ISSN #1492-8132
Issue 39, copyright © 2002
all rights reserved
no reprints without permission

To make sure everything you offer her will be safe, put any nesting material based on fibre such as string, twine, or burlap, into a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Stir and let stand til cool enough to handle, then fish it all out, wring well, and let it dry on a stack of old newspaper for a day or so before offering it to her in small batches. (Try clothespegging some to the cage wire.)

For the base of the nest, they like to use a mixture of coarser materials such as long dry wild grass, shreds of paper, (usually the paper lining the bottom of the cage, of course) and coarse burlap or jute material.

For the finishing touch, the central lining that finishes off the nest, they like material as fine, soft, and pale as possible. A good material to offer here is short pieces of soft, pre-shrunk (as described above) cotton kitchen string, or shreds of plain white non-scented kleenex tissues.

This issue's question:

"I wonder if my canary is getting enough minerals, he does not use his cuttle bone much if at all, because it wobbles when he touches it, how can I fix it safely to the cage firmly enough for him to be able to chew on it?"

My answer is:

"Hello! Sometimes a pet canary will ignore the cuttlebone for months on end, and then suddenly start using it. Make sure it's fastened flat against the wall of the cage, soft side facing into the cage, in a place where he can get at it easily. If you have it placed so it's mostly upright and he seems afraid of it, try placing it crossways instead - it seems some birds find an upright cuttlebone intimidating.

"I find the easiest way to anchor it is to poke a couple of holes through the tough skin of the back. To do this use the sharp tip of a serrated-edge knife, and twist it back and forth on the same spot until you punch through the hard shell of the back.

"Then take use a long twist tie and poke it through the holes you just made, pushing it through the soft part of the cuttlebone til it comes out the other side. Arrange the wire so it loops across the front of the cuttlebone, with each free end sticking out the back, then place the cuttlebone firmly against the cage wires near a perch. Twist the ends firmly around the wires behind the cuttlebone, making sure it's tight, then anchor the ends of the tie out of the reach of his beak or claws.

"As long as it is easily available when they need it, most canaries will use a cuttlebone eventually. Pet male canaries do require some minerals too, but don't need as much mineral intake as does a hen. However you will probably notice him using the cuttlebone quite a lot during his moult, as the minerals help him in growing in his new feathers.

"Do please be careful about just what kind of wire you use to fasten anything to the cage, whether you are using it to anchor cuttlebones or anything else. Many of the softer, more pliable wires sold for uses such as hanging pictures and what-have-you are made with fairly high percentages of lead or zinc. Both can be dangerous to birds, particularly lead. Either can act as a slow poison, if ingested by the bird.

"Food-grade twist ties with the tough plastic covering over the wire are usually quite safe, or you can get stainless steel wire at the hardware store."

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For bird people who care.

Hello! Welcome to Flock Talk's 39th issue, thanks for reading!  

Have you participated in our short quick private survey? Less than 20% of Flock Talk readers have expressed their opinions so far. What you tell us will form the basis for our decisions, so help make our site what you want it to be! Let your voice be heard!.

Ask Robirda a bird-related question here, or send your ideas, tips, tricks, stories, or comments here.

We now have three great new products available, and another one soon to arrive. Check them out at www.robirda.com/books.html

1. Our first product is Robirda's new ebook, Brats In Feathers, Introducing Canaries. One reader says, "I thought before that you were a good writer. But in this book, you really fly!"
   
   This ebook contains updates to old favourites, expanding on areas particularly needed by new pet canary owners, along with all-new articles never before published anywhere, and liberal quantities of great photographs. Learn more here.

2. Secondly, we have put together a 2-page printable breeding record and genetics chart for keeping track of your breeding efforts. Detailed records allow you to track bloodlines and degrees of relatedness accurately, as well as make notes on colour & markings, breeding performance, show results, etc, while the Lineage charts allows you to see all of a bird's ancestors for four generations back. Learn more at robirda.com/records.html

3. Our third new product is Robirda's Basic Canary Care Info-Sheet. Breeders, clubs, and pet stores can buy the right to make and hand out unlimited copies to their members or customers, saving everybody time, trouble, and money. You get two printable pdfs, one with pictures, one without, for use with any kind of printer, or any situation. Learn more here.

4. Finally, last but not least! - Soon we will have another ebook in the Brats in Feathers series available for you, this one entitled Brats in Feathers - Breeding Canaries.
   
   Loaded with valuable information for any breeder, it includes all-new, never-before-published articles and information, as well as top notch photographs and thorough updates to old favourites too. For more information see robirda.com/aboutbrats2.html

*Use of all these products requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (free). See the bottom of each product page for more information on getting Adobe Reader, if you don't already have it.

* *All sales and sponsorships go towards maintaining Robirda.com and Flock Talk. Without these sales and the support of our sponsors these sites would not exist.

Bird Site Report

American Singers Club Inc
www.upatsix.com/asc/

It's been awhile since we've reviewed a really good canary site, but in this case, the wait will have been worth it!

This is the website for the national organization for the American Singer Canary, and there is far more information available here than is apparent at first glance. Many areas of the site contain more information than their titles indicate. For example, the Breeder's Referral List includes some excellent and detailed information on shipping birds, if you look at the bottom of the page.

