaged in singing and exterior. With a free selection of a couple, they simply “divorced” and learned to sing on their own.
Determine the gender of the canary
You should not trust the various methods of determining the sex of young animals that are not yet singing. Neither swelling of the abdomen, nor the demonstration of "buttocks" guarantee an accurate sex determination. In canaries, sexual dimorphism is very weakly expressed. It is only during the breeding season that females can be distinguished from males. The best way to make sure that you have chosen the right kenar is to hear his song. A self-respecting seller will not put up for sale young animals that have not yet molted. He, most likely, will prefer to wait for the period when the birds sing: the price will be higher, they are more willing to buy such canaries.
When to buy a bird?
It is best to choose a bird around four to six months old when they start singing. In a temperate climate, it is best to buy a canary in early autumn, since the mating season and nesting season for these birds is clearly limited, and begins in April.
The main indicators for the "visual" determination of the health of the bird
Please be careful! In no case should you acquire a bird only out of pity, in the hope that it will feel much better with you.
1. A healthy canary is cheerful, quite mobile, cheerful.
2. The eyes are shiny and fully open. (If the bird is fluffed up, the eyelids are half-closed - do not believe that she "jumped, tired, and dozes." The bird is most likely just sick).
3. The plumage of a healthy bird is smooth, without flaws and close fitting. (Don't trust the salesperson's explanation that she's shedding, so her feather is shedding, or that she's "fighted" with someone.)
4. Breathing is even, without unnecessary sounds, calm. It happens if the bird is frightened, opens its beak and begins to breathe abruptly and often. Do not rush to draw conclusions. Move away from her cell a little, give her time to calm down, wait a little. And then look again. If warning signs remain, you should not choose this bird.
5. Look at the paws. Are they neat, without scales, strange spots, growths? Pronounced scales and growths usually indicate a metabolic disorder or a solid age of the bird.
6. Look at the floor of the cage. Litter should not be liquid!
7. A badly feeling canary does not sing (and vice versa: singing is a sign of good health and well-being of a bird).
A canary feels bad if it is inactive, lethargic, sits ruffled on a perch (if it is on the floor and huddled in a corner, it's time to call an ambulance for it), its eyes are half-closed.
Buying a canary at a pet store
There is an opinion that all birds sold in pet stores must be healthy. In theory, animals entering the pet store undergo veterinary control. However, don't count on it too much. Practice proves that in any case, the canary should be looked at very carefully.
In the pet store, pay attention to the following: adult singing kenars should only sit in separate cells. Their cost is higher than females. Females can live together, but not “crammed” into a cage to the eyeballs - this is already an indicator of a neglectful attitude towards birds, moreover, perhaps some individuals are likely to be weakened by malnutrition. If you came for a female and found such a picture, you should not stay in this store at all. In a bunch of birds it will be difficult to see.
Even if the seller swears to you and swears that all the birds are males, just small ones still don’t sing, don’t believe it! It is impossible to distinguish birds at this age by gender without hearing them!
Check with the seller if the male is silent at this time, when he usually does. Birds often sing in the morning, when there are few visitors, and also in the evening. Come in at this time and listen. This will help you decide whether you want to buy this particular bird or better choose a different one. In pet stores, you can also purchase grown females in order to obtain offspring from them.
I would like to emphasize that the birds entering pet stores are mostly randomly bred (they are brought by amateurs who have received offspring from their pair). Such birds are good “for the soul” and for an undemanding buyer
Buying a canary in the market
The market, of course, is much more interesting than the pet store in terms of choice. Prices can be an order of magnitude lower than pet store prices or double them. Here you can find both a dealer and a breeder. But a good seller knows the price of a bird. Believe me, it was not by chance that he asked for a large amount for one kenar, and a smaller one for another.
And yet, in a good pet store, animals are treated more attentively. No self-respecting store will sell sick animals. In bird markets, there is generally no control. Everything is solely on the conscience of the seller. When choosing a canary, pay attention to its well-being.
If you see that the bird is in a rather poor condition, even one of the entire bird "heap", and the seller did not even drop it off and remove it from the counter - leave. You can't buy a healthy canary from this man, it's just a commodity, they don't like animals here.
Moreover, a good seller will try to stand away from loud and noisy parrots - canaries can learn with pleasure from parrots and "decorate" their song with unpleasant sounds. Also, the seller, most likely, has prepared food and convenient carrying. Such a person will answer all your questions, maybe even leave his phone - if you need advice.
