new canary in the flock

[taintedwolf]

Hi all, My mother in law is in the hospital and we have had to adopt her Canary, not sure what kind it is but is male, yellow with a bit of white.

my question is..... do Canaries get mites? Whenever I went to her house, I would have to clean, clean, clean her cage since there was black spec's all over the cage, I figured it was because it was in a kitchen window and the sun was hot. not sure though, Charlie seems fine. I have 7 teils and a budgie and I am concerned that Charile if he has had mites, he may attact them again. He has a new cage but still concerned that he maybe attact and then all my birds will have mites, also if he does have mites what is the best way to get rid of them?.

Thanks in advance.

also if you know of any good websites on Canaries or know what kind I have any information is helpful since I know about budgies and tiels I am ignorant about canaries. there is differences in what I read, some say do not put toys in there cage some say to. etc.....

I have him in a cage about 22" long, will take a picture of him and his cage, I hope that the cage is fine for him not to small, I have had him out to fly, (his first time).

any help would be greatly appreciated.

link to the pictures of Charlie

taintedwolfca/Charlie - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[catschair]

What a pretty baby! Hope your MIL is feeling better soon. He may have mites; it won't hurt to spray everyone with mite spray if you think they have them. My canaries don't play with their toys much, but they do from time to time. They will eat a lot of the same treats as the budgies & tiels. My canaries and finches like fruit more than the bigger guys, and it took them a while to decide they liked rice and beans, but now they love it. They like bathing a lot and will play in water for hours. I use smaller pellets for them and a slightly different seed mix. You will love having Charlie -- they have amazing personalities and once he feels at home, you will start to see a lot of interaction with the family. Congrats!

[taintedwolf]

does those mite sprays really work? thought they were just some toxic chemicals put on the shelf to sell. ha ha. is there no home remedy that would work. I do not see any mites on him at all. but never had mites so......

also do you let your canary fly with your tiels and budgies? since I have put charlie in the living room after his quarantince he has been quiet. he has come out once but he has never flown before so he has to build the stength in his wings. do you find that the cage I have for him to be ok?

[catschair]

Yes, the mite sprays work; maybe watch for symptoms. Mine are in separate flights, but they might be okay with supervised playtime. Cage looks good!

[Jessie Skiffen]

A good canary website is A Place For Canaries, Robirda's Birds She covers everything about canarys.
Jessie

[taintedwolf]

I did have the canary in a seperate part of the house while quarentined. but I have the full spectrum light in the living room and wanted him to benifit from it. he wants to be friendly but the girls are afraid of him. silly girls, the budgie and the boys don't want anything to do with him. ha ha. poor guy.
any hoot they are always supervised.

thanks for the info and the website.

appreciated.

[taintedwolf]

Do you know what kind of canary Charlie is?

[Skiekitty]

w/o hearing him sing, no idea. :) Try A Place For Canaries, Robirda's Birds That's Flock Talk. Great canary site.