DONALD SKINNER-REID puts his spare time to good use deciding on his Scots, Belgian and Giboso breeding tactics.
CANARIES
EDINBURGH lies on the River Forth (which looks like the sea) in the south-east of Scotland and is sheltered from a lot of winter weather. This year, however, we did have snow and enough of it to make a trip out on foot not possible. So, how better to employ my time on a snowy Sunday than by playing with the birds?
I enjoy the time I spend with my canaries. My stepson asked if I knew them all (52 currently) and I said from the ring numbers I could picture each bird, although, admittedly, I might sometimes struggle with their parentage, save for my good records. I note each nest as the eggs are laid (I don’t remove and set the eggs) and I mark in my wee book each hatching date and the ring number for each individual in each nest. Hatching dates are stuck on the cages.
At the time of writing, I have been sorting out my plans for the Scots, Belgian and Giboso pairings this season. I reckon that I will have about 24 pairs: 13 Scots, seven Belgian and four Gibosos.
This story is from the February 28, 2018 edition of Cage & Aviary Birds.
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This story is from the February 28, 2018 edition of Cage & Aviary Birds.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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