Why has my Canary Stopped Singing?

In many cases, canaries stop singing for no apparent reason. Although singing is part of their nature, it might look like your canary has changed overnight and it does not feel like singing anymore. Sometimes, we humans change our tastes and interests - could this happen to canaries?

Canaries, of course, can't speak and therefore they won't tell you if something is wrong. It is therefore very important to know what may be causing their muteness and explore the possibilities to see if they will sing again.

Let's have a look at the most common causes why canaries don't sing:

• If your canary is female, you should know that most female canaries do not sing. If they do, their singing is not as refined and pleasant as the male's. Finding out the sex of your canary may seem easy, but in fact it can get complicated - it's better to check with an expert.

• Canaries get sad too. Your bird could be depressed for many reasons. It may not be used to its cage, or it may be too small. Your canary may be bored of its food or it might not have enough light where it is living.

• It may be that your bird is a baby canary and as with everything, it is still learning. Find out how to teach a canary to sing.

• It's molting its feathers. All birds go through this process, and it may become very stressful because they use a lot of energy. Therefore, they could stop singing for a few months when molting, which usually happens between summer and autumn. Here you can learn the best way of caring for a molting canary.

• Quite commonly, they stop singing due to a bad or poor diet. Make sure you know what's the best diet for a canary.

• If your canary has molted its feathers but you see that it is presenting symptoms such as listlessness, not eating very much or perhaps eating too much, lying on the floor all the time or your bird is swollen, it is very possible that your canary is sick.

Most birds eat seeds, but canaries require more than that in order to feel healthy and happy. If you feed them just a simple and inexpensive mix, try buying tastier and more varied seeds.

Give your canary a nutritional boost and accompany its diet with vegetables and fruits - apples, oranges, bananas and broccoli are good choices. They also like to eat corn. Do not give them additional food every day; you should only do it two or three times a week.

Always pay attention to their nails because they grow very quickly. Long nails may cause them pain whenever they are perching.

A key factor in keeping your canary healthy and happy is the state and location of its cage. The larger the cage, the better. This way, the bird will not feel cornered. Always keep the cage clean and provide fresh water at all times.

In terms of location, the cage must be in a place where there is a natural light source - television lights or a light bulb do not count. In order for your canary to maintain a stable biological clock, only give it the number of hours of light it needs. Canaries sleep and need a break from the light. Cover its cage with a sheet at dusk and take it off again at dawn.

If your canary's singing has still not returned after checking all these factors, you might want to consider our guide on how to improve a canary's singing and 5 steps to get a canary to sing.

This article is purely informative. AnimalWised does not have the authority to prescribe any veterinary treatment or create a diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian if they are suffering from any condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to Why has my Canary Stopped Singing?, we recommend you visit our Prevention category.