Gloster Fancy Canary

Distribution:
   The Gloster Canary is a relatively new breed. Unlike older breeds, the Gloster's development in England in the mid 1920's has been well documented indicating that it is a careful blending of three breeds; the crested Roller Canary, the small Crested Canary, and the Border Canary.
   The Gloster Canary was the result of attempts to develop a miniature crested breed. Mrs. Rogerson's of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire (the breed's namesake) crossed crested Roller Canaries with Border Canaries while John McLay, a well known breeder and judge of Crested canaries in Scotland, crossed small Crested Canaries with small Border Canaries.

Care and feeding:
   Canaries like wide open spaces so provide a roomy cage. Provide a cage with vertical bars and small perches of different size for foot exercise. Have at least 1 perch set high in the cage for the canary to roost (sleep). The cage should be placed high, so the canary can look down on us so to speak.
   Canaries eat mainly canary seed and rape seed. Vitamin coated canary seed mixes are readily available at a pet store. Greens are also enjoyed and can be offered daily along with a little calcium in the form of a cuttlebone.
   They do like to bath, so should be offered a bird bath. Cage cleaning and toe nail trimming is about all the maintenance canaries need.
   See About Canaries: Housing and About Canaries: Care and Feeding for more information.

Social Behaviors:
   They are good-natured social creatures that do well when kept in cages or in aviaries. They are timid birds though and should not be housed with parakeets, lovebirds, or other hookbills that tend to be more aggressive birds by nature.
   Male canaries should be kept in a cage by themselves to ensure quality singing. Males can be territorial and pairing up with two male canaries in a cage can cause fights. In a spacious aviary canaries can generally be housed with other canaries, finches, and other hardbills.

Activities:
   Canaries do not require toys, mirrors or any other form of entertainment, a swing is all they need to keep themselves occupied. Most of the time, canaries are simply enjoyed for their beauty and singing. However, some canaries are allowed out of their cage to perch or are show canaries and therefore require taming or training.
   See About Canaries: Handling/Training for information on taming and training.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Canaries breed easily and readily if provided with quality food, lighting, secure surroundings, and conditioning. They are best bred in breeding cages.
   Breeding the Gloster Canary is no different than breeding colorbreds or any other variety of canary... with one exception, Glosters should only be bred corona to consort (see description above). Other pairings could create a lethal factor and there have also been reports of bald headed birds and poor crests.
   They lay their eggs in a nest. The female will lay 3 to 6 eggs, one per day. Breeding season is usually from December to April; it is best to allow a hen to have only two clutches.
   See About Canaries: Breeding/Reproduction for more information on breeding.

Potential Problems:
  These birds are hardy and healthy if provided with a good environment and a good diet. Avoid an environment that is wet, cool, and drafty. One problem that occasionally arises with Gloster Canaries are feather lumps. Feather lumps are an ingrown feather, where the feather attempts to grow out, but cannot break the skin so will grow backwards.
   See About Canaries: Potential Problems for information on health.

Availability:
   Gloster Canaries are readily available and are fairly inexpensive. Sometimes available at pet stores, but more readily they can be found through bird shows, bird clubs, breeders, and on the internet.