Caring For Your Canary

Quick Facts

Common Name: Domestic Canary

Latin Name: Serinus canaria domestica

Native To: Macaronesian Islands

Size: Most canaries reach an adult body size of around 13cm, by 6 months of age.

Weight: Average weight of an adult canary is 20 grams.

Life Span: The average lifespan of a pet canary is 10 years.

Housing Your Canary

Canaries spend a lot of time on the move, mostly flying. Their cage should be as large as possible, but owners should aim for their canary to spend considerable time outside of the cage on a regular basis. Avoid placing cages close to windows, to avoid extreme temperature changes and draughts. Canaries spend a lot of time playing with toys, and practising normal behaviours such as destructing wooden toys, and this should be encouraged. Bars of a canary cage should be spaced no further than 1/2" apart, and length of cage is much more important to canaries than height. A selection of toys should be offered weekly, with a few being placed in the cage for a week at a time, then rotated with other toys to keep the canary interested.

Feeding Your Canary

While complete seed mixes will make up the majority of a pet canary's diet, it is important for owners to remember that wild canaries will eat a very wide range of foods, including seeds, grains and fresh vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables including cooked broccoli, green peppers, apples (remove seeds), berries and banana will prove popular with most budgies, and provide essential nutrients to help prevent vitamin deficiencies. Millet Spray and packaged treats, particularly those with a honey base, will be highly enjoyed but should be fed sparingly to prevent your canary from gaining too much weight. Avoid feeding lemon and other citrus fruits, potato, avocado and lettuce.

Dietary Supplements

Cuttlefish bone should be readily available to your canary and provides an important source of calcium, as well as preventing the beak from becoming too long. Bird grit should also be available at all times, as a digestive aid it helps to grind the canary's food in the stomach.

Behaviour

Canaries naturally live in flocks so greatly appreciate the company of one or more other birds when they are kept as pets. However, care should be taken when selecting a friend for your canary, as males are often territorial and will cause serious damage to one another if they begin to fight. Daily access to a large room to fly, will drastically improve both the health and happiness of a pet canary who, in the wild, would fly for several hours per day seeking food and companionship. Before letting your canary out to exercise, it is important to ensure that doors and windows are closed to prevent escapes, and many will benefit from curtains also being closed to prevent injury if they fly into windows. Male canaries produce a beautiful song, which many people find endearing, whilst females produce a softer cheeping sound.

Habitat Maintenance

Cages should be cleaned out as often as needed, at least once per week. Owners can choose between using bird sand or sand paper to line their canary's cage, with most owners finding sand paper to be more convenient for cleaning. Food and water dishes should be rinsed daily. A pet safe disinfectant should also be used weekly, to prevent odours and build up of bacteria.

Grooming & Hygiene

Pet canaries should be offered a shallow water bath daily, as they love to splash around and use the water to clean themselves. Regular baths will also reduce the buildup of dust in the bird's feathers, which can help owners with mild allergies.

Health, Nail & Beak Care & UV Light

Signs of ill health include weight loss, diarrhoea, fluffed up feathers, loss of appetite and difficulty breathing. A vet should be consulted immediately if a pet is showing symptoms of ill health. Canaries beaks do not tend to grow too long, however vets will trim any that do. Nails should be kept at a reasonable length using sanded perches and perch covers. Canaries in the wild are naturally exposed to high levels of sunlight and so have evolved to use UV light to make vitamin D for calcium regulation. On sunny days, canaries can be placed in a sheltered spot outside, in their cages and under supervision. Care should be taken to ensure they are not frightened when outdoors, as they are easily scared.

Enrichment & Toys

Canaries get a lot of enjoyment from a good selection of toys. It is important that toys are rotated regularly so your canary has something new to play with. Some canaries prefer destructible toys, others like to look at themselves in the mirror, although some canaries will stop singing when given a mirror! Owners should take steps to ensure their canary doesn’t get bored.


A canary needs a loving home for life, with a family who is prepared to care for it well. However, if circumstances change and you are unable to keep your pet, staff at Pet Connection will take your canary in for rehoming, as soon as we have space. If you have any further questions, please just ask!