Buying a bird from a breeder
How is buying a canary directly from a breeder different from the options already considered? The fact that, by inviting a buyer, the breeder is already taking responsibility for the health of the bird. You have a great opportunity to see all the conditions for keeping canaries. The breeder himself knows his bird very well and will tell you about the shortcomings and advantages of your chosen pet. In a calm atmosphere, you will listen to the singing of a canary, ask questions that interest you. Perhaps you will see the parents of the bird.
You can buy a really thoroughbred, high-quality painted bird and a good singer from a breeder. Such a bird usually does not end up in pet stores and the bird market, but disperses among the seller's acquaintances. Moreover, you can buy canaries of the exhibition and competitive class. As for the prices of domestic canaries, in most cases the cost does not exceed the “pet store” one.
Before going to the breeder, it is advisable to find out by phone the exact information about whether he has a bird that you want to purchase. This will save you time, because if the breeder does not have the necessary canary, he may offer other options or recommend another breeder.
And yet, it is worth remembering that breeders are different. They, too, can cheat, embellish. Any breeder always knows his bird. Even if I forgot, they keep the appropriate records. Does the breeder remember the age of the bird? He is lying. Even if he has a lot of birds, you can always clarify the data from the records. In general, all hope is solely on the decency and honesty of the breeder.
Nuances
Owners of pets that pose a threat to canaries should carefully consider purchasing a bird. It is not difficult to teach a dog to treat a bird with restraint, but it is almost impossible to suppress the hunting instinct of a cat or a cat.
Before purchasing a bird, you need to find out if any of the family members are allergic to feathers. The presence of any allergy symptoms excludes the possibility of keeping any bird at home.
Most people keep a canary solely for the sake of singing. However, expectations are not always justified: it is extremely difficult to make a bird perform trills at your request. Please note that during and after molting, many kenars stop singing. It is very important to prepare for such problems so that disappointment does not subsequently affect your attitude towards the bird.
Canaries of the same sex and heterosexual individuals can be kept together (the latter option is suitable for those who are breeding). In any case, the birds will get along well with each other, because. canaries are peaceful and calm creatures. As a rule, they can even get along with other birds. However, do not put canaries in the same cage with birds that are significantly larger than them (with large parrots, for example).
Canaries are not birds that are strongly attached to humans. However, there were cases when they were imbued with confidence in the owners, yearning in their absence.
There is an opinion that keeping a male and a female in the same cage negatively affects the musical abilities of the kenar. This is partly true, because at the same time he will not need to lure the female with singing. But during the period of incubation, the male, no doubt, will reward you with a repertoire and the skill of performing the best trills.
Buying one canary is recommended, provided that you will be able to spend all your time with the bird. A canary, deprived of the company of its brethren, will not get bored only if the owner plays and talks with it all day long.
And, finally: neither in pet stores, nor in the market, nor from breeders, sold birds are accepted back or exchanged. Why? Due to improper maintenance or feeding, the canary gets sick. And the buyer is to blame, who inquired about the rules for keeping poultry. Salespeople don't want to take the risk of taking on someone else's mistakes. And it is right. After all, we do not carry milk back to the store that has gone sour due to improper storage in the heat. Learn all about the rules for caring for a bird, and your pet will live 10-15 years and bring you a lot of joy and warmth.
We wish you a good choice!
The domestic canary is a subspecies of the finch from the Canary Islands. The bird is found in the Canary, Azores and Madeira Islands. More than 5 centuries have passed since man tamed the bird. As a result of selection, the vocal apparatus of the finch has changed. The singing of the domestic canary differs from that of the wild species.
Canary: maintenance and care at home
Varieties of canaries
In most cases, yellow canaries are taken as pets. But this does not mean that the plumage of a bird has only a yellow color. There are three main types of domestic canaries.
Colored canaries. The color of colored canaries is diverse: yellow, red, green, gray, white, mottled. Gray canaries are especially remarkable, they are born from the combination of green and yellow breeds. As a result of crossing, the color of birds varies from dull black to silver. Red canary is the most catchy, this color is rarely found in nature. Pied canaries have a wide range of colors, their common name is harlequin.
decorative canaries. Distinctive features of birds are unusual plumage and body shape. The names of some breeds of ornamental canaries speak for themselves, for example, curly and hunchbacked.
