How to Improve your Canary's Singing

Canaries start learning to sing when they are chicks, and their vast memory means they are able to recall different notes and musical styles, despite being separated from their parents at a very early age.

If you're looking for a canary that can compete in competitions, it's essential to train it from a young age. For this, you'll need to have a teacher canary, or use recordings of their songs which can be found online. To learn more about this process, read our article on how to teach a canary to sing.

You must understand that you won't be able to change your canary's singing completely, but you can slightly improve it and make it more powerful. The foundations of singing are already cemented in the bird's mind by the time it reaches adulthood, and it will be impossible to re-train it.

It's important to always remember that your birds need special care and attention. At any one time, you must be able to recognize whether they're suffering from an illness, have plenty of fresh water and food, and if they're able to move freely, among other things.

The well-being of your canary will have a direct influence on its singing ability, health and longevity. Basic care for your canary should include the following:

• A medium-sized cage
• A feeder and water dispenser
• Cuttlefish bone or calcium
• Energy bars
• Fruit and vegetables
• Covering it at night
• Respecting its rest periods

It's also important to know that your male canary - males are usually better singers - will be easily distracted if accompanied by a female. It will spend long spells showering her with attention, while reducing the hours it spends singing. The canary is a bird that will happily live alone, although it can become considerably depressed if you don't pay enough attention to it.

Make sure you know what is the best diet for a canary.

Once your canary has started singing, you should maintain conditions which will further promote its activity. One such example is to play it other canaries' songs on a daily basis. We also recommend:

• Introducing extra fruits and vegetables to your canary's diet will be greatly appreciated. If you give them as treats after a beautiful song, you will be positively reinforcing this habit.

• Obviously, providing your canary with a healthy diet will be crucial in getting it to sing properly.

• Keep your canary refreshed in the summer by either placing a small pool for it to use or by spraying it lightly. If you opt for a spray, you can mix water with a small dash of apple cider vinegar, which will enhance its plumage and help keep it healthy.

• The size of the cage poses something of a contradiction. If it's very big, the bird will generally keep itself entertained more by flying and jumping, and it will sing less as a result. On the other hand, if the cage is too small it will feel oppressed and anxious. Professional breeders who raise exhibition canaries recommend using a medium-sized cage which contains perches, so that the canary can exercise at certain times of the day.

• Place the cage in a quiet, peaceful place. A location free from drafts which has some natural sunlight will be the perfect location to develop this desirable quality.

• You can also use vitamin supplements or special mixtures such as the famous "Supercanto" (commonplace in many Spanish shops). These are products which, owing to their nutritional content, keep this bird healthy and encourage this habit.

As you can see, improving your canary's singing means making sure your beloved pet has plenty of energy from proper rest, exercise and nutrients. This will make its song stronger, and the canary will be in a more cheerful, singing-prone mood.

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