After laying their eggs and incubating them for 13-14 days, it’s finally time for our canaries to see their chicks. We can offer a bit of help during their early life and give them a hand during weaning. Let’s see how.
Once the chicks have come out, the female canary will start taking care of them, and 6 to 12 hours after hatching, she’ll start feeding them. If you notice this isn’t happening, you’ll have to start feeding them yourself. During the feeding period, don’t leave their bath at wing’s reach, as the female’s wet feathers may cause the little chicks to feel cold. Don’t even think of moving the cage, as this might lead the female to abandon the nest. This first week is very delicate and mortality is high.
The first feathers start showing up between days 11 and 17, but it’ll take them a couple more days until they start beating their wings. To make things easier for them, place the nest in the lowest part of the cage, and make sure it can be easily accessed so they can come back. From the 25th day on, the chicks will start feeding by themselves, and this is when they must be separated from their parents.
The female will start losing interest in the chicks and then will begin building a new nest. For this reason, make sure a second nest is available in the cage, together with soft material she can use to pad it. Ferplast nests are available in different shapes and sizes, in natural wood or wicker, and can be hooked to the cage or placed at its bottom.
The male is now in charge of taking care of the chicks until they’re fully autonomous. During this phase, it’s advisable to separate the male and the female from the chicks: to keep them from disturbing the female, a simple partition is enough – it’s included with Ferplast’s Canto cage. In this manner, the female will be free to work on the nest and the chicks will keep on being fed by their father through the cage bars, until they’re fully weaned.
Chicks can feed on their own when they’re about one month old. When this happens, remove the partition and place them in another cage, such as Piano 5, perfect to house a litter of cheerful canary chicks. Medium-sized and complete with accessories, Piano 5 comes with two practical removable trays to make cleaning and maintenance easier.
The couple is therefore left in peace for another brood, another cycle of life.