5 Reasons Why Your Canary is Losing Feathers
Canneries can lose feathers due to the process of molting, excessive stress, lack of nutrition, lack of sufficient exposure to bright sunlight and fresh air, preening activity, boredom, depression, or other diseases.
1. Molting
Molting is a completely natural process of feather replacement that occurs in all kinds of birds, twice or sometimes more times a year. So during these times of the year, you will notice that the canary is losing feathers in bulks.
Generally, with molting, bald spots do not occur but in cases, you can find bald spots in your bird. The older feathers or the smaller barren spaces will get replaced with newer feather growth within a matter of few weeks.
During molting, the canary can end up losing feathers, all across its body…The head, neck, chest, and body.
How do I know if my canary is molting?
The canaries can act differently when they are molting. During these times of the year, canaries will show signs of fatigue and will end up resting throughout the day. Molting is not easy for the birds as it eats up a lot of their energy to grow the new feathers.
The canary can start to demonstrate signs of fatigue and lack of appetite. Also the feathers you will find at the bottom of the cage won’t be damaged, they will be intact in nature. Whereas the feathers you will get due to excessive preening activities will be damaged and broken in nature.
What month do canaries start molting?
The canaries like most birds can molt during the start of the spring season and the start of the fall or the ending of the summer season.
2. Anxiety and Stress problems
The canaries can end up losing loads of feathers suddenly when they are living extremely stressed or are living in some kind of anxiety.
Birds can feel intimidated or feel neglected due to very minor reasons, however, those can end up deteriorating their health significantly.
The introduction of a new toy in the cage or a new large-sized item closer to the cage can be the problem. The introduction of a new bird in the cage or room can be the reason. Maybe you got a new cat or dog, in that case, it can be very terrifying for them to get adjusted to the sound and stature of a larger animal in the house.
Maybe they are seeing scary animals on the tv which is causing them to feel stressed out. The canaries are affectionate birds and hate loneliness.
So neglecting them is a major reason behind their anxiety and depression. You should spend a specific amount of time interacting and playing with them daily. If you don’t have enough time to do this at least regularly consider introducing a new toy or new mate in a systematic manner that doesn’t spook them off.
3. Diseases
Feather loss can occur due to infectious diseases or due to mite infestations, so if you notice health or other behavioral changes in your bird consider giving the vet a visit. Mite infestation can lead to excessive preening activities which can lead to barren spots on the head, neck, and chest.
4. Self Harming activities
Birds can undergo behavioral changes and develop the habit of self-harming or excessive preening if they suddenly get exposed to stressful conditions. You need to make sure that their basic living needs are met and they are not exposed to unnecessary stress or anxiety.
The canaries need to have a lot of free space within their cage otherwise that can lead to depression. As these birds are of smaller stature the bird owners keep them in small cages which can end up affecting their health.
They need to have enough space available within the cage to move from one perch to another. Make sure the cage in which you are keeping the cannery is not too small As that can lead to stress and there must not be an excessive amount of toys present within the cage which may end up restricting the bird’s movement there.
Also, make sure the canary is not getting bullied by other birds living inside the cage. If you wanna make sure your bird is not suffering from loneliness, introducing birds of similar varieties is a great way for that. However if you don’t do it slowly taking into consideration their response to that change, it can cause them undue stress.
Make sure that your bird consumes an optimal diet with lots of veggies and fruits.
5. Basic Sunlight and Sleeping Needs are not being met
Canneries particularly like to be exposed to 12 hours of Darkness and light. Otherwise, it may lead to hormonal imbalances which can further lead to feather loss.
Always keep the birdcage in a room that gets lots of bright light and it has got a lot of free airflow in it. A damp room with no windows is one of the last places you should keep your bird in.
Canneries must be kept under dark conditions right after sunset and must again be exposed to light right after sunrise. This is a requirement that needs to be fulfilled for the optimal health of more or less all the birds however canneries are extremely susceptible to uneven distribution of light and darkness.
Insufficient exposure to either of the two conditions can lead to severe hormonal imbalances which further can be detrimental to their health and lead to the loss of feathers.
If you start noticing other symptoms along with the loss of feathers like lack of sleep, unwillingness to eat, fatigue or you are unsure of the exact reason why your bird is behaving this way then you should give the vet a visit.
Thanks for reading! If you have any queries let me know in the comments!
