Aussie Finch Forum

How can I prevent my canaries from throwing out half of there seed everyday? For the last 2years since starting breeding canaries I have to clean clean there seed everyday. I have about a bank of 30 cages. Any body have an idea because it is becoming very tiring.

Riyaad

I wish there was a way ..Ive tried various seed hoppers and bowls and they still do it ...

are they flicking out seed they don't eat? or maybe they are after some seed they really love in the mix so flick the other seeds till they find the one they like,

is it more so the mess they make your concerned about? or the seed wastage ?

not sure what your cages are like, maybe you could offer the seeds individually? it may help.. id also maybe invest in a seed winnower.

i think my canaries flicked a fair bit as well ( maybe its something they do, theirs a few canary breeders on here, so hopefully they can give you some ideas.

misso

Flicking is normal canary behavior to get the more tasty seeds on the bottom of the hopper.

I give seed in small clear plastic containers with lids (some use small margarine containers) with two one inch diameter holes cut out. It stops seed flying everywhere.

Droppings do accumulate on the top of the container, however that is preferable to having droppings in the seed. Of course husks still need to be blown off if they accumulate but I usually go a couple of weeks before the containers need to be filled again.

Red

I breed mostly Canary related finches and flicking seeds is very common with Goldfinches and Siskins and the reason why is because people mix in the Niger and Sunflower seeds and one way to solve this is to put a handful of Niger and a handful of Sunflower seeds on top of the seed mix you are giving your birds and whenever you see the Niger or the Sunflower is eaten you add another handful. In your case you would have to find out which of the seeds they are looking for and add another container beside it. I would assume it's the Canola or the Canary seeds but keep an eye just to be sure. Don't wait to long otherwise if they become compulsive seed - scatterers it becomes harder to treat. Also keeping them in a breeding cabinet it's not much fun, given them some seeding grasses and lettuce, that will surely divert their attention.

Thanks for all the responses although I have tried everything to curb the scattering. maybe I should try individual seed feeders and see what happen.

rpetersen wrote:Thanks for all the responses although I have tried everything to curb the scattering. maybe I should try individual seed feeders and see what happen.

These are the seed hoppers I use in my aviaries, this one is in a holding aviary that has Canaries, Finches and grass parrots about 38 birds all up.
This hopper was topped up 8 days ago and because there are 5 different seeds on offer there is not a lot of flicking through seed. The seed that falls
through into the wire topped box is winnowed then it is then used for soaked seed with some extra Canolla and Canary added.
Before these hoppers I used a single hopper with mixed Finch mix with all the birds not just Canaries looking for that favourite seed,flicking it everywhere.
I would be filling the hopper every 2-3 days
The seeds in the hopper are Red,Yellow Panic, French Millet,Canary and Jap Millet the latter not favoured by any of my birds in all my aviaries.
Jap gets topped up about 4-5 weeks.Anyway this works for me.
Jack

I like ur idea Jack. I just need to fill with seeds my canaries need. But I am going to have some problems. Canaries like canola seed more than canary seed. So if I fill one compartment with canaola and the other with canary they going to devour the canola, and to much of canola is a bad thing for canaries.

Riyaad

Good looking seed dispenser, where did you get that from?

bluebutterfly213 wrote:Good looking seed dispenser, where did you get that from?

Made it.
Jack