Hey there! This is Dorothy (Ciro’s wife) and I’m going to share with you some foods (beside birdseed) that you can feed your canary. By supplying a variety of foods your bird will receive a variety of vitamins and minerals that are not available in regular bird foods. You can feed your birds various grains, fruits and vegetables in order to help build a healthy and hardy canary that can carry a lovely song. Here is a list of various foods that you can give to your canary:
Quinoa (pronounced like keen-wah) is an excellent source of protein, fiber, B-vitamins and magnesium. It makes a great food to give to your canaries on a daily basis. You can find quinoa in almost any grocery store now-a-days, online stores and health food stores. It’s very beneficial for both birds and humans. We give our birds quinoa during breeding season only. Feeding them quinoa outside of breeding season can cause them to gain too much weight.
Polenta is basically yellow corn grits and is consumed by humans more often in Argentina and Italy. It is high in complex carbohydrates and has protein, vitamins C, B & A, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and trace minerals such as zinc and iron. We give our birds polenta during breeding season only. Feeding them polenta outside of breeding season can cause them to gain too much weight.
Couscous is like little balls of pasta. It is made from semolina flour (or wheat) and contains iron, protein and fiber. We feed couscous to our birds only during breeding season. Feeding them this outside of breeding season can cause them to gain too much weight.
Fruit & Vegetables:
Oranges, apples, cucumbers, broccoli and carrots are packed with vitamins necessary to help promote the health and growth of canaries. Jalapenos (especially red ones) can help boost your canary’s singing ability. You want to be sure to cycle the different foods with your bird and be sure to leave them a variety of foods to choose from. Beets and carrots are excellent to help boost the color of red birds.
Warning with vegetables: Sometimes some veggies can contain bacteria/pesticides that are bad for the birds’ health. In order to prevent your bird from getting sick, soak your veggies (especially broccoli and leafy greens) in apple cider vinegar for at least 30 minutes and rinse off the vinegar. During breeding seasons be sure to thoroughly wash off the vinegar from the veggies so it won’ t harm the baby birds.
Hard boiled chicken eggs are an excellent protein source for canaries. You can easily cut up the hard boiled egg and mix it with other dry canary food.