new with canaries

[granbjd22]

hi. I have a pair of canaries, in seperate cages. This is pretty new to me.My question is; the female keeps laying eggs. so i bought fake eggs. she now doesn't lay any of her own,which is great, but, she sits on the all the time! Is this normal? thankl you.

[catschair]

Yep, she will sit for a while, but will give it up when her internal clock tells her that it is a lost cause.

[granbjd22]

Thank you very much. I'm used to birds being active. not just 'sitting' around!

[birdlady49]

Technically this is not the season for canaries to be laying. Valentine's Day is the "traditional" day for breeders to set up their birds for breeding. By that time, they're over their autumn molt and have regained their strength from molting.

Giving her the fake eggs is a good idea. But eventually you should remove them. So you have to change the way her body is thinking. Gradually reduce the hours of daylight to about 10 hours (yes 14 hours of darkness). Then at the beginning of the year, gradually increase the hours of daylight ... especially if you DO want to breed them.

Reducing (not eliminating) her fresh food will help her realize that "winter" is coming and is not a time to lay eggs (or raise babies).