How to reduce the loss of life during the young of the canary

By Brown Enrique Ortega
Specialistic veterinarian in birds

The fans to the canaricultura in Spain are many, and also those are many that have problems of mortality between their units during the time of the young. Sometimes it is quite difficult to establish the causes by which the canaries die, but most of the times the origin it is necessary to look for it in incorrect practices. If the advice follow themselves who next I will give he will be able to reduce the number of casualties to a great extent.

Mortality can happen before the birth (abortion) or once the chick or has freed itself of the shell.

ABORTIONS

The death of the embryo can happen in the first days of the incubation, in an intermediate stage or next to the birth.

a) The chromosomic alterations, the presence of pesticidas, medicines or toxins and the infections transmitted by the parents are sufficient causes so that the embryo dies to the few days to begin the incubation.

b) the death in an intermediate period of the development can be due to a bad nutrition of the parents, who have transmitted those deficiencies to the children. Thus we have it vitamin deficiency like vit. D3, vit. K, vit B2, vit B5, vit. B6, vit. B12, biotina, fslico acid and other substances like manganese, phosphorus, linoleico acid, etc. can be responsible for losses in that stage. This nutricional deficit can be caused indirectly when abusing antibiotics, since these destroy the digestive flora able to synthesize some of the previous substances in the internal of the parents.

The viral, bacterial and fzngicas infections also can be indicated like people in charge of the abortions to this age.

c) Finally the death of the canary shortly before to be born it can be due to the presence of lethal genes or alterations chromosomic. Let us remember that in the eagerness to fix characteristics determined in the race of canaries with that one is working resorts with too much frequency to the consanguinity, with all the undesirable effects that this it entails.

The vitamin deficit like the A, D3, and, K, pantotinico acid and acid fslico the infectious diseases like the famous " black point " also they are responsible for the death of the embryo.

Sometimes practical as simple as to put bathtubs to the parents or to increase the humidity of the aviario can to avoid that the chick remains patch in the interior of the egg, since of being thus it will not be able to be turned to break correctly the rind and will die in the attempt.


DEATH AFTER THE BIRTH

In other occasions the death takes place once the canary already has been born. Some of the responsible causes they are:

a) Antibiotic abuse.

He is practical habitual on the part of many canaricultores abusing antibiotics at the moments previous to the young and during the same one. With the pretext of " whitening " or preparation for the reproduction canaries are bombed with antibiotic cocktails. This badly use of medicines causes, to my to seem, more disadvantages that advantages. The undesirable effects that appear they are:

  • Inmunodepresisn: it is verified which certain antibiotics, like the tetraciclinas, depress the operation of the Immunological System in the birds, with the consequent danger to be able to infect itself by any opportunistic infectious agent.
  • Appearance of bacterial resistance: sometimes inadequate doses are used or during a nonappropriate time. This causes that the bacteria can become resistant to these medicines, in such a way that when we really need them to not they will serve us.
  • Digestive upheavals: with antibiotics we not only eliminated the dangerous but also the beneficial ones bacteria, these last in charge ones to make useful substances for the organism of the canary as they are the vitamins.
  • Appearance of fzngicas infections: the bacteria and the fungi are in balance in the intestine of the birds, reason why the elimination of one of the groups favors the excessive growth of the other. For example, when they abuse tetraciclinas is easy that they appear candidiasis.
  • Alteration of the embryonic development: some substances like penicillins, tetraciclinas, cloranfenicol and sulfamidas have been verified that interfere with the normal development of the embryo. Although most of the investigations they have been made on old antibiotics, like the mentioned ones previously, does not discard that the new ones are not also dangerous. The reasonable thing in these cases would be to use with precaution medicines in females that are putting.

b) Hipo or hipervitaminosis.

Small vitamin deficiencies in the Canary Islands can be magnified during the reproduction, mainly if several puttings become. And it is that suitable levels for an adult they can be insufficient for a female that it is raising.
At the moment it is equal of possible to find cases of hipervitaminosis, since it is habitual that the canaricultor year vitaminic supplements to pastes of commercialized young, which already usually they come with the necessary vitamin levels. This vitaminic excess is equal from harmful that its deficiency.

c) inadequate Preparation of foods.

The great majority of the breeders of canaries usually uses humid foods to favor the feeding of the chicks on the part of their parents. The use of germinated seeds, cus-cus or humid paste can be harmful if it is not prepared correctly or if an excessive time within reach of the birds is left. And he is that the high temperatures and the humidity favor the enmohecimiento of the foods, not being strange that the chicks of many aviarios suffer of infections by innocent.

d) deficient Hygiene.

The time of the young is a stage of much work for the canaricultor, reason why sometimes the hygiene is an aspect that neglects. This favors the bacterial infections intestinal that is going away to translate in diarreas in the chicks.
In other occasions, in an attempt to maintain the aviario hot, a bad ventilation of the facilities takes place, with the consequent respiratory problems (respiratory difficulty, sinusitis, etc.) in the birds.

These are some of the causes of mortality between the canaries during the young. Lamentably they are not only but those that more easily can be gotten to avoid. In situations of generalized loss of life it is made advisable require the services of an expert veterinarian in birds.


© Brown Enrique Ortega