Sunday, June 9, 2013

Fresh And High-Quality Canary Food For Healthy Birds

By Liliana Mills


Canaries are one of the most popular breeds of caged birds. People love their bright yellow feathers and cheerful song. Only the males sing, but having females keeps the males happy and adds the fun of seeing them raise babies. Feeding the proper canary food, both commercial and fresh from the kitchen - is important for healthy birds, abundant song, and successful breeding.

Seeds make up the bulk of the diet for canaries. Specially formulated mixes are designed to satisfy all nutritional needs, as well as to be appealing in flavor and color. A mix made for other small birds, like finches and parakeets, will not necessarily be adequate for yellow songsters, so be sure to make your selection carefully.

The companies who make up the formulas for canaries add vitamins and minerals so the birds get a solid foundation of balanced nutrition. Therefore it is not necessary to offer additional supplements. Ad long as you buy high quality bird seed from a reputable company, your birds should do well.

What you will want to add to their diet is fresh fruits and vegetables. Dark green leafy veggies like kale and spinach are important, so offer fresh, crisp, cut up leaves daily. Even birds who do not eat them at first will become used to them in a few days. Dandelion greens are also good; you can pick them from your yard if you have not used chemicals on it. Canaries are very vulnerable to pesticides and herbicides, so be careful not to pick wild greens from the edges of cultivated fields.

Fruit is also important and accepted well. Add fresh slices of seedless and pitted apples, melons, bananas, oranges, mango, cherries, and other fruit, and remove all wilted greens and brown fruit as soon as the birds begin to ignore them. Make sure that what you are offering is on the list of approved foods; do not server avocado or rhubarb, for instance.

All food and water needs to be clean and fresh. A seed cup that appears full may be mostly hulls, and birds often contaminate their dishes with droppings and bits of food. Keeping the cage as clean as you would your own table is best. Remember to scrub dishes with water, avoiding any harsh chemicals that can leave a harmful residue.

Giving your birds foods that they like will make them more attentive to you and more at ease with your presence. They will come to look forward to treat time. Remember, salty foods and processed junk should not be a part of their diet. You can give them steamed rice, sprouted grains, and a few sunflower seeds if you like. A cuttle bone helps them clean their beaks and provides extra calcium, especially important for females laying eggs.

Canary food is an important part of keeping birds happy and healthy. If you get a good quality seed mix and offer a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (and are diligent about removing wilted and spoiled food) and keep plenty of clean filtered water in their cage, you should have years of enjoyment from your birds.




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