Whether or not you are particularly an American Singer enthusiast, if you are at all interested in keeping any kind of canaries, you will want to spend a fair bit of time combing through this website gleaning the gems with which it is liberally adorned. You will leave much wiser than when you arrived!

Feature Story

This issue we have a simple story to share with you, sent in by a Flock reader, of a lifelong love between one woman and her companion birds. She calls it...

by Jeanne T. Johnson
copyright © Feb 2002

Since my very earliest memories, my dearly loved grandmother, Nellie, always had a pet bird. It was always a budgie, and always his name was "Charlie".

Nellie doted on her budgies, and when each beloved Charlie had lived out his life, another would soon find his way into my Grandma's home and into her heart. Oh, how Nellie doted on each and every one of them!

No matter whether it was Charlie I or Charlie VIII, each one learned to talk, and not just because they had the ability. All budgies can talk, if they wish, but many pet budgies never do.

I believe that each little bird who lived with Grandma Nellie talked because he was unquestionably considered to be a family member, and treated as such. He would be spoken to and interacted with throughout the day as she went about her household chores.

Grandma Nellie loved her budgie, and it showed in how she would faithfully tend to his needs before her own each morning. When she awoke to start her day, as she descended the staircase, Charlie would chirp and cheerily say, "Good morning, Charlie!"

With a smile on her face, Nellie would respond in kind and return his greeting as she lifted the cover from his cage. As was his habit, Charlie would scamper out onto his porch and then bow his head so Nellie could gently plant a kiss on the back of his head. Then she tended to his cage and food.

Only after these tasks were finished would Nellie venture into the kitchen and begin to cook breakfast for Grandpa Fred. Ahough Fred would always mutter about how Charlie got more of Nellie's attention than he did, I could always tell that he wasn't really put out - it was evident in the 'wink' that punctuated each 'Grandpa Grumble'. Soon enough Fred knew he would join Nellie at the kitchen table as she served up the usual fare of eggs, toast, and fresh coffee.

Now I don't know whether it was Charlie's keen nose - beak? - for detecting breakfast aromas, along with his greedy love of toast, or just exceptionally good budgie timing, but as soon as Nellie and Fred sat down, Charlie would zip into the room on his little wings and join them for breakfast.

That little bird divided his table time between a nibble of toast here and a sip of coffee there as he pattered over the tablecloth with an accompanying cadence of "tep-tep-tep". The only break during Charlie's busy breakfast nibbles and sips would be the moment he always took to request a neck skritching from Nellie.

She always obliged, and he would stretch his neck happily and chatter "Prrrittee bird - Charlie's a prrritee bird!"

Of course, this would bring about another grumble from Grandpa Fred, pointing out (while winking) how much vanity such a little bundle could hold. My Grandma Nellie would then reach over and give her Fred a 'skritch' under his chin and tell him that he was a pretty bird too.

Charlie and Nellie had a firm routine. When the cuckoo clock struck nine, Nellie, tired from her busy day, would get up from her comfy living room chair to ready herself for bed. Before she doused the lights, she would cover Charlie's cage and bid him a good night.

Charlie, being a silly little bird, would chirp once or twice from beneath his cover and quietly say, "Good morning, Charlie!" He really was a very silly bird.

As long as I knew her, this was just how each of my Grandma Nellie's days dawned, and how each day closed. Every day opened, and every day ended with her budgie - each and every one of them named Charlie.

My Grandmother lived to the grand old age of 95, and in remarkably good health, too. She lost her dear spouse Fred too early, and lived alone in her rambling house for the last 25 years of her life.

I'm sure many of those days seemed unendingly empty, as Nellie sorely missed her Fred. This was evident, as she often stated that she was ready, anytime, to meet up with him again, "God willing".

But, in the long meantime, Nellie had her Charlie, sometimes of blue feather and other times of green. He was her reason to rise each morning, and her reason for completing her days. After all, Nellie had tending to do and skritches to give! She was always greeted with a cheery chirpy "Good morning!", and she always had 'company' at the breakfast table.

Charlie chattered at her and loved her all day long, and always offered a "Good morning" each night as she readied herself for bed once again. It was truly a vision of contentment to watch as Charlie 'assisted' Nellie as she watered her plants, or to see him helping her 'win' at solitaire, or hearing him contribute to Nellie's phone chats with far-away friends.

So it went, year after year, this love affair between Nellie and Charlie, until it took up all the days of her life.

Can you imagine the amount of quiet time that creeps into an elderly person's life when living alone? How sometimes days can go by without once having to speak aloud, because nobody is there to hear? Have you ever thought how it would be, to never use your voice, because there is no one around to listen?

What might it feel like to wake up every morning, and go to bed each night for so many years, without once saying "good morning" or "good night" because there's no one there to hear you?

Well, thanks to a sweet-natured, gentle line of budgies named Charlie, my Grandma Nellie never had to know such loneliness. She could and did talk to him about her good times and her bad times, her joys and her ailments, her hopes and her dreams... and dear, gentle Charlie was always there to listen.

Yes, Nellie did love her Charlie, every one, and every one of her Charlies always loved her too. She taught me an invaluable lesson, in a way I will never be able to forget, simply by living her life.

And that's the way I will always remember them - together.

by Jeanne T. Johnson
Copyright © Feb 2002.
All rights reserved.

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Our next issue is due out March 3rd - until then, may you and your birds enjoy all the best of everything!

Robirda
February 17, 2002
Vancouver, BC, Canada