THE HISTORY OF SPRING SONG AVIARY
I’m always asked, “How long have you been doing this?” and I always struggle for the correct answer. My mind always flashes back to my first bird, a blue parakeet, named “Greenaroo” after Captain Kangaroo’s bird. Greenaroo was my reward for learning to count to 100. I must have been about 5years old. I can still remember going down into a basement aviary at the breeder’s home. It was lined floor to ceiling with cages. I was overwhelmed by all the birds and colors to choose from. I remember the woman showing me a newly hatched chick and the shell it had just emerged from. I was hooked!
Except for a few years during college, I have always had at least one bird. Like many bird breeders, my interest in my pet birds eventually lured me into trying to breed my own for fun. I resisted this urge until the mid-80’s when I bought two parakeets “for my kids”. Before we knew it, I was sharing beautiful parakeets with all of my friends.
About the same time I was attending meetings at a home where the woman was raising canaries. I couldn’t help but notice how they filled her home with the most beautiful songs. My beautifully colored and comical parakeets just couldn’t do that with their screeching voices and they were too common making it difficult to find good homes for them.
Before long, my parakeets were replaced with canaries but of no particular kind. My focus was more on learning how to keep them healthy. Like many pet owners turned “breeder”, something inside urged me to expand my hobby and read everything I could about the care and keeping of canaries. If you are reading this, you may be at that point.
Whether you are considering becoming a serious canary hobby breeder and exhibitor or if you are just thinking about adding the joyful song of the canary into your life, I encourage you to learn all that you can before you start filling your cages.
I invite you to read through my webpage. This site is devoted to providing information about canaries for the pet owner and those thinking about expanding their hobby to include breeding and showing their birds. The content is based on my personal experience (often the hard way!) and what I’ve learned from my many mentors and friends that I’ve been fortunate to meet through this hobby.
