Canaries: Feeding

Why is my bird’s diet important?

Like all other animals, birds need a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Different species have different nutritional needs. Poor nutrition is a common cause of health problems in pet birds. Birds need more than seed and water to stay healthy. Canaries eating large amounts of seed are vulnerable to obesity and other nutritional problems.

Birds may choose their favorite foods rather than eat a balanced diet. It is important to offer your bird a well-balanced diet and make sure they eat the recommended amounts of each food. Discuss your bird’s diet with a veterinarian experienced in bird care.

What do canaries eat in the wild?

Wild canaries are generally seed-eaters and consume various seeds, including grass seeds. Their diet changes with the seasons and may also include insects, fruits, berries, and vegetation.

What should I feed my canary?

Pet canaries should always be fed a well-balanced and varied diet. As a guideline, most canaries can be maintained on one to two teaspoons per bird per day of a combination of a pelleted diet with a small amount of various seeds offered in a shallow dish or food bowl. 

If there is more than one canary in the cage, use separate dishes or food bowls to ensure all birds have equal access to food. In a flock situation, the feeding dish should be large enough to allow several birds to eat at the same time.

Pelleted diets

Several types of commercially formulated pelleted diets are available in various colors, shapes, and sizes. Pellets are the ideal diet and they provide the minimum daily requirements for most birds. Ideally, pellets will represent approximately 75% to 80% of your bird’s diet. Choose a diet formulated for canaries. Different pelleted formulations are available for different life stages and for managing certain diseases. Hand-raised babies are generally the easiest to start on a pelleted diet. Mature canaries raised on seed diets may be difficult to convert to pellets.

Seeds

Seeds should only be a small part of a canary’s diet and never the only component of the diet. Healthy molts, vibrant song, and strong condition are best achieved when canaries are offered a well-balanced pelleted diet formulated for canaries, along with a small amount of seed and fresh greens. 

Wild canaries eat a variety of seeds as different plants come into season. Commercially available seed mixes for pet canaries may contain two to five different kinds of seeds, but these seeds are high in fat and carbohydrates and deficient or imbalanced in many nutrients. Poor nutrition can lead to ill health and potentially shorten the life of your canary.

In addition, canaries tend to selectively eat only one or two of their favorite types of seed from a mixture. Millet seed, often offered as a millet spray, may be chosen preferentially. Millet is another form of seed and is not nutritionally complete.

Honey sticks are seeds stuck together with sugar and honey and are not nutritionally balanced. Molting, song, and conditioning foods are also available for canaries. These products are different combinations of seeds and should not be offered to canaries.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens should account for approximately 20% to 25% of the daily diet. See the suggested food list at the end of this handout.

• Small pieces of green leafy vegetables, such as parsley, carrot tops, kale, red leaf lettuce, or endive, can be offered several times a week. 
• Iceberg lettuce and celery offer very little nutritional value and should not be offered. 
• Avocado is potentially toxic and should never be fed to your bird.

Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly before feeding. Cut them into pieces appropriate to the size of your bird, and offer them in a separate dish. You do not need to remove the skin. 

If your bird develops a preference for one food, reduce the amount or temporarily stop offering it to encourage them to eat other foods. Remove uneaten fruits and vegetables within a couple of hours to prevent spoilage, especially in warm conditions. 

How do I change my bird to a pelleted diet?

Changing from seeds to pellets can take weeks or months. Some birds do not recognize pellets as food at first. Make changes gradually, with guidance from your veterinarian. Do not remove familiar food until you are sure your bird is eating enough of the new diet.

Birds may be offered pellets in a bowl separate from other food, ideally first thing in the morning when they are hungriest. Pellets may also be mixed with familiar food as part of a gradual transition directed by your veterinarian. Continue to offer enough familiar food while your bird learns to eat pellets.

When converting a seed-eating bird to a pelleted diet, it is critically important to weigh your bird daily to ensure that it is not losing weight. Converting a canary to a predominantly pelleted diet can be stressful for you and your canary. Consult your veterinarian if you encounter any problems with this transition or with the health of your bird, and contact them if your bird eats less or loses weight.

What water does my bird need?

Fresh, clean water must always be available. Depending on the quality of your tap water, you may consider using bottled water. Clean food and water dishes daily with hot, soapy water, and rinse them thoroughly before reusing.

Can I offer other foods?

Some foods your family eats may be offered in very small amounts, provided they are suitable for your bird. Follow the feeding guidelines and restrictions in this handout.

• Cooked vegetables can be offered without added butter, salt, or oil. 
• Processed foods such as cheeses, cookies, crackers, and candy should never be offered to your bird.
• Products containing caffeine and alcoholic beverages may be toxic to birds and should not be offered.

Will my bird’s nutritional needs change throughout its life?

Birds that are very young, stressed, injured, laying eggs, or raising young may have special nutritional requirements. There are specially formulated pelleted foods available for these birds. Consult your veterinarian about these situations.

Does my bird need supplements?

Your veterinarian can help you assess your bird's diet and particular needs. Birds eating 75% to 80% of their diet from nutritionally complete pelleted food generally do not require supplements. Egg-laying birds may need calcium supplementation, as advised by their veterinarian.

Vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as omega fatty acid supplements, should only be given under the guidance of a veterinarian knowledgeable about birds. Birds on all-seed diets may be given powdered supplements if recommended by their veterinarian, until they are transitioned to a pelleted diet. 

Placing these powders on the outside of seeds is of little value since canaries remove the outer hulls from seeds before ingesting them. Small amounts of powdered supplements may be offered on moist food as directed by your veterinarian. Once your bird is eating a nutritionally complete diet, ask your veterinarian whether supplements are still needed.

Does my bird need gravel or grit?

Canaries do not need gravel or grit because they remove the seed’s outer hull before ingesting the kernel. Grit helps birds such as pigeons and doves, which consume whole seeds, to grind food in the gizzard (part of the stomach). Some birds offered grit eat too much and develop potentially life-threatening intestinal blockages.

What should I remember about feeding my bird?

Keep these points in mind when feeding your canary:

• Monitor how much each bird eats, and follow your veterinarian’s feeding plan.
• Offer a balanced diet formulated for canaries, with the recommended amounts of seeds and fresh foods.
• Provide enough feeding dishes for birds housed together to have equal access to food.
• Change diets gradually and weigh your bird daily during the transition.
• Remove uneaten fruits and vegetables within a couple of hours, especially in warm conditions.
• Offer fresh water every day.
• Clean food and water dishes daily with hot, soapy water, and rinse them thoroughly before reuse.
• Do not offer gravel or grit.

Suggested foods include: apple, apricots, asparagus, banana, beet, blueberry, bok choy, broccoli, brown rice, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrot, carrot tops, cherries (without pits), coconut, cooked beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, and soybeans), corn, cucumber, dandelion leaves, dates, endive, fig, grapefruit, grapes, kale, kiwi, mango, melons, nectarines, orange, papaya, parsnip, peaches, pear, peas, peppers (red, green, and hot), pineapple, plum, pomegranate, potato, pumpkin, rapini, raspberry, romaine lettuce, spinach, sprouted seeds, squash, strawberry, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini.