Making Their Cage Fun
Make sure their cage is large enough. Canaries may be small, but they need roomy cages to flap, hop, and fly to their heart’s content. A canary cage should be at least 16 inches (41 cm) tall and 30 inches (76 cm) wide. Avoid cages with a rounded shape, as these can restrict how much the canary can fly around. They may also make it difficult to hang perches correctly.
Place the cage in an active area of your home. Canaries are active birds, and they may enjoy interacting with your family. Keep the cage someplace with plenty of interesting activity. A living room or home office may be ideal. While canaries may enjoy watching humans, many do not like to be held or handled by humans. Let the canaries watch you, but try not to bother them. Put the cage in an area with plenty of light but no direct sunlight. It should be well-ventilated with no drafts blowing on the cage from vents or windows. Keep the cage about 6 feet (1.8 m) off the floor, either by hanging it or setting it on a stand.
Add a variety of perches to encourage flight. Canaries will be happiest when they can flit from one perch to another. When placing perches in the cage, adjust them so that they are different heights. This will give the canary multiple flight paths. Choose perches between 3/8 inches (9.5 mm) and 3/4 of an inch (19 mm) in diameter. Keep a few different widths of perch inside the cage. This will reduce foot discomfort for your canary.
Put a few toys inside their cage. Canaries do not require as many toys as other birds, but a few interesting objects will help keep them active. Avoid crowding the cage. Two or three toys will go a long way. Good toys for canaries include: Mirrors. Plastic balls. Swings. Sticks with leaves on them. Bells. Vine balls. Tightly-wound ropes.
Set a bath inside of their cage. You can attach a bird bath to the walls of the cage or place a small bowl of cold water inside. Your canary will splash and bathe in the water when they need a quick refreshment. If your canary does not use the bath, try filling a spray bottle with cold water, and gently spritzing them with it instead. Change the bath water every day.
Letting Them Roam in Your Home
Bird proof the room. Some slight adjustments can make the room safe for your bird to fly in. Choose a room without much furniture. Turn off any fans, and make sure all windows and doors are closed. There should be no wires out in the open that they can chew. Cover up mirrors and windows so that the bird does not crash into them while flying. Keep other, larger pets, such as cats or dogs, out of the room while your canary is exploring. Keep toxic plants and items out of the room. These include avocado, foxglove, lilies, and tomato plants.
Open the cage door. The canary may wander out on their own. If they don’t, place a perch outside of the cage door to encourage them to leave. The bird will happily fly around the room until they become tired or hungry.
Supervise your canary. While the canary is flying around, you should stay in the room with them. Do a quiet activity, like reading a book or surfing the internet, as they explore.
Lure your canary back to its cage with food. After about 30 minutes, your canary will likely be hungry. Put some fresh food in their cage, and wait for them to return to their cage. Once inside, slowly approach the cage, and close the door before they can escape again. If you move too quickly towards the cage, the canary may see you and bolt out of it again. Avoid feeding your canary outside of their cage or else they may not return as easily.
Catch the canary with a net if necessary. Canaries can be difficult to catch by hand. Instead, use a bird net to capture your bird if they will not return to their cage willingly. Move the net slowly to capture the bird gently inside the net. Once inside, gently pick them up and put them back in their cage. You can try dimming the lights to help. The canary may think it is night, and they will stop flying around. This can make it easier to catch them. Don't make the room pitch black, however, as the bird may injure itself.
Giving Your Canary Company
Spend time with your canary. Canaries often do not like to be held or handled by humans, but they may enjoy having you in the same room. Do a quiet activity in the room with your canary. Your male canaries may even start singing to you!
Play a recording of canary songs. Young canaries may need to be taught to sing. The best way to do this is to play recordings of other canaries singing. You can use CDs or online videos. You may even find that your canary sings back to these recordings. Male canaries will sing regularly. Female canaries will sing on occasion, but much less frequently than males.
Avoid getting them a companion if your canary lives in a cage. If you have a cage instead of an aviary for your canary, it is best to keep them alone since canaries can become extremely territorial over small spaces. If you do get a second canary, make sure it is the opposite sex of the first one. Keep them in separate cages unless it is the breeding season.
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