by Laura S.

Created on: October 27, 2008

Selecting the right spot for your canary is an important first step in assuring the bird's future happiness. Not just any place in your house or apartment will do. Choose a place that will not have to be changed later on, since a bird familiarizes itself with its new surroundings from the perspective of its cage. Like all birds, canaries are creatures of habit, and any change is perceived as a threat. This is what the place should be like:

It should be as quiet as possible.

It should offer the bird a good view of the room so that it can watch everything that is happening there. The cage should be placed at about eye level (on a shelf on the wall, a bookshelf, or s stand).

It must be absolutely free of drafts. Exposure to drafts makes canaries sick.

It should be bright (near a window) but not exposed to direct sunshine for any length of time.

There should be no temperature fluctuations. A canary's reserves of body heat are quickly use up.

The space above the cage should be empty. Canaries get frightened if anything goes on above them.

A relative air humidity of 50-70 per cent is ideal. Excessive humidity combined with heat can lead to heat stroke, and cold dampness makes birds more susceptible to sickness.

The Trip Home

Once you have picked out the bird you want to buy, it will be handed to you in a small cardboard box with air holes. Take your canary home as quickly as possible, taking care not to expose it to heat, dampness, drafts, or cold. To make the transition easier for the bird and to save it from too many adjustments, the cage should be all ready for its occupant, with full food and water dishes, and set up in its permanent place, If you have to adjust things in the cage after the canary is in there, you or your hand may become associated in the bird's mind with everything that is strange and terrifying.

Some Practical Suggestions for Getting the Bird Cage Ready

Pour a layer of bird's sand about 1 cm deep in the bottom tray.

Fill a dish with mixed bird seed, and fill a cup with water; stick a piece of peeled apple between the cage bars.

Insert a calcium stone between the bars of the cage in such a way that it's solidly lodged there.

Replace commercial perches with natural branches.

The First Few Exciting Hours

When you get home, hold the cardboard box next to the cage door and open the cover. Make sure there is no crack between the box and the door through which the bird could escape. The canary will probably hop toward the light. Slowly close the cage door

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