Taming a canary or any bird requires patience, dedication, and the right approach. While it may not be an easy process, it certainly isn’t impossible. By gaining knowledge and putting in the necessary effort, you can successfully tame any bird. In this article, I will discuss two methods for taming canary birds and other songbirds. Taming fledged and unfledged. Drawing from my personal experience, I will explain both methods in detail to help you tame your own bird.
Tame your Canary after fledging
Canaries normally fledge at 15 days of age. After they fledge and especially when they become juveniles or adults, taming them becomes more difficult and challenging. But it is still possible, and the progress depends on you and the individual bird.
When attempting to tame an adult, juvenile, or fledged canary, it is best to start with a bird that has a relatively low-stress level around you. Taming a fledged or adult canary requires more patience, time, persistence, consistency, and stricter rules to follow than taming unfledged birds. As a result, I do not recommend this approach as the initial method for taming. However, if you are up for the challenge, I can guide you on how this can be achieved:
Conquering fear
Canary chicks start to develop a fear of humans when they reach 12 days of age. As they grow older, it becomes more challenging to make them feel comfortable around people again. Canaries are naturally cautious and vigilant, which includes being wary of humans. If a canary becomes sick, it may pretend to be healthy to avoid appearing like easy prey to humans. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the least fearful bird when attempting to tame an adult or juvenile canary.
Establishing trust
Building trust is crucial when it comes to taming a canary bird. Refrain from chasing, grabbing, or catching your bird by hand unnecessarily. This can trigger fear and mistrust in your bird. Instead, use positive reinforcement techniques such as offering treats or praise when your bird shows positive behaviors, such as approaching you or perching on your finger.
Steps to Taming a Juvenile or Adult Canary
- Creating a familiar and safe environment is crucial to taming a canary bird. To start, keep your bird’s cage in a location where you spend a lot of time so that he gets used to seeing and hearing you frequently. It’s also important to minimize exposure to other untamed birds, as this can be stressful for your canary.
- Speak to your bird in a soothing and calm voice, and avoid loud or sudden movements that might scare him. Spend time sitting next to the cage and talking to your bird, gradually building up the amount of time you spend interacting with him. This process should be done consistently and regularly for at least a week before moving on to the next steps of hand training.
- After a week of creating a familiar environment for your canary, you can start working on hand training. Begin by placing your hand on the cage without moving it, and leave it there for a period of time. If your bird protests, don’t give up, as it may take some time for him to feel comfortable with your presence. Once your bird is used to your hand being on the cage, try placing your hand inside the cage without moving it. Repeat this every day until your bird feels safe with your hand inside the cage. Avoid gazing at your canary if he is not tamed yet.
- After you make progress, grab your favorite bird’s food and hold it with your fingertips. Then extend the tip of the fingers carefully and slowly, and speak to your canary gently and softly. But you must first remove all food trays from the cage and starve the bird for a short period (no more than an hour).
- Once your hand is inside the cage, place it in a comfortable area where the canary can easily stand and pick up the food from your hand. If the bird is hesitant to approach your hand, don’t give up easily. Persistence and patience are key in this process.
- Repeating this process daily for a week while watching your favorite show is a great way to establish a routine and help the bird get used to your presence. It’s important to keep your hand steady and avoid sudden movements that can startle the bird.
- Once your hand is inside the cage, place it in a comfortable area where the canary can easily stand and pick up the food from your hand. If the bird is hesitant to approach your hand, don’t give up easily. Persistence and patience are key in this process.
- Repeating this process daily for a week while watching your favorite show is a great way to establish a routine and help the bird get used to your presence. It’s important to keep your hand steady and avoid sudden movements that can startle the bird.
- As you continue to repeat these daily routines, your canary will become more and more familiar with you and your presence, and will no longer view you as a threat. This will help to build trust between you and your bird. Over time, your canary will become more comfortable and less fearful around you, and may even start to approach you on his own. Be patient and consistent with your training, and soon your canary will become a happy and well-tamed pet.
- After you have successfully trained your canary to stand comfortably on your hand inside the cage, it’s time to take the next step and try feeding him on your hand outside the cage. However, it’s important to avoid grabbing or holding the bird when taking him out or putting him back into the cage. Instead, use a stick or perch to guide him. Don’t force the bird to stand on your hand or stay on it for longer than he is comfortable with.
Note: If your canary flies away, don’t chase after him. Instead, let him settle down and try again later. It’s important to always approach your bird calmly and patiently, and avoid any sudden movements or actions that may startle him. With time and consistent training, your canary will become more comfortable with you and eventually learn to trust you.
Taming Unfledged Canaries
This is my favorite method because the results are somewhat guaranteed. However, using this method requires hand-feeding, and a lot of responsibility until the chick or chicks fledge and wean. Also, keep in mind that hand-feeding alone doesn’t guarantee that your birds will grow to be tamed. If you neglect your hand-fed canaries, they will start fearing you after they wean. So, don’t expect a tamed bird by just simply hand-feeding. In the following section, I will teach you how to make sure your canary will grow tamed with 100% success.
Canary chicks begin to reliability distinguish between their parents and humans when they reach 12 days. Therefore, I recommend you start hand-feeding a canary clutch away from its parents before the chicks reach this age. Then, you can start hand-feeding them on the syringe without returning them to their parents.
But it is a better idea to take the chicks away before they reach 7 days old only if you know how to handle featherless chicks (e.g providing warmth). At this age, the chicks open their eyes and see those around them for the first time, and they see you instead of their parents.
By taking the chicks at a very young age, you decrease the possibility that they fear you when they wean. But again if you neglect them they will fear you regardless, and let me tell you that I have taken canaries at 12 days of age, and I have succeeded in taming them, so taking a canary at the age of 7 or 8 or less or more for that matter is not necessary.
But I would not recommend you take your canary chicks to hand raise and feed them after they reach 12 days old because there is a chance that they stop opening their mouth for food before weaning even if they feel hungry, and this happened to me in the past with some canary birds.
If you hand-feed a clutch of canary birds, it is a must that you separate each in a cage and tame each individually if you have the time. If you don’t have the time, I suggest you focus on one bird only. The canaries that you want to tame should never return to their parent’s cage. You should place them in a room that is far from hearing and seeing other birds.
A hand-fed canary usually weans at the age of 30 days. After weaning, you should continue feeding your bird some fruits or vegetables, or other treats while he is standing on your hand. You should also continue playing with him for at least one hour every day until he becomes fearless of you.
The key to taming any hand-fed bird is to play with him and never neglect him. Because my time is limited, I send any bird I want to tame to my nieces and nephews. Kids have all the patience and time in the world to play with a new friend, especially if he can fly, so why not take advantage? After all, it is a win-win arrangement. Just make sure they are 7 years of age or older and put the oldest in charge. You ought to also train them on how to handle and play with the birds. For example, never chase the bird when he flies away; let him settle first!!
You can see my tamed canary Taymoor singing on my hand in the following video:
Reference: Omar Abusalem (2020), how to tame canaries and goldfinches, birdbud.com.