Silent females?

[wonker]

Afternoon everyone.

I recently (last weekend) got myself a Canary. Billy has settled in really well and everything is fine...except he is driving my wire crazy. She was never happy with the idea of getting a Canary but my 2 little 'uns and me think he's great. She says that his constant chirping is driving her insane. I think she is overreacting as he does not chirp all the time but she's having none of it. As a compromise she asked If I would swap Billy for a female, she phoned the pet shop who told her that a female would not chirp (well would chirp far less than a male). In the interest of saving my marriage I reluctantly agreed but what I would like to know before I commit to it, is do females make any sound at all or are they silent? I have no problem in having a female as I am sure that owning one would be just as rewarding as owning a male but I would like the occasional chirp!

Cheers

Wonker

[alexandra]

hi

our females do chirp now and then, but not as much as a male.

shame you cant keep your male, as they have beautiful songs and are excellant singers.

[wonker]

Thanks for the reply alexandra,

I agree about the male song, Billy has only been with us a short time and I think his chriping an beeping are wonderful but I have to compromise with my wife (or my life won't be worth living). Hopefully she will agree to try to get used to him but if not Billy will have to become 'Billie'.
Is it just the singing abiliity that is different between males and females or are they harder/easier to look after etc for instance do females need more in the cage than males, is the food different, do they lay eggs etc?
I know to the expert these may seem like silly questions but all the literature regarding canaries I have read was all focused on males so I know very little about the females?

Cheers

Wonker

[alexandra]

hi

females wont need different seed or a bigger cage, its just the singing ability thats different. all canaries likea bit of fruit eg bananas, apple and also cucumber.

if she did lay eggs, (which isnt very common without a male) she would need more calcium and egg food. also never take the eggs away from her, wait until she loses interest in them.

if you took them away she will lay more and in the end will not have enough calcium in her body and will become poorly.

best thing to do if she did lay eggs would be to let her sit on them til she got fed up with them and give her boiled egg with the shell crushed up.

generally females are just as easy to look after.

hope this helps.

[wonker]

It certainly does help, many thanks. I'll keep you updated if Billy turns into Billie !


Cheers

Wonker

[alexandra]

no problem!

[Admin]

what great advice well done you alex, you taught me a thing or two there aswell

dont worry about the "beginners" questions wonker, ive been a bird keeper for years, and i still bow down to everyones knowledge on here and ask questions lol

[alexandra]

well i did learn most of it from BC members!!! so its not all my knowledge

its thanks to you guys on here that i've learnt so much

[Berserka]

Such a shame your wife doesn't like his song.
I had a gorgeous male named Fido for about 3 months and he was just starting to learn his song. I am incredibly sad that he never got to complete it (lost his life to a butcherbird). I loved listening to him singing - it was very comforting.

[telmadee]

I found out that my birdies do quieten down as soon as they are out of their cages so maybe that would help too.
I bet most men think they wished human females were like our feathered friends..............................(less vocal too) lol but all the best in whatever you decide, hope your goodlady wife, grows to liek the noise #cheesy#

[wonker]

Thanks for the replies everyone. My wife took Billy back to the pet shop today and replaced him with a female but it seems she was mis-informed. Apparently the female didn't stop chirping and was a lot louder than Billy so the good news is...Billy is back! The pet shop owner must think my wife is mental (not far wrong there). I don't really know what my wife expected, the Pet shop owner did tell her that the females would not chirp as much but I think he meant 'sing as much', when she went to the shop today the owner's wife said the reason the females are chirping loudly is because it is breeding season contradicting what the owner had said the day before. Anyway, Billy is back and I hope my wife tries to get used to it and gives him a chance as I think he's a great little fella.

Regards

Wonker

[Admin]

Ooooh dear!! For your sake i hope your wife doesnt read that #norty#

Whooopeeee!! Im glad you have Billy back he does sound a sweety If it is the first bird in the household then it might just be a bit of a shock to the system, once he has been there a week or two the chirping might not seem as loud if she wants to hear loud chirps - she wants to visit the sally household one day lol when they all get going i have to either go out or have the paracetamol on standby lol

[alexandra]

hooray! glad you've got Billy back!

you will enjoy him especially when you wake up in the morning to the sound of a beautiful song!