Abstract
ABSTRACT: The domestic canary (Serinus canaria) has been bred for hundreds of years to improve the quality of its plumage and its song. Reproduction in this species occurs seasonally, stimulated by a gradual increase in day length. Although, the occurrence of seasonal breeding in canaries is well known, whether canary reproduction can be manipulated remains unknown. Our objective was to determine whether the conditions of captivity (photoperiod and temperature) can be adjusted to enable canaries to reproduce outside of their natural breeding season. Thirty days before the natural breeding season, canary pairs were assigned and separated into three different groups: External Control (housed outdoors under ambient conditions), Artificial Control (housed artificially indoors under conditions similar to the external conditions), and Artificial Altered (housed artificially indoors for five months, with the photoperiod gradually manipulated to simulate that of the natural breeding season) groups. The number of clutches laid was greater in the Artificial Control than in External Control; however, more birds hatched in the External Control. In the Artificial Altered group, the beginning of the breeding season was delayed when the same parameters were used. Although, further research is needed, this study presents new data to assist in the development of protocols that entail gradual changes in environmental conditions to try to reduce the impacts of the processes on animal welfare.
Highlights
The canary (Serinus canaria) is a small bird that nests in shrubs in nature
Egg laying The canaries housed in a natural environment (External Control) or in an artificial environment with conditions similar to those of the external environment (Artificial Control) started laying eggs at the end of August, whereas the animals of the Artificial Altered group started the breeding period at the end of October (Table 1)
These results suggested that the breeding period in the Artificial Altered group did not start in the expected period in January (Figure 3), we observed a delay in the onset of breeding
Summary
The canary (Serinus canaria) is a small bird that nests in shrubs in nature. It has an attractive plumage of a yellowish-green and light grey, with long wings and various shades. This species has given rise to all currently known breeds and varities of canaries (BIRKHEAD et al, 2004). The first reports of the introduction of this bird to new regions are from the fifteenth century, when Portuguese and Spanish navigators brought canaries from the Canary Islands to Central Europe (PARSONS, 1987). Selective breeding of the canary has resulted in more than 400 different colours in this species of important economic interest (CANTONI, 2014)
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