Congrats on your soon-to-be chicks! A word of warning though--handfeeding canaries is much harder than something like a cockatiel, a lovebird or even parakeets. Canary parents will abandon a nest much faster and the chicks tend to be far more delicate. My dad has been raising champions German Rollers for years and he has had a number of chick losses over the years from just taking them out of the nest for a few minutes to band them at 2 days (if I remember the timing correctly). I remember him trying to save a clutch after the mother stopped feeding them after he messed with them for some reason or another. Far different than my cockatiels who let me handle their babes a few times a day the first week they were hatched!
Once the babies are eating on their own you can get in and start handling them. My father has never bothered with that since they are **show** birds bred and trained for their song rather than their pet personality, but I have heard of a few very tame canaries that will sit on your finger and such. Good luck!
Oh, and BTW, one way to tame them is to make sure momma has access to egg food and sprouted seed and then use those as hand-feeding treats once the babes are a bit older. The chicks will miss their yummy treats and will be more inclined to take them from you.
Once the babies are eating on their own you can get in and start handling them. My father has never bothered with that since they are **show** birds bred and trained for their song rather than their pet personality, but I have heard of a few very tame canaries that will sit on your finger and such. Good luck!
Oh, and BTW, one way to tame them is to make sure momma has access to egg food and sprouted seed and then use those as hand-feeding treats once the babes are a bit older. The chicks will miss their yummy treats and will be more inclined to take them from you.
