Breeding canaries and mules

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:02][clears throat] >> Back with an update.

[00:00:05]It's been a long time, I know, but um I've not been very well, so I haven't been able to get any videos out or anything.

[00:00:14]Big changes in the shed. I've got rid of the flights because it was just too much to manage. And I've let a lot of my birds go because, like I said, the health ain't been great.

[00:00:24]Um so I've let sort of 80% of my birds uh moved on.

[00:00:30]Um just kept uh a couple. Just kept a little small hen there, a little red intensive hen.

[00:00:37]I've kept that red intensive hen.

[00:00:42]Um I've kept this sort of feeder cross.

[00:00:47]And I've kept this little non-intensive hen. She's got one little chick.

[00:00:53]And um yeah, it's a bit of a shame that only one hatched cuz she did have a mule back under her as well, which I'll get onto in a second.

[00:01:03]Um so yeah, I just want to breed some more feeders out of this one.

[00:01:07]She's got some uh eggs already.

[00:01:12]But I have got some red factor or red red eggs off of this hen here. She's not a very good um feed uh feeding bird.

[00:01:23]So she did well, I say she weren't a very good feeder.

[00:01:28]She didn't They didn't get that far.

[00:01:30]They They never hatched, so she kept coming off the nest and so the eggs went cold and they they uh they didn't uh hatch.

[00:01:37]So this time round, I'm going to put her eggs under this this um this hen here. So that this I'm using to um um run over the the hens that I've got here.

[00:01:52]Um I've still got the redpoles pair, but they ain't doing much and she's a few cuddly year old now that hen, so I wouldn't have thought we'd get anything.

[00:02:03]Um but some very good news, my other feed uh feeder Fife cross sort of hen I I got and kept, what I bred, he that one is um got two mules up.

[00:02:19]Um uh siskin mules.

[00:02:23]So um yeah, all good. So what the plan is is if obviously she keeps filling, he keeps filling eggs, I'm probably going to take them and maybe use this hen or the hen down at the bottom there um to uh yeah, hopefully breed as many mules as I can cuz I think that's the way I'm going to go now. I'm I'm not going to go too mad with the reds. I don't want too many birds cuz it's just it's just hard work.

[00:02:51]And I just want it I want it easy. You know, I only want like you know, three pairs or something to mess around with, so I might just go down the mule route. And if I don't breed anything, I don't breed anything, but you know, obviously we've got some in here.

[00:03:09]Crops nice and full.

[00:03:12]Obviously it's been really hot lately, so I have um I have been topping the chicks up a little bit.

[00:03:18]Um I got some hand rearing formula cuz a couple of times I've come in from work and they are you know, the crops are empty and they they look dehydrated, the chicks.

[00:03:28]So I pumped a bit of food into them.

[00:03:31]Um we've got three red chicks in there, but again, she's not the best when it's hot.

[00:03:40]Um last time I looked uh they didn't look like they had much in their crops. So again, I may have to later on put a little bit Oh, I can see a little bit in there. She's been on the peas and stuff.

[00:03:56]So, I'll keep an eye on them.

[00:03:58]But, yeah. From now on, I don't want to breed too many like I was sort of breeding, you know, 25, 30 30 young birds and keeping them all year.

[00:04:08]You know, molting them out and coloring them up and all that and it's just it's just too much, you know.

[00:04:15]Um plus, you know, all the other hobbies and interests I've got, you just you know.

[00:04:20]Don't want it to become a chore, so I've cut down.

[00:04:22]And it's just a lot more space in here now with those lights out the way.

[00:04:26]Um So, yeah.

[00:04:30]So, we got this little chick's um lovely little bird. It is two two non-intense birds together, which is not ideal, but you know, she this might end up only being a you know, for a mule anyway if it's a hen.

[00:04:47]But, yeah. Nice little chick. Shame there was only the one hatched.

[00:04:51]Like I said, I did put she did have a couple more eggs, which obviously didn't hatch.

[00:04:56]Um and um I did put a one of the mule eggs from this pair and uh underneath her cuz I thought, well, it's waste of time um letting this hen rear one egg. So, I just you know, that was the only egg that was full. So, I took that egg out and it was round about the same time she was laying, so I put put the full mule egg underneath. But, again, it was one of the ones that didn't hatch, so let these go again and two out of the four were full eggs and two has hatched.

[00:05:33]Still got the the dud eggs in there. I've got to take them out.

[00:05:38]The um the unfertile ones.

[00:05:42]Um But, yeah. All good so far.

[00:05:46]Nice full crops that's what you want to see.

[00:05:50]But yeah, hopefully we breed some more.

[00:05:53]Um but at some point I'm going to move this bird on or I may may drop drop it around at friend's to just you know, keep out the way. When I'm happy I've got a few canary chicks I want them out the way.

[00:06:09]Cuz um as you can see I've got the old CD player going with the with the finch noted CD.

[00:06:17]Um cuz all the mules in the past have um all ended up sounding like canaries, which is not ideal. It's not you know, you breed mules you want a nice finch noted bird.

[00:06:30]So it might be too late for these already because they reckon you know, I'm not Oh well, what I've been told in the past they can you know, they're already listening to the song going on as they're in the egg. So they'd be they'd be hearing the um canary bird and if they are they they probably will sound a little bit canary anyway.

[00:06:54]So soon I'm going to move this one on to a friend to look after.

[00:06:59]So there's no canaries um birds in here to um yeah, to to ruin the mules if you want to call it that.

[00:07:09]Cuz like I said, the mules I've bred in the past they've all sounded a little bit like canaries, which is not really what you want. You want a nice finch noted bird.

[00:07:20]So yeah, so like I said, sorry I haven't done any videos for a while, but you know, we haven't been that great, but I'm getting better.

[00:07:28]So moved a lot of birds on, made it a little bit easier.

[00:07:32]You know, friends of mine saying, "Oh, don't get rid of them all. Don't get rid of them all cuz you will want to you'll regret it."

[00:07:39]So um yeah.

[00:07:42]>> I'll um hopefully get a video out maybe in a week or two.

[00:07:46]And um hopefully these finches are on the sticks.