Singers. Canaries of all kinds sing. The singers have beautiful overflows in the melody, their voices are more musical. Soft birds are traditionally considered the best singers. Kenar breeders especially distinguish green and yellow individuals. Red birds are spectacular, but their voices do not caress the ear. Variegated ones without scarlet shades in feathers sing wonderfully. The arias are performed only by the male. The bird sings throughout the year, with the exception of the molting time. The most remarkable performance is in February-March, when the mating season is underway. The female only sings along: short, rare, less melodious. Caring for canaries of any kind is the same. Everyone who decides to have a bird should know the conditions for keeping a pet.
Canaries are quickly tamed, trusting, and amenable to education. They easily get used to the owner, under comfortable conditions they breed without problems.
Canary cage size: length 35 cm, width 22 cm, height 29 cm. The distance between the bars of the cage should not exceed 1.5 cm. Otherwise, the bird may stick its head between the bars and get stuck. Door on the side, stainless steel double bottom - the characteristic of a good cage. The double bottom will allow you to easily clean the cage, changing the sand in it, and will facilitate the necessary regular disinfection.
The place where the cage stands should be well lit: a dark corner will not work, direct sunlight is also unacceptable. It is necessary to install a perch in the cage - round perches 1.5 cm thick. Perches with a rough surface are best suited. They are set at such a distance from each other that the bird jumps from perch to perch with a flap of wings.
Cage cleaning requires careful approach. All the contents of the cage: pallet, feeders, perches, drinkers, are cleaned at least 2 times a week, doused with boiling water several times. The next step is treatment with a disinfectant solution, for example, chamomile infusion or potassium permanganate solution. Dry after treatment with solution. The pallet is covered with white paper, it is changed every 2-3 days. Clean, river, dry sand is also applicable as bedding.
Feeders are most convenient if they are hinged and retractable. Putting the feeder on the bottom of the cage is not practical, as birds scatter food. Mounted feeders allow the bird to eat in a comfortable position, and the owner to clean up less.
Canaries love water. Bathing is good for birds. Water cleanses the skin and strengthens the feathers. Bathing requires a special container and water at room temperature. The water container cannot be left in the cage for a long time; after bathing, the container is removed. Bathing suit must be washed every day. A month after birth, the pet is ready to get acquainted with water procedures. Accustom the birds to bathing gradually. The sooner the process starts, the better. After all, then the pet will be spared the fear of water.
A drinking bowl is installed in the cage, filled with water at room temperature. Drinking bowl material - porcelain, glass. The drinking bowl is installed between the bars of the cage in any place convenient for the bird.
It is useful for a bird to arrange flight walks around the room. In this case, a number of conditions must be observed to ensure safety.
- close all doors and windows;
- remove hot, sharp objects;
- remove pets from the premises.
When creating comfortable conditions for the bird, you should think about good lighting and a long daylight hours. In winter, you can provide additional lighting by installing a lamp next to the cage. The birds wake up with the sunrise, so at night in the summer the cage is covered with a cloth. This measure will allow the owner of the pet to sleep longer.
Feeding
In the wild, the Canarian finch, following instincts, feeds on greens, grains, and insects in the right proportions. Home conditions of detention oblige the owner of the bird to take care of a balanced diet.
reproduction
The female lays her first egg 10-12 days after intercourse. Further laying occurs every day, usually a couple has up to 5 testicles. After the appearance of the first egg, it is replaced with a wooden one. This is done with each next testicle until the last. When the female lays the last egg, all previously taken ones are returned to the nest. If the eggs are not replaced, the chicks will appear on different days, which will lead to the risk of death of the youngest.
Eggs should be taken out of the nest with a spoon, and not with your hands, so as not to crush. Store in a soft box. The female incubates the eggs for two weeks.. Birds begin to feed their offspring in a day, some, especially caring parents, in a few hours.
The food for the chicks in the first days consists of a hard-boiled egg, finely chopped and mixed with white grated breadcrumbs. After 3-4 days, porridge is added to the diet. Porridge is cooked from rice and millet in milk with the addition of an egg. Food must be stored in the refrigerator.
Cooking porridge is easy:
- boil a glass of water;
- pour a teaspoon of cereal into a glass and cook until the cereal is boiled;
- add 150 gr. to boiled cereals. milk;
- after boiling milk, add 3 teaspoons of cereals and boil;
- salted into boiled porridge and pour an egg into it.
As the chicks grow, the amount of food prepared increases..
