Canary Diet - What to Feed Your Canary

We are going to discuss the proper way to feed your canary. You should try and make this a daily routine as much as possible. Putting your canary on a steady routine relives stress and also will help control temperament. For our purposes, well will identify the term food to mean your canary's seed mix.

Remove any left over canary food from the previous day. Replace that with one tablespoon of fresh food. Most vets recommend a seed mix of either 60 or 70 percent canary seed portion to a 40 to 30 percent mix of another seed. The most popular ratio is 70 percent canary seed to 30 percent canola seed. This is considered your base food for your pet. If you feel your bird needs it, you can also substitute a vitaminized seed instead of the canary seed.

The base food for your canary should also be supplemented with a song food mix and a conditioning food mix. A song food mix is named because these foods stimulate your bird to sing. They consist mostly of oily seeds. Conditioning food gives your pet the extra nutrients it needs to give it a complete diet.

You should alternate your song food mix and your conditioning food mix on a daily basis. Provide one half of a finger or treat cup at feeding time. Finger or treat cups are about the size of your pinkie that can be purchased at local health food store.

Fresh water daily for your canary is a must. You should check every 5 to 6 hours to make sure your bird has water. If you do not trust your tap water or have well water, you can use distilled or bottled water. One note to make is that distilled water does not have any minerals because of the distilling process so you will have to compensate for that yourself.

A good idea for those who use distilled water is water soluble vitamins. This will replace any vitamin deficiency. When water soluble vitamins are used, it is imperative to make sure you change your bird's water frequently.

As a treat, every day you should provide your canary with small pieces of fruit, vegetables and dark greens. This should be done throughout the day, spreading evenly as time permits.

This is a complete diet for your bird. Follow these guidelines and you will see your bird flourish like a canary should.