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By Marie Miley-Russell
© 2007, all rights reserved by author
Your birds are
finished or nearly finished breeding and you have a number of birds in the
flights for the summer. Many of the babies are warbling away and tuning up
their songs. The older hens and males are relaxing and taking it easy after
months of hard work. Weary breeders are looking forward to several quiet
months before the beginning of caging up males in late summer for show
training, but now is not the time to relax.
Young birds
will continue to grow for a month or two after they are feeding themselves.
They continue to need all the good nutrition they received as chicks and
weanlings during this growth period. Hens and males which have fed chicks
are tired and their physical reserves have been depleted- ensuring that they
receive great nutrition before the molt begins will help them renew their
bodies and stay strong.
Soon your birds
will enter the molt, which is one of the most stressful periods of their
lives and how they are cared for during this time will greatly impact their
performance during the upcoming show and breeding seasons.
Additionally,
conditioning your birds for breeding should be viewed as a year-round
process which begins in the egg, continues through a bird’s maturation
period, and peaks during breeding season.
There are as
many methods of caring for birds during the molt as there are breeders- some
are better than others, however. Certainly a healthy bird can get through
the molt with a minimum of care; however, they may make you pay for your
neglect later in the year by dragging through the molt, having feathers
which are brittle and lusterless, being slow to come into breeding
condition, having decreased fertility, or even dropping dead.
This is my
method of caring for my birds during the spring and summer- it works well
for me. Feel free to adopt those things that you like and leave what you
don’t.
After breeding
season is finished, all hens and young birds are housed together in a large
walk-in flight, where they receive the same diet until the molt begins in
earnest in early summer. The males receive a lighter diet as they are housed
in individual flight cages until they are molting heavily, when they are
moved to the walk-in flight.
The lights
during breeding season are usually on 13 - 13.5 hours a day. Once the
youngest birds have reached the age of 8 weeks, the lights are dropped all
at once to 9.5 hours of light. Nearly all birds will begin molting within a
few weeks.
From the time
they are placed into the weaning cages until they all begin molting, the
young birds and hens receive a high quality, fresh canary seed mix and
pellets daily. Additionally, every day they receive a dry commercial
nestling food mix which has been mixed with fine sunflower chips and small
amounts of wheat grass powder, alfalfa powder, kelp powder, spirulena,
ground anise and flax seed, dried oregano, and dried dandelion. On top of
the nestling food a little bee pollen is sprinkled.
Twice a day the
young birds and hens are also offered a dry homemade nestling food which has
been moistened with boiled eggs (with the shells on) and finely chopped
broccoli and carrots. When the youngest chicks are about 7-8 weeks old, this
nestling food is alternated with couscous moistened with warm carrot juice
or couscous which has been cooked and then mixed with sweet potatoes (I use
the sweet potato baby food) or finely chopped carrots and broccoli.
Occasionally the birds are offered a cornbread- based bird bread in place of
the nestling food or couscous.
Older males in
flight cages receive only canary seed mix and pellets on a daily basis until
they begin molting. Once they have dropped a feather or two, they are given
the commercial nestling food mix a couple of times a week until they are
molting heavily, when they go into the flight and are fed what they young
birds and hens are given.
Once molting
begins in earnest and all the birds are in the walk-in flight, the birds
receive moist nestling food once a day and a fruit or vegetable once a day.
Fruits offered include sliced cantaloupe, oranges, or the occasional handful
of raspberries from the garden. Vegetables include zucchini, cucumber,
chopped broccoli and carrot. I add a sprinkling of the nutritional
supplement The Missing Link to the top of the moist nestling food 2-3 times
per week as I find it produces and very nice sheen on the new feathers.
Near the middle
to the end of the molt, I add a handful of rolled oats to what is offered to
the birds daily- a handful is enough for 70-100 birds- to speed the molt
along as a quick molt is healthier for the birds.
It is vital
during this period to maintain your bird room as cleanly as possible –cast
off feathers and dust from the molting process can be very unhealthy for
both you and your birds. Your flight must also be kept clean to prevent the
spread of illness and disease through your flock.
As the weather
warms, you must be diligent in making certain that your birds have access to
plenty of clean drinking water and that no spoiled food is left in their
cages. Bathing is vital during the molting period and a daily misting with a
spray bottle would be greatly appreciated by the birds as well.
For more information about American Singers, visit
www.americansingercanary.com
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