A week later, the kenar joins the care of the offspring. On the eighth day the chicks open their eyes, on the twelfth day the chicks try to fly out of the nest. Then the kenar takes full care of the children, as the female must prepare for the next laying and incubation of eggs.
After the ability to fly is established, the chicks are fenced off from their parents with bars. In this case, the female and male will feed the young through the grate. The need for separation is due to the fact that, remaining all together, adults pluck the babies. After two weeks, the chicks are completely independent: they can fly and eat a mixture of grains. Kenars are placed in one cage, females in another and transferred to a normal feeding regimen.
In three weeks kenara begin to try to sing. The songs of the young are not as beautiful as the trills of adult birds, but they allow you to separate males from females. The females do not sing.
One way of breeding is to keep one male with two females. This option creates a serious burden on the female. Breeding in pairs produces healthier offspring and is easier on the birds.
Colored canaries are bred in the same way as songbirds, but they need more attention. Attention should be paid to the selection of individuals for mating. For example, two intensely colored red birds will produce weak offspring with sparse feathers. On the contrary, individuals with a pale color will give birth to healthy chicks with a bright color and beautiful appearance.
It is allowed to cross a pale individual and a brightly colored one, no matter who has the most intense color in a female or male. Part of the brood will take the data of the father, part - the data of the mother, there is a possibility of the birth of defective chicks.
Life span
The average lifespan of a canary is about 10 years., with good care, the birds live up to 15 years. Good care includes:
Canaries are beautiful birds that improve their singing skills throughout their lives. Birds are able to bring joy as pets, live soul to soul with the owner.
The songbird in the house perfectly cheers up people of all ages. I have long dreamed of having such a pet, as I spend most of my time at home. Good singing and easy care were indispensable conditions for the choice. Kenar in this regard is the best option, and now I’ll tell you why.
Canary singing
Amazing. You can listen to it by scoring the corresponding request in any search engine. All kenars can be divided into colored and singing ones. If you want a bird with really amazing vocal abilities, you need to choose not by the brightness of the color and the originality of the appearance, but solely by the voice.
For example, my kenarik looked quite inconspicuous against the background of cells with
the rest of the pink, red and orange counterparts, but his singing conquered immediately. Now, watching it every day, I cannot imagine a more beautiful bird.
It is very important that the bird's voice be pleasant and clear, as you will listen to it a lot. The canary begins to sing almost with the first rays of the sun and can continue all day (with short breaks), ending with the lighting in the room turned off. In the dark, the kenar does not sing, therefore, if the smallest member of the family has become "too much", the cage can be covered with a light dense cloth. I personally never do this, mine does not annoy me at all, and in the early morning it does not interfere with sleep even in summer.
As far as care is concerned,
then everything is very simple. Every morning and every evening, the kenar needs to pour 1 teaspoon of the grain mixture into the feeder. In addition, once every couple of days, the bird needs soft food, it can be grated carrot (1 tsp), 1/2 hard-boiled egg yolk, finely chopped or a sprig of greens, 1/5 apple, a small banana ring, grated white cabbage, Beijing leaf or lightly boiled broccoli. Moreover, there is no need to adhere to any system - what is in the house, then let's. The main thing is only one type of soft food per day.
Today an apple, a couple of days later a carrot, then an egg... And do not forget to remove the soft food in the evening, because it can deteriorate overnight and there is a risk of poisoning the bird.
water in the drinker you need
change daily, be sure to thoroughly rinse the drinker. In principle, if you are leaving for the weekend, then nothing terrible will happen if the drinker stands for 2 days (just fill it so that there is enough water), but not longer.
Kenar is very likes to swim.
Especially on sunny days. At least once every two days he needs to put
bath, but he does water procedures so funny that the chores with the bath are more of a pleasure than a burden.
Expenses
for everything you need for this bird is almost a penny. From the accessories you need to purchase: a cage, a feeder for mineral sand, a feeder for a grain mixture, a feeder for soft food, a drinking bowl, a bath. There are options for cages for kenars, where everything you need is included. I didn't have a bath.
By the way, I bought a bath from Trixie, which is suspended from the outside of the cage doors and is closed on all sides except for the entrance with transparent plastic. This design is very convenient, since water is not sprayed in all directions and the bird will not clog it from above.
From edible you need to buy a grain mixture, mineral sand, mineral stone. In addition, pamper your pet with various spikelets of cereals - the bird loves to bite off the grains itself, and this is useful for the beak.
