Fright, poor health, or loss of sexual vigor are generally the cause of
loss of song.
Sudden fright is one of the chief causes and may occur through the cage
being accidentally upset, or an attack by a cat. Some aviary birds are
so lacking in contact with people that they seem severely frightened if
a stranger approaches closely. Be gentle with canaries and endeavor to
protect them from such frights. The loss of song may last from a day or
so to several weeks, but it can usually be overcome through playing the
radio or phonograph. Sometimes the noise of a vacuum cleaner provides
the stimulation needed.
Poor health is indicated when a cold has persisted for several weeks,
when feathers are shed out of season, when the digestive system is
upset, when the bird is overfat, or when the bird is troubled with mites
or sore feet. Treat for such ailments first, and then provide the song
stimuli as mentioned above.
Song is a strong secondary sexual characteristic of the normal male
canary. Old or weakly sexed males usually do not sing as often or as
vigorously as normal males, even though in perfect health.
When a canary has never sung, there is always the possibility that it is
a normal hen and will never do so. Hen canaries have been known to
inherit rather strong male characteristics and to sing frequently but
usually without the vigor and fullness characteristic of normal males.
When a canary is apparently in good health and all other stimuli have
failed to secure the return of song, try placing a good singing canary
in an adjoining room where it can be heard but not seen by the silent
bird.