I am finding great difficulty operating on this forum, but have several queries about 3 canaries I have inherited. I live in the south of France and it is difficult to find someone to help. Rona kindly suggested Paul Dunham to help, but no idea of his mail address or how to contact him. Help, Jacqui

You can contact Paul Dunham via the private message system on here...I'm a breeder but not of canaries...but may be able to help.Post your problem here.

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Hi Poohdog, what a lovely name. I have a dachshund and I love Pooh bear.
Enough said. Perhaps you can help me. I have inherited 3 canaries, 2 females, the dominant older one is orange and the other one pale yellow, both ringed plus a little orange male who is unringed and could be the offspring of the female, who is always nesting and produces unfertile eggs.
My worry is the little male who seems to have developed a tiny black spot/hole by the side of his beak. He has also lost nearly all his tail feathers in the last 2 weeks. He appears very happy and healthy, he eats, grooms, bathes and sings quite a lot, so I don't think it is anything very serious but worry about an infection or something. They are in a large cage on my sheltered terrace here in the south of France where they have always lived. I have had them for 6 months. I clean bowls, water etc regularly and give them some fresh greens, change the grit about once a month. Am I worrying too much being a beginner at keeping birds.
Thanks for answering my message. Jacqui

Did they live inside before you had them?

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Hi Hawksport, The canaries have always been in the same cage on outside but covered terraces here in this same area. I cover them at night but they have never been kept indoors. There has been a visiting cat from time to time which I try to get rid of, it can't get anywhere near them as they are in a tall cage way off the ground , but could it have stressed the bird? The male is singing away at the moment. He says Hi.

I was just thinking that if they had previously been kept inside being moved outside and getting more sunlight could of triggered a bad moult

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Hi Hawksport, I have occasionally recently wheeled the cage out into late afternoon sun as the terrace is rather dark and North facing. Could this be the answer as it is a new problem? Jacqui

Your problem doesn't sound as bad as in your first post.If your bird does have a hole in the side of the beak and it appears getting worse, a visit to an avian vet is recommended.
Skip the 'grit'... finches and canaries don't need it.Crushed eggshells (microwave one minute on full) or oystershell will be all they need.Grated Hard boiled egg occasionally would be appreciated by canaries.

Keep that damned cat away...

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A birds moult is controlled by the hours of light it recieves. If they are kept indoors where they get the same amount of light throughout the year they don't realy get a proper annual moult they just moult slowly through the whole year. So if he is now getting more light especialy sunlight that could be the reason. Because the increase in hours of light have come suddenly that could make him drop feathers quickly rather than dropping one and growing the replacement about halfway before the next on drops.
The problem you might have now is because they have all dropped at the same time when the new ones grow there won't be a grown feather each side of the new one to protect it. You will have to be carefull with him and not let anything upset him while his new tail grows. If he starts flapping round in his cage he could damage the new feathers, they will bleed and could grow deformed. Also any strees he is put under will stop the blood flow into the feather while it is growing and cause a fret mark across it which will be a weak point.

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Hi Hawksport, I have occasionally recently wheeled the cage out into late afternoon sun as the terrace is rather dark and North facing. Could this be the answer as it is a new problem? Jacqui