Now about shortcomings.
Although the bird is a big clean in terms of bathing and the state of the drinker-feeders, it litters itself and how. She can scatter grain feed within a radius of up to 70 cm! around the cell. Yes, it scatters
there are not so many kenars, but it all has to be cleaned every day anyway. So put the cage away from household appliances, beds / sofas and other items on which you do not want to observe grain scattering. It is optimal if the cage is on a separate shelf or cabinet, around which there is free access for cleaning. In addition to grain, the kenar will also scatter feathers, fortunately only once a year, during molting.
In the photo you can see that my Yshik is standing near the computer - this is not very correct. First, sor. Secondly, loud sounds are unpleasant for the bird itself, and I also have a column (but I originally wrote that I needed an undemanding animal, that's why I bought a bird - they are more enduring). Thirdly, my husband is a furniture maker, because the whole structure that you see is on wheels. Guess how my morning starts? That's right - sweep up our little bird. And the back wall, which looks like the back of the throne, blocks (partially) debris from falling into hard-to-reach places. By the way, everything is shared with the bird: the top drawer for Ysh, the second one for me (sweets / mascara), the third one for my husband (business cards / business papers, yes, I know they are called documents!), and the fourth one performs a particularly important function - there are stored chargers for mobile phones, adapters from a gadget to another, in short, all the snake-like brotherhood. By the way, I advise all reading women to have such a box - very convenient! So the bird also brought practical benefits. But get the box anyway, though my missus manages to leave anyway, either charging for a book in the kitchen, or from the body on the balcony .. Well, yes, we still have the family that uses the camera, telephone and e-book as separate family members. Well, at least you don’t have to wear pictures for development). But I digress.)
Having acquired a canary,
you won't be able to travel often. Traveling can be traumatic for a bird.
psychologically and physically, although there are special
transport cells. You can leave the bird alone for no longer than 2 days. I found a way out in a responsible comrade who, during my vacation, visits the bird once every two days and strictly fulfills everything according to the list printed out to him as a guide.
Again about singing.
It is necessary that you and other family members really like how the bird sings. Among about 30 of my friends and acquaintances, there were 5 people who are frankly annoyed by the singing of my bird. Some to such an extent that they ask me to go to another room even during a telephone conversation with them. At the same time, the canary can simply whistle softly, and not sing its most sonorous trills. Imagine what it would be like for such people to live in the same house with my bird, and even more so to take care of it.
Kenar is a smart, sociable, funny, undemanding bird in maintenance and care. But, like any other pet, it needs to be loved. Only then all the minuses become pluses, and small inconveniences become pleasant chores.
The island group includes 13 islands, 5 of which are known for their picturesque nature and pleasant climatic conditions, which have made them a popular world resort.
Europeans discovered the Canary Islands in the 14th century. They were sailors from Spain. They appreciated the beauty of the islands and favorable conditions for life, seized the islands and settled on them, declaring the property of Spain.
Very soon, the new owners of the islands noticed small green birds with a yellow belly, which sang very beautifully. Their singing was so beautiful that it did not leave indifferent even the cruel conquerors.
Perhaps for the first time they saw and heard little singers from the locals, who learned to catch birds and kept them in reed cages.
In addition to the Canary Islands, canaries were later also found on Madera, Porto Santo and the uninhabited Azores, which were discovered by Portuguese navigators in the 15th century. The birds that lived there were very close wild relatives of the canary - the Canarian finches.
From the Canary Islands, sailors began to import tamed songbirds to their homeland, to Europe. The sailors also named the new birds "kanario" after the name of the place from where they began to be brought. This popular name has been preserved for small birds, despite the fact that they were subsequently brought from other places. In different countries, the name of the birds acquired a local sound. So, in Russia the name "canary" was fixed.
Canaries brought from the Canary Islands were even given as gifts to kings and queens. Despite their nondescript appearance, the birds were able to win the love and admiration of high-ranking persons with their singing. For the singers, they made golden cages adorned with precious stones, and also created spacious enclosures with living plants, more like gardens.
Everyone liked the little birds. Soon sailors began to export them in large numbers, not only buying domesticated individuals from the local population, but also catching wild birds in large numbers. However, wild, not accustomed to live in captivity, canaries soon died. Therefore, despite the huge import, they were not widespread in Europe.
