Important Tips About Your Canary's Cage

Everyone should have a safe and comfortable home. This includes your canary. But a lot of first time canary owners, unbeknown to them, actually can do more harm than good when it comes to making a safe habitat for their pet. That's because they are not aware of some of the hazards that humans think of being acceptable.

On that end, here are a few tips for newbie canary owners when setting up your birds first home. Although there are books out there that can give you a full understanding of this subject, I'll give you what I consider three of the most important topics to be aware of.

In a cage which is the foundation for a canary's housing, the lining on the floor is an important and often overlooked detail that deserves your serious attention. In the past, it was a given that you would line your canary's cage with newspaper. It was easy, cheap and probably available for free. But over the years it has been determined it is not so healthy for your bird.

The ink and solvents on newspapers contain toxins that can severely affect the health of your bird. The more advanced these inks and solvents get, it seems the more toxic they become. With the aging of the chemicals, they may not evaporate with time. This puts your bird in jeopardy when you consider they will come in bodily contact with the toxins or may eat food that has fallen on the newspaper and in contact with the toxins.

There are viable alternatives to using newspaper. You could use newsprint, which is the newspaper without the ink. Another alternative would be the use of brown paper bags. Again it's important to note not to use the section of a paper bag that has any ink or writing on it. Probably the best option would be paper towels. A great tip is to lay down a week or week and a half of paper towels on the bottom of the cage and remove the top layer everyday. This makes cleanup a snap and helps keep the cage fresh and airy.

One of the joys of a canary is bathing. Canaries enjoy bathing and there are many different types of tubs and bathing apparatuses available. The choices vary, with some placed on the outside of the cage while others can actually sit on the cages floor. If you're looking for something very simple, a small glass ashtray can be used and your bird will never know the difference.

Finally, it would be prudent to invest in a seed catcher. Seed catchers are instrumental in the prevention of seed, hulls and other debris spreading outside the cage. Most cages in this day and age already have shields incorporated in them, but it's still a good idea to have one in place. It will provide you with another level of protection to help keep your home clean and tidy, which always makes for a better environment for your bird.

Use this information to make your canary's housing a happy palace.