The best nestling food for canaries is a soft, protein-rich mix of egg food, soaked or sprouted seed and fresh greens, offered fresh to the parent birds. Canary parents feed their chicks by regurgitating what they eat, so the job is to give the parents plenty of nutritious soft food rather than to feed the nestlings yourself.
What Nestling Food Includes
- Egg food: A moist mix of hard-boiled egg or commercial egg food with crumbs. It is the main protein source. See our homemade egg food for canaries and soft food recipe.
- Soaked or sprouted seed: Seed soaked in clean water for 12 to 24 hours, then rinsed well, is softer and easier to digest. Rinse it thoroughly and discard any that smells sour, since soaked seed spoils quickly.
- Fresh greens: Chickweed, dandelion and spinach add vitamins.
- Calcium: Cuttlebone and crushed, baked eggshell for the hen.
- Regular seed or pellets: Always available for the parents.
How Often to Offer It
Once the eggs are laid, give a small fresh portion of egg food and soft food once or twice a day. When chicks hatch, increase the amount and change it more often, because the soft mix spoils within a few hours, especially in warm rooms. Remove old food at each feeding. A lot of waste is normal, so put out only what the parents will eat.
Signs the Chicks Are Eating Well
- Plump, warm chicks with round, full crops
- Loud begging when a parent returns
- Steady weight gain and feather growth
If chicks look thin, cold or have empty crops, the parents may not be feeding them well, and an avian vet or experienced breeder can help. Hand-feeding is a last resort and needs expert guidance. For more detail, read what to feed canary chicks.
Weaning and Beyond
As chicks start to pick at food on their own, around three weeks after hatching, keep soft food and seed available and add shallow dishes of soaked seed and greens. Gradually move them to the normal adult diet in what to feed a canary.
Bottom Line
Give breeding canaries fresh egg food, soaked seed, greens and calcium every day, and change soft foods before they spoil. Keep the diet clean and consistent, and ask an avian vet if you have any concerns about a chick or a nesting hen.
