He is the easiest pet I have ever had. He is really next to no work, and he sings so beautifully and has so much personality.
I posted a photo of our little Carson on Instagram last week and I realized I hadn't done a post on him since 2010! Which is weird because I seriously couldn't imagine our home without him in it.
I'm not going to lie . . . birds kind of freak me out. I will never have a parrot just because when we were little my cousin's parrot bit my sister's thumb . . . why her thumb was in the parrot cage in the first place, I will never know, but since then I am afraid of parrots, like a paralyzing "The Birds, The Birds!" fear. But canaries are way too cute to be afraid of . . . how can you be afraid of this face:
We've had Carson for almost 6 years now . . . which is a bit sad because their life span is 5-9 years, but he's as healthy as a horse (a tiny yellow horse). So we are hoping for many more years, of early morning baths and karaoke sing alongs. Carson is a HUGE part of what makes our house a home.
There you have it . . . 6 years in and still in love with my little Carson Canary! We just picked up a new cage for him . . . it's HUGE. I'm not kidding, I could fit inside it! We'll have pictures of the whole set up and his new spot in the house next week!!!
Weird Carson Facts:
- Favorite Song: "Chicken Fried" by The Zac Brown Band
- Favorite Food: Broccoli
- Favorite Show: Gilmore Girls (he loves to tweet along to the Gilmore Girls)
- Favorite Sport: Hockey-->
He's adorable and has good taste! I love Zac Brown and Gilmore Girls :)
ReplyDeleteThinking this might be a cute pet for my kids. Does he make a big mess outside of his cage (food, feathers)? I remember as a kid when people had birds there was always particles all over the floor where the cage was. That's always deterred me a bit from getting a bird.
-Amanda
Hi Amanda,
DeleteCanaries make great pets for kids, as long as they know that they are hands off type pets. ;) They are very tiny and are definitely not made for snuggling! ;)
He does make a little mess under his cage but nothing a quick sweep once a day doesn't fix. A seed catcher like this helps: http://www.maillardvillemanor.com/2010/08/canary-cage-cover-and-seed-catcher.html
But they are nothing like parrots, they are much cleaner!!
Ashli
Too funny! I was just thinking about asking you about him the other day. Chicken Fried...that is hilarious. My parents have quite a few birds...personally, I too would take Carson over a parrot ANYDAY!!
ReplyDeleteHe's so cute! My cockatiel can be cute when he wants to, but he also has a spicy attitude haha.
ReplyDeleteI am so curious about Carson the Canary! My daughter desperately wants a canary, but I have never had a bird. How often do you clean his cage? Is he smelly? He is so darn cute!
ReplyDeleteHi Janae,
DeleteWe use corn cob bedding (Petsmart has it) and we clean it out once a week. It's really simple, just a quick wipe of the perches in his cage, and we replace the corn cob bedding and we're done for another week.
And he doesn't smell at all. Seriously I have a crazy sense of smell and I have never smelt anything from his cage.
Hope that helps!!!
Ashli
Carson sounds like a joy. What ever happened to Nemo your fish ?
ReplyDeleteHi Dee,
DeleteOh little Nemo, he went to live in my sisters tank when we got rid of our salt water fish tank. Keeping up a small salt water tank was a ton of work. But we do get to visit him from time to time!!
Lots of Love
Ashli
I'm curious as to the same questions at Janae @ the urbanstead. my guy (7.5yo) wants a bird so bad too, when we go to the pet store (a favorite outting of ours) we spend most our time at the bird cages and hamsters are on the other side. i was worried that he would be too young to really care for him at his current age. but it sounds like maybe not.
ReplyDeleteOH! i want to see you inside that bird cage - that would be hilarious!!
HI!!!
DeleteI think a canary would be a great pet for a 7.5 year old. They aren't like hamsters though . . . they are more of a pet you look at then a pet you play with. They aren't like budgies they don't hang out on your shoulder. They spend most of their time in their cage (which is why a large cage is important).
But cleaning the cage once a week, replacing the water everyday and clipping a piece of broccoli or lettuce in everyday as well isn't too hard.
But they definitely not for petting or snuggling! ;)
Lots of Love
Ashli
He is adorable. He appears to be
ReplyDeleteso well cared for that I'm sure
he will out live his statistical
life span. My dog is 19 years,
extremely healthy and spoiled. I
also get sad when I think about
her expected life span.
I had a little green parakeet named Pickle that was great fun. We always had cats and dogs as a kid, but never a bird. This little guy fit in well with all the cats and dogs we had then and would even scold the dog (wonder where he got that). He talked a LOT, and sang with music TV. I still miss him to this day, especially when I here a Michael Jackson song...his favorite. Loved reading this post on handsome little Carson.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness I LOVE the name Pickle!!!!
DeleteAshli
Would love to see a video of his bath. Too cute!! Do you ever let him out of his cage to fly around the house?
ReplyDeleteI will definitely try to snag a video of him during his bath. And yes sometimes we let him out for a little fly around, but no in the main house because we have such high ceilings we might never be able to get him back down. But sometimes we'll corner off a room and let him fly around!
DeleteAshli
Too cute!!! He sounds like lots of fun! There is a lady I know that has a grey parrot. Not sure what kind he is, but his name is Dexter. They live in MN and are huge football fans. Being there is such a rivalry between MN & WI, they taught him to say that the Packers suck. LOL
ReplyDeleteCute :) Looks like he loves to have his picture taken :)
ReplyDeleteIt's cruel to try and get him to chant about the Canucks. Now "Go SENS Go" is something he's just waiting to belt out. ;-)
ReplyDeleteTell Carson I love the Gilmore Girls, broccoli, and the Zzac Brown Band, too! I'm a Midwest US girl so baseball is more my thing than hockey ( Go Cards!) but I still think we'd be tight!
ReplyDeleteCarson is lovely ! So pretty ! Doesn't he need a little yellow friend in there with him though ??
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia,
DeleteCanaries aren't like budgies. They aren't flock birds they live on their own in the wild. Unless you have a truly bonded male and female pair of canaries . . . they generally can't live together unless you have a large aviary set up.
They are known to do better on their own. I've been dying to get more canaries but the chance it won't work out is too high. So we might wait until he's passed on, then get a bonded pair???
We'll see how the new cage works out . . . maybe we'll have room. But all the research I've done says we should get at least 3.
Ashli
Great photos, Hes color is like the sunshine so bright . You should try to get videos of Carson singing and taking his bath. Thanks for sharing. Pat
ReplyDeleteLove this post! thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love Carson! So beautiful. Our local plant nursery has a parakeet that sings his heart out often when I am paying for my purchases.
ReplyDeletehttp://northislandcottage.blogspot.com/
We had two yellow canaries for years when our kids were young. Life got crazy and we ended up donating them to an aviary at a nursing home near by. We always had two birds - I was under the impression that they didn't like to be on their own... Maybe that's not true at all. Cute little guy!
ReplyDelete