Spanish monks were the first to learn how to breed canaries in captivity. They were also able to commercialize this activity for their monasteries. They raised birds for sale, but they tried to sell only males so that the new owners of canaries could not breed them themselves.
Perhaps thanks to the efforts of the monks in the XVI century. canaries were still a rarity in Europe and were so expensive that only rich people were able to purchase them. The canary at that time was a symbol of wealth.
Wealthy people, in turn, had the opportunity to provide birds with good living conditions, which contributed to their adaptation to life in captivity. In addition, despite all the precautions, along with males, it happened that females were also sold, since they almost did not differ in color.
Thus, some new owners got the opportunity to breed canaries. The increase in the number of birds raised in captivity has led to a decrease in their price and, accordingly, to a wider distribution among different segments of the population. At the same time, they remained popular with noble people.
Canaries became especially popular at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, when yellow individuals began to appear among green birds. This attracted the attention of amateur breeders from different countries. The change in color was undoubtedly associated with the conditions in which the birds were kept. A boom in colored canary breeding began in Europe.
Many hobbyists began to engage in targeted breeding, which soon led to the appearance of more than 30 varieties of canary colors. Among them were lemon yellow, white, red, orange and black plumage colors of various shades.
However, the selection developed not only in the color direction. The British, for example, paid more attention to the shape, size and proportions of the bird's body, as well as the structure of its plumage. The result of their work was decorative breeds of canaries with tufts, scallops, pompoms, etc. They bred humpbacked and giant canaries, as well as birds with disproportionately large legs. English breeds are also distinguished by their original colors, for example, there are orange-red birds with dark green wings.
German amateur breeders paid more attention to the singing of canaries. Their work was mainly aimed at fixing hereditary traits associated with singing abilities. They developed a special system for teaching birds to sing with the help of special organs. It is the German canary breeders who have the honor of creating the famous Harz canary roller, whose tune is very low and slightly hoarse, reminiscent of the sound of pipes.
German canary breeders kept their art of teaching birds to sing a secret, passing it down from generation to generation.
Birds began to be exported from Western Europe to other countries: Turkey, China, Japan, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Russia. Very soon the little bird conquered the whole world.
Canaries were kept both in luxurious mansions and in simple houses. The workers found solace and rest by taking care of the birds and enjoying their wonderful singing. Canaries were kept in hairdressing salons, offices, shops, ateliers, and taverns. The miners took them with them to the mines, using their special sensitivity to gas, thanks to which the canaries could give early warning of the danger of an explosion and save human lives.
World wars of the XX century. had a negative impact on canary farming. Many birds were destroyed, some species are irretrievably lost. However, after the end of the war, canary breeders with redoubled zeal began to breed their favorite birds. Currently, canaries are increasingly expanding their popularity.
Birds are used not only by amateurs, but also by ornithologists studying zoopsychology and physiology of animals and birds. Canaries with fine sensitivity are used in chemical laboratories.
Much attention is also paid to the study of the singing of canaries. When comparing the spectrogram of the singing of wild and domestic birds, the influence of domestication on vocal abilities, the features of the inheritance of knees of songs, the hearing threshold in various breeds, etc., are revealed.
Modern selection in canary breeding has many directions. Birds of numerous colors have been bred, as well as with a different structure of plumage (curly, crested canaries), physique (humpback canaries).
Selection work continues. There are all new breeds of canaries. New systems for teaching singing are being developed, new tunes are being composed. Among modern canaries, no one has preserved the original song of wild relatives. In general, the singing of birds has been greatly improved. Thanks to amateurs who worked with birds, their song became much longer and more varied than that of wild canaries.
In Russia, where they were brought from Germany, canaries appeared only in the 17th-18th centuries. Perhaps the reason for such a late appearance of canaries in our country was the climate too harsh for a tropical bird. However, over time, the problem of acclimatization was solved, and the canary took a strong place in the life of the Russian people.
In 1850 literature was published in Russian on the care of canaries. This marked the beginning of canary breeding in Russia. These birds have become especially popular with ordinary people - workers, peasants, artisans, as well as merchants. In some counties and villages, canary breeding was the main income-generating activity. These places included some villages in the Nizhny Novgorod, Tula, Smolensk, Kaluga, Bryansk, Ivanovo and Moscow regions. The most famous canary factories were in the village of Pavlovo in the Nizhny Novgorod province, in the Kaluga region and in the small county towns of the Bryansk region - Starodub, Surazh and Novozybkov.
