PROS & CONS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANARY BREEDING EQUIPMENT.
There many different items that are required when you are just starting up with canaries or any other variety of cage bird for that matter.
the first thing you will need is breeding cages. well the most common it the wooden type which comes in a variety of sizes and can be brought from many different places, or if you have good DIY skills you might have a go at building your own. there is another alternative as there is to every thing and that is plastic breeding cages, there are rather more expensive and are only available through a few companies but they should still be considered when starting up.
now we come to the breeding cage accessories, first is the drinker.
Drinkers can be Tubular,D-cup, top hat. tubular are e by way the most favourite as they keep the water covered, they come in a range of sizes and colours. they are also plastic which makes them easy to clean. [I put mine through the diswasher]. D-cup drinkers are open drinker which are used on a large variety of show cages which is why some people prefer them, but they are open and any debrid can foul the drinker easily. they are plastic with wire hooks usually and are fairly easy to clean as well. The Top Hat drinker is again a drinker use on show cages in the fife & border canaries, these drinkers do require a wire loop to be fitted to the breeding cage so they can be used on the cages. These are most popularly used by those who's birds use this type of drinkers on there show cages. They are available in plastic or
glass, and are easy to keep clean to.
Seed Feeders--- now what type of feeder to use? well the far in a way the most popular is the suggfit or flush fit seed hopper, these as the name suggests fit flush to the cage front. they are usually plastic by you can get slight variation on this. they are easy to clean and you can view the seed level with no problem. there is wooden variation of this that just have a glass panel at the back, I must admit I feel these do look very smart, but are usually much more expensive. You can also a D-cup hopper has a seed hopper which are similar to the ones I proposed for using a drinkers. But as using them as drinker the same problems occur. tubular feeders can also be an option, these are very good in that they keep the seed contained in the tube and it is easy to see the level of seed left in the feeder. but they can sometimes the seed can get blocked in the foot of the tubular feeder. there is a wide range of size now for this type of feeder available.
The final suggestion for you to consider for uses in feeding your birds is a pot or dish on the floor of the breeding cage. These pots/dishes come in a wide range of sizes and shapes. The problem with this type of feeder is that the seed its open to debire and contamination, fouling in the dishes. So this is not a common type of feeding vessel.
Now moving on to breeding equipment, well the first item is the nest pan.
nest pans like most other items can come in many different styles and types. firstly we have the plastic nest pan, which is very durable and easy to clean and fairly cheap to. Secondly is the clay nest pan wire is not so durable as it is breakable.they are fairly easy to clean. My tip for cleaning them is soak them in a bucket of really hot water overnight, then the next day wash them off.
The one thing about a clay nest pan is they will require a wire to sit them in which have to be brought separately, they are more expensive than the plastic nest pans. Next we have the wooden nest pan which are again higher in price than a plastic nest pan. The bottom of the wooden pan is generally fitted with a fine mesh. A further option is a wicker nest pan these look very nice but are not to easy to clean they are also fairly expensive too. The wire nest pan is really just a wire basket shape pan these are not used much in the UK but are quite popular in Europe. My last style of nest pan to consider is the nest pan cage or house. this is usually of plastic construction and hooks on to the door of the breeding cage. the back of the nest cage slides up to give easy assesses to the nest. the pan it's self drops into a hole cut out in the bottom of the nest cage. the major draw back with this is that it blocks up the door to the breeding cage, but if you are using a double breeder this wouldn't be so much of a problem. they come in plastic are therefore easy to keep clean, they are again more expensive.
Now you have the nest pan you will need the nest felt to go in them so which type? well there are a few and really I have know what are the differences.
There are wool & jute nest felts, jute are the cheaper of the two. they both come in a curricular form approximately 5" across. Another option that some people use is carpet under lay which they cut to shape and use.
Now to nest material, well there so may different types I could go on for pages & pages but I will name a few Jute,Wool, horse&cow&mowhair,
cotton these four types are very popular and fanciers tend to use a mixer of these nesting materials. giving the Jute & Horse/Cow/Mowhair firstly for them to form the main nest then give them the wool or cotton to line in inside of the nest. There are other types of nest material there are cotton off cutts coconuts firbres,sisal and probable a few more i can't recall. they are all around the same price. There isn't much in any of them it is just a question of personnel choice.
well you have got them blooding the nests in the nest pan of your choice now you need to give them egg food. {well actually you should have already been feeding eggfood] So to types of egg food pots, Well by far the most popular is the round eggfood dish which are plastic and fit under the cage door, well the draws have a slot that the cage door drops into so by holding the draw in place. these are reasonably cheap and very easy to clean. [ use the dishwasher] You can also get double egg food draws.
The finger draw is also very poplar, this is used more to give small amounts of eggfood though, because as it's name suggests it's finger size [small finger size] this fits between the cage front spars usually by the cages perch.
Another type is the V-cup or Egg cup pots these are again plastic and easy to clean these also like the finger draws fit between the spars. But you do have to keep going in and out the door to refill & replace them.
feeding trays these are again as the name say's are trays, they can be found in plastic & wooden. Plastic is my preferred choice as plastic is easy to clean.
these trays fit under the door like the eggfood draws but have legs that support them and sit on the floor of the breeding cage. I myself like to use these when the youngsters are just starting to come out of the nest. because it gives them a bigger feeding area. the last option I will put to use is a dish on the floor of the cage these could be plastic or china, there is a wide range of these types are come fairly cheap to.
well I think I have cover most of the items you might need to look at when starting up.
One last thing to think of is the floor covering for you breeding cages.
Sand is an one it is fairly cheap but can make the bird a little dirty, especially if you are thinking of showing your birds. sawdust next very good and there are alot of companies that do specially prepared sawdust for cage birds. Shaving are of the same as Sawdust, but the only draw back is you need to make sure that the shavings are not to course & not of hardwood.
Again you can get bales of shaving from most large Pet Retailers now.
You might also like to consider paper for the floor of your cages, not newspaper though as again the print will spoil a bird for showing as it comes off onto the bird.
Well I hope I have helped you with some choices of what to choices for your canaries.
by David Allen <DTA lizard STUD>
