Canary gender confusion

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Daviese
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Joined: 31 Aug 2018, 16:43
Location: Tamworth nsw

Hi
I am very new to finches but I have a few questions about my canaries. I have what I thought was 2 pairs. Around a month ago the 2 so called females made nests. Then I notice that one of the so called males seemed desperate sit in the nest on the eggs. Every time it did this the other canary would come back and shoo it off. Then I noticed the so-called male built its own nest and laid and sat on 3 eggs. So I was pretty sure I had 3 females and 1 male. After a week of sitting on the eggs she turfed them out of the nest and hasn't gone back. The confusing thing now is I have noticed that 1 of the other so called females often leaves their nest and comes over and mounts the other female. It isn't in an aggressive manner and it does appear to quite consensual and affectionate. After which it will return to its nest. So what do I Have? A nest building male? Or a pair of lesbians? I have since read that canaries should be kept in seperate but mine all seem to get along ok.. at least....they are at the moment. Interested in your thoughts.
Thanks
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finchbreeder
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Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

Canarys can generally be kept in comunal avairies. But you may get the odd very agressive cock bird. Watch your birds and listen to them. Are any of them doing a full throated whistle? If so you have a cock. Put different coloured plastic rings on each bird so it is easy to be sure which bird is which. If you have 4 canaries you need 3 nests to begin with. Every lady must have a choice. Good luck in sexing them.
LML
LML
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deegs
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Joined: 26 Mar 2011, 12:02
Location: Adelaide SA

Three hens and a cock. Sounds like your cage might be too small. Might be best to remove one hen.
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Red
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Joined: 08 Dec 2011, 07:39
Location: Tasmania, Australia

A nest building male canary builds a very poor nest. It looks nothing like a normal female nest just a loose collection of material. Sounds like the so called male is a female. One male can handle up to 5 females in an aviary so no problem there. Not sure about the female mounting the other female. If there is no fighting I would leave the colony be
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cvamoca
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Joined: 24 May 2017, 11:28
Location: Nova Scotia

I have a correctly closed banded with his sex listed as "c", male American Singer who sang very nicely--not the female's twittering song, a full fledged, nice male song. Then he stopped singing, moved into a nest, and has sat there on nothing for the past month. His "wife" who laid last year, sits beside him but shows no interest in building her own nest or breeding. They've completely switched places. They are in a communal aviary with other canaries and my Gouldians--the American Singer doesn't behave aggressively to the other males, doesn't feed the hen and she doesn't feed him, it's just an odd situation. Years ago I had a male who would go on the nest when the hen came off, but not sitting constantly. This dude is a flake...
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finchbreeder
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Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

How old is he? Maybe he is just a senile old boy? Did she hatch any eggs last year?
LML
LML
Kears
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Location: Ireland

finchbreeder wrote: 21 Sep 2018, 19:20 Canarys can generally be kept in comunal avairies. But you may get the odd very agressive cock bird. Watch your birds and listen to them. Are any of them doing a full throated whistle? If so you have a cock. Put different coloured plastic rings on each bird so it is easy to be sure which bird is which. If you have 4 canaries you need 3 nests to begin with. Every lady must have a choice. Good luck in sexing them.
LML
Remember Cocks sing hens lay eggs...
Kears
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Joined: 16 Mar 2018, 10:15
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Remember Cocks Sing Hens lay Eggs... here is some other tips that might help you

Checking the Vent / Cloaca:
The sex organs of the canary do not have the distinct differences as with mammals and this method is only reliable in the breeding season when the bird is fit and ready to breed. You blow away the feathers of the vent Cock bird the skin leading up to the vent is elongated and quite prominent and the vent itself is still narrow. Hen bird the skin leading up to the vent is flat or only just raised and the vent itself is rounder and flatter. I must stress that the differences are not always evident and only occur at the height of the breeding season.

Sexing Young Canaries:
James Anagnos also found a very unusual way of sexing young chicks still in the nest:

Sexing canaries is very easy to do when the young birds are still in the nest, when [their] first feathers come in and their wings [still look like] straws. Just tap the nest with your finger and the female birds will just stay there looking at you, [while] the male birds will all put [their] heads down and stick [their behinds] up in the air. [T]his is 100 % foolproof. Every bird that put his head down is a male."
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