Keeping Waxbill Birds
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Waxbills are delicate birds when first imported and you must take care not to allow them to become chilled. Once acclimatized, the more common species have proved to be quite hardy in an aviary that is well protected from any strong draughts and has a good, dry, snug shelter.
During the winter, waxbills do need to feed for longer than the hours of daylight, so it is a good idea to have some sort of light on a time switch to extend the light for a few hours. To help keep the birds warm in the night shelter, build a small shelf 15cm(6in) below the roof where they can roost. If you keep several birds together, this will work very well indeed. You can also add some small branches from a shrub on this shelf, which will give them even more security. These delightful birds love splashing around in a shallow water dish, which should be provided as a permanent feature. In general, waxbills can be kept and bred in aviaries or cages without encountering any major problems.
For breeding, waxbills will require domed wicker nest baskets or nestboxes with half-open fronts. Several different types are available, but generally the nestbox needs to be covered. In a large aviary furnished with some dense shrubs or bushes, waxbills will build domed nests but they are often rather lazy about doing this.
Waxbills’ diet is basically the same as for other finches and they will take greenfood, such as chickweed and groundsel, but they are more insectivorous. Any plants in the aviary that flower and attract insects are always appreciated as these birds will welcome any livefood. Most species of finches need livefood in the breeding season, but this is even more important for waxbills, as they rear their chicks almost completely on livefood.
Do not give them too many mealworms, however, as this is dangerous. Try to offer the birds as great a variety of livefood as possible, but keep it on the small side. If you have any plants that are covered in greenfly or blackfly and you can move them temporarily into the aviaries, the birds will greatly appreciate this addition to their diet.
Waxbills tend to have great affection for one another and this is why people tend to keep them in pairs, often housing several pairs in an aviary or cage. However, do not be tempted to overcrowd them; even though they are sociable, they never seem to do so well.
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Tags: Aviary, Blackfly, Chickweed, Delicate Birds, Delightful Birds, Dense Shrubs, Domed Nests, Finches, Greenfly, Groundsel, Hours Of Daylight, Livefood, Mealworms, Nestbox, Nestboxes, Several Different Types, Shallow Water Dish, Small Shelf, Time Switch, Waxbills