daisymay 64 Report post Posted April 18, 2016 as some may know i do not have any zebbies yet but i do have two pairs of fife canaries. one hen has had her second lot of eggs, and yet again they have not hatched, i was so looking forward to having chicks, i have done everything by the book and the breeder has offered to swap them for some others, but i am very fond of them and dont want to part with them. the other hen hates her partner!!! i was thinking of swapping cocks around, should i give it a try ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amf1975 132 Report post Posted April 18, 2016 never bred canaries but don't think you have anything to loose... go for it. have done similar with zebbies many times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmy 528 Report post Posted April 18, 2016 Daisymay were the eggs fertile? I have bred Fife Canaries and this is what I do. before I pair them up together I put the in the same cage but with a divider in the cage where they can see each other but can't get to each other. After a few days the cock bird will start to feed the hen through the divider. When they reach this stage I remove the divider and give them a nest pan and nesting material. I also gave them egg food daily. and so far most of the time that has worked for me. (perhaps you have done all that though.) Saying that at the moment I have two fife canary eggs in my incubator because the pair had nested in the outside flight and after incubating the eggs for a few days she came off the nest I checked the eggs and two were fertile they are due to hatch out soon. Emmy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daisymay 64 Report post Posted April 18, 2016 thanks both, emmy as you said i have done all that, the only difference is, i left cock in with her cos he lays with her on nest, is that the problem do you think ??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martintheveg 5 Report post Posted May 8, 2016 Cant say i know anything about canaries but i bought a hen and a cock on good friday, i put them in seperate cages, the hen with my zebs in the large indoor aviary and the cock alone, the cock was singing and whistling and after about a week i put them together in the cage, i put nesting stuff in and they started to make a nest together in the bird bath, with water in it ! so i took water out and blow me before long, towards the last week in april hen laid four eggs, now, for the last three days i have four chicks and have been making eggfood up for them both every four hours or so as its so hot, its great to watch the cock feed the hen and the hen to feed the chicks, i have purchased just about everything a canary could want to eat including some bees honey feed from oz, i didnt really expect this as i thought it was going to be a lot more complicated , but i am now in the middle of building a second indoor aviary to go opposite the zebs one i have recently built, there is a pic on here of it, just stick with it and sorry you have lost a bird, i`ve been lucky thus far, touch wood but have lost plenty of dogs, buried in my garden as i used to foster golden oldies who nobody would take, so as a dog lover too i know how upsetting losing a pet is, best wishes, martintheveg. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clare L 175 Report post Posted May 9, 2016 Hi Martin, That's fantastic that you used to do that for unwanted dogs Hope you birds keep doing well for you. Clare Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daisymay 64 Report post Posted May 9, 2016 dear martin, i hope you have every success with your canary's. it's a rewarding but heartbreaking job taking on golden oldies, but they need people like you and me to give them a good ending to their lives. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites