Molting in Canaries

Molting in canaries is an annual event right after the breeding season. Every year the feathers go flying and for about 6-12 weeks you’d swear your feather pillow has a hole in it. This event is normal and begins when the sunlight or artificial lighting reaches 15 hours a day. Birds hormones and cycles are controlled by light.

Thankfully, for the canary, they never look bald during this process. New feathers are pushing through as the old fall out. Red Factor canaries need to be fed color food to retain their bright red color during this time.

The molt is a stressful period for you canary as a lot of extra energy is expended during this transition of feathers. It is important not to add extra stress to your little friends during this time. Canaries are susceptible to illness during the molt. Things like moving your canary to a new location should be put off until the molt is complete. During this time male canaries will usually stop singing.

Daily bathing and protein rich foods like hard boiled eggs, niger seed, flax and millet are important during the molt. Calcium such as in cuttlebone and a good quality mineral grit as well as daily vitamins along with dark green vegetables are essential.

Here are a couple of great tips I can pass along. Feeding cucumbers eases the discomfort your bird is experiencing during the molt. Sunflower chips can reduce the length of the molt. Another good practice is to reduce the daylight hours to 10 hours or less once the molt begins. This will help to reduce stress.

Providing extra care and reducing stresses through your birds’ molt will help to keep your canary happy and healthy and produce shiny new plumage. Also, don’t worry your little melody maker will soon begin singing full once again.