Breeders sold hundreds and thousands of canaries at such popular fairs as Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Smolensk and others. Visiting merchants from Iran, Central Asia and Transcaucasia bought many birds.
Russian canary breeders have successfully used the experience of European colleagues in their business. However, when teaching canaries to sing, the beautiful knees of birds living in Russia, such as tits, waders, and buntings, have already been used. Canaries began to instill new tunes that differ from European ones.
For training, Russian canary breeders used not only organ pipes, but also all kinds of pipes and other instruments suitable for this, and mainly the voices of natural singers, who were specially caught and tamed for this purpose.
After some time, the singing of canaries brought to Russia began to differ significantly from the singing of European birds. In addition, Russian singers began to pass on their vocal skills by inheritance. Thus, a completely new breed appeared - the Russian singing canary of oatmeal tune, which has a sonorous gentle voice.
The first society of canary lovers in Russia was called the Imperial Russian Society. Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich himself was his patron. Under the auspices of this society, 2 times a year, competitions were held for singing oatmeal canaries. However, birds of other tunes could also participate in the competition, for example, those reproducing Mozart's melodies. By 1914, several such competitions had already been held.
Emperor Nicholas II himself greatly appreciated the singing of canaries. Especially for him, the birds of the famous canary breeder from Pavlov-on-Oka I. N. Gorshkov were delivered, who was awarded the icon of the Mother of God for this.
Bird performances were judged by qualified specialists. The winners received medals. Records of that time indicate that the cost of one kenar participating in such competitions was higher than the cost of a good cavalry horse.
The value of a canary also depended on its place of origin. For example, the most expensive birds were from Pavlov-on-Oka, Ivanovo, Moscow and Tula, where the best canary breeding centers in the country were located.
In addition, the features of the structure of the song were also evaluated in birds, which had various names according to the names of their creators - Gorshkov, Ryabov, Goremykin, Muzlanov, Shelyadov, Shipyard, etc.
The revolution and the Great Patriotic War stopped the development of Russian canary breeding. However, interest in songbirds did not disappear. Competitions continued to be held in the USSR, to which canary lovers from different republics of the country came. Despite the negative attitude of the Soviet authorities towards canaries as a relic of the bourgeois way of life, thousands of people gathered at canary singing competitions. There were so many performances that they took several days. The All-Union Congress of Canary Breeders was even held at VDNKh.
In the 80s. 20th century red canaries were brought to Russia, which breeders obtained by crossing canaries with the Colombian siskin. The new breed gained great popularity in the USSR. Many domestic canary breeders began to cross their own birds with new reds in order to increase the sales of their offspring. However, such birds are completely incapable of inheriting the singing abilities of Russian kenars. Therefore, lovers of canary singing abandoned red birds, returning to green, yellow and white colors.
During perestroika, Russian canary breeding experienced another crisis. With the collapse of the USSR, many connections between amateurs were lost. Fewer and fewer participants began to come to the competitions. In addition, the number of pensioners, who represent the bulk of the canary breeders, has sharply decreased.
Competitions held in Moscow have thinned considerably. Currently, no more than 30-35 birds are exhibited on them. The main reasons are the high cost of intercity trips and the laboriousness of preparing birds for competitions. There are not so many people who know how to prepare birds at the present time. And mostly they are pensioners, who, due to the lack of interest among today's youth, often take with them the secrets of raising and training canaries.
It should be noted that for many years in Russia, radio and television journalists were not allowed to participate in canary competitions, who could record bird singing on film, which would enable other amateurs to use the soundtrack to teach their pets. Thus, the ownership of canary songs was very tightly guarded, as a result of which canary breeding in Russia almost ceased to develop. The owners tend to sell their singers for a lot of money into private hands, and the birds become unavailable. It often happens that the song of the kenar itself changes after the bird passes to another owner.
This situation in Russia will probably remain until the law on the protection of copyrights of canary breeders comes into force. Foreign forms of such a law are not very suitable for Russia, as they require a large financial outlay on the part of the owner of the bird, while at the same time not reducing the risk of the theft of the song.
The preservation of the song of the Russian canary is currently a very urgent problem. After all, the Russian breed can be ranked among the cultural values of the country. It appeared much earlier, for example, the Oryol trotter or the Russian canine greyhound. But at this time the breed is on the verge of extinction. Russian canary breeding lacks the support of charitable organizations.