Canaries are not social by their nature and so should be kept apart. The male canaries can fight with each other and it can sometimes be brutal.
Male canaries can also attack the female canaries for a lot of reasons but one of the major reasons the male will fight with the female canary bird is if she is not ready or willing to mate with the male canary bird.
To solve the problem of fighting between male and female canary birds you should keep the male canaries in one cage and then the female bird in another cage.
Male and female canaries should not be kept together in one cage at any time except when they are in their breeding season and also during the molting period of the birds when the bird loses and replace all of its feathers.
Female canaries can be kept together in one cage especially if they are placed in the cage the same time.
This will help them to get along with each other as canary birds have their own different personalities and some will be able to quickly adapt to living in the same cage with other birds than others.
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Are my canaries fighting or mating?
There are some aggressive behaviors that canaries may exhibit towards each other that can be misunderstood or mistaking by pet owners to be that the birds are fighting when in actual fact they are in the process of mating.
You need to observe your birds properly to know if they are fighting each other. When it comes to mating sometimes it is the female canary bird that doesn’t accept the male, and when this happens the male canary can get aggressive and start to fight the female canary bird.
The male canary will normally sing a lot more during the breeding season so as to attract female canaries to him but if the two birds are not well acquainted to each other the female especially will not give in to the male bird.
Most pet experts will recommend that you keep male and female canaries in separate cages.
If you have the intention of pairing both beds for breeding purpose then you need to first get them to get used to each other by placing their cages close to each other.
The male will sing aloud while the female bird will chirp more and this should be done before the breeding season starts.
If after some time you notice the birds are communicating and getting attracted to each other you can then place them together into one cage to be paired.
How do you know when a female canary is ready to mate?
For those who own and keep several canaries in an aviary or in a flight cage it is sometimes even difficult for them to properly identify or differentiate between the male and female canary bird from each other.
Apart from the main sign that it is the male canary bird that sings while the female don’t sing at all but will normally chirp.
Apart from this problem of identifying male and female canaries from each other there is this common question that is asked by canary bird breeders especially.
One important aspect of breeding canaries is to be able to know when a female canary is ready to mate with the male and be able to see the signs.
Canaries like to breed when the temperature is around 70 degrees and they have gotten access to at least 14 hours of light.
Although you can create this same weather condition artificially indoors for your birds to stimulate breeding.
Now when it comes to signs to look for to know if your female canary is ready for breeding one of the most certain sign that confirms the bird is ready for mating and breeding is when the canary bird vent appear and looks red and swollen.
Another obvious sign is that the female will tend to squat or bend lower when the male approaches it with the tail feather raised up higher signaling to the male their readiness to mate.
To show their interest and willingness to mate the female canary bird will sometimes call out to the male by making a distinctive rolling sound that is meant for this purpose and also with constant display of wing flapping.
Check this short video below to hear how the female canary call to the male.
Do Canaries like to be alone?
Canaries just like some other known birds can be territorial and will not be willing to share any small space with another bird.
This is why it is not advisable initially to place two birds in the same cage.
I mean let us look at it from a human perspective if someone who is a total stranger to you is suddenly brought in to live in your house, wouldn’t you be offensive towards that person.
The same thing also applies to the canary bird. It is therefore advised to place each canary bird in separate cages so that they don’t feel lonely or bored being all by themselves.
So if the cages of the canaries are place in a way the birds are able to see and hear each other’s voices then the birds will be happier and this will reflect in their wanting to sing more and louder.
Apart from this you should also provide all the basic furnishings and toys that your canary bird will need for play and exercise in its cage in other for it to remain healthy and happy as it would have been if the bird were to be in the wild.
