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Post by siobhan on Jan 26, 2015 13:52:50 GMT -5
She's fine! She had a hearty breakfast and was warming up for her morning concert when I left for work. But last night when I tucked her and Ringo in, she was on a different perch from her usual sleepy perch. But she had spent a large part of the day on that perch and didn't head for her sleepy perch even when I changed into jammies and Ringo went into her cage -- she knows that means bedtime. So I turned off the light (they have a nightlight) and figured she'd sleep there. This morning she was on the floor of her cage, under that perch, with her head stuffed under her wing, snoring and didn't emerge even when I started to get ready for work. I could see she was breathing but I couldn't even find her head, it was so far under her wing. By the time I came back from my bath, she was on her food dish having breakfast. She HAS slept on the floor a few times, and I'm still learning about canaries, but still, birds on cage floors usually means bad news. Unless those birds are Freddie and Johnny, who spend the majority of their time playing tunnel under the newspaper and creating confetti.
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Post by easttex on Jan 26, 2015 14:13:53 GMT -5
Yikes, that would have scared me, too! Have you discovered that it is something canaries do normally?
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Post by siobhan on Jan 26, 2015 16:24:26 GMT -5
The canary folk on the only forum I could locate (which is actually devoted to finches and has a backstreet corner for canary folks) insist that much of what I observe in Trixie is wrong for a canary. Only males sing so she must be male (DNA tested as female!). Her bald head must mean something horrible is wrong with her. Canaries don't play with toys. Canaries don't like millet. You get the idea. Never mind that my canary plays with toys, sings, loves millet and got a clean bill of health from the vet in spite of the bald head. So when I asked about her propensity for getting on the floor (which she does do occasionally), they insisted something horrible was wrong with her. Her feathers are shiny and smooth. Her poops are regular and consistent in appearance. She eats like a horse (a small horse, LOL). Her eyes are bright and her energy level is high. Those are all the signs I watch in the other birds of varied species at my house and those things usually mean they're in good health. She is a bit wobbly when she tries to preen while sitting on a perch, but her perches, except for one, are parrots castoffs and a bit wide. She does have one perch that's skinny. But a variety of perch widths and textures is good for birds and mimics the wild. And I see the tiniest sparrows outdoors sitting on both big and small branches. Trixie also has a store-bought nest if she wants to sit on that. The head tucked into the wing is normal and they only do that when they're going to take a serious snooze, not for a quick doze, so maybe it was more comfortable to sit flat for a serious snooze than to wobble on a perch?
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Post by msdani1981 on Jan 26, 2015 20:35:13 GMT -5
I'm glad she's okay!  |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 26, 2015 21:20:10 GMT -5
My outdoor aviary canaries LOVE millet. Some of my female ones whistle a bit. And many of them look like they're sick one moment, then the next they are hopping around like mad. Some of them even look dead on the floor  , but when I check on them they are actually lying on their stomachs with their beaks open and wings spread out, sunbaking. )I say trust your own judgement and observations about Trixie...glad she's OK! |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 27, 2015 9:53:56 GMT -5
I had a "natural branch" perch that didn't fit in anyone else's cage. She had a dowel perch that I took out and replaced with this one, and she didn't even flinch when I was doing that. I was very pleased that she just sat and watched while I was poking in her cage. She looked it over for a while before she sat on it, and then she looked at me and said "tweee-EEEET" several times, which I take to mean she's confused and not necessarily pleased, but she tried out different twigs and wiped her beak and rubbed her head against it, and decided it could stay.
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Post by easttex on Jan 27, 2015 10:20:04 GMT -5
I would love to see a picture of Trixie. Bet I'm not the only one. |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 27, 2015 14:08:01 GMT -5
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Post by msdani1981 on Jan 28, 2015 0:50:48 GMT -5
LOL You can email pics to me at msdani1981@gmail.com and I'll post them for you! |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 28, 2015 14:17:27 GMT -5
Thanks, Dani. I just sent it.
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Post by msdani1981 on Jan 28, 2015 14:45:51 GMT -5
I'll post it ASAP. She's so cute!!! |
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Post by msdani1981 on Jan 28, 2015 19:40:40 GMT -5
The adorable Miss Trixie.  |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 28, 2015 21:18:27 GMT -5
I see the bald patch. Dont worry, I am not laughing. Shah has one on his neck. The baldie twins |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 29, 2015 0:11:08 GMT -5
She rubs her head on her perches when she's cleaning off her beak. It's not an obsessive thing, but I think that may be the reason she's bald. My other birds just rub their beaks when they're cleaning them off. She may have done it often enough that the follicles are damaged. We'll see, if she ever molts, if feathers come back. I don't care either way as long as the skin is healthy and it seems to be. It doesn't look sore or inflamed in any way. And she's such a happy little thing. She doesn't want to come out and it upsets her when I put my hand in her cage (unless I'm doing chores and filling dishes; she doesn't mind that anymore). If she's happy to stay in her cage, I'm okay with that, too. I leave the door open when I'm cleaning and refilling dishes and I've left the room briefly and left her door open and she still doesn't come out or show any inclination to come out. She'll sit on a perch close to the front of the cage when I talk to her and she doesn't dive for cover anymore when I sit down in front of her cage, and she most definitely knows her name.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 29, 2015 1:51:33 GMT -5
She's very pretty. I really like the cinnamon colour - used to have a few canaries this colour, but they eventually died of old age. None of my canaries wipe their heads on the perches, just their beaks, so you may be right about this being the reason she's bald (although it actually doesn't look that bad; I've had some canaries with bald heads and their skin is all scaly and horrible from the start).
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, but when I check on them they are actually lying on their stomachs with their beaks open and wings spread out, sunbaking. 
