Waxbills and zebra finches

[MedicVal]

Hi everyone, I am relatively new to finches (we have 5 zebras) and my husband and I went to a bird expo this past weekend. I fell in love with a pair of waxbill finches, but the gentleman selling them wanted $100.00 for the pair and said they would live happily ever after with my zebras. Our flight cage is big enough to house them all, but since they are so much smaller then zebras I was worried for the well being of the wax bills and I thought the price was steep. Your thoughts?
Thanks

[Sally]

What kind of waxbill? The term waxbill is used for many African species. The price depends on the species, for some that would be too much, but for others, that would be a bargain. Waxbills will almost always cost more than the more common species such as Zebras and Societies.

I have mostly all waxbills, and I personally would not mix them with Zebras, but then I've never tried it. There are some waxbill species that are more pushy and might be able to hold their own with Zebras, but many waxbills are quite passive and won't mix well with the more pushy Zebras IMO.

What size flight cage do you have now? Do you have any problems with having 5 Zebras? Sometimes, an odd number doesn't work, because they will buddy up in pairs, leaving one odd man out.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. There are many photos of waxbills in the Species section there, so maybe you can identify what kind of waxbills you saw. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to answer locale-specific questions later on.

[MedicVal]

Thanks for replying so fast. They were common waxbills. I really liked how active they were and the way their tails flickered all the time.
We bought a male and female that came with an old cage that was falling apart so my husband built one which is 14" depth x 24" width x 40" high. We then added another pair from petsmart who gave us one baby, who just fledged within the past couple of days. The older male is a bit of a bully and picks on all of the other birds at times. I know this is common with zebras. This was my concern with adding the smaller birds.

[cindy]

when looking at cage size the height is not as important as the length and depth.... living space for most species is at the top of the cage. so the cage is 24x14.... I raise zebras, this is to small for 5. It would be ok for 2 maybe 3 at the most. A larger cage for all or another cage dividing the group in two may help. most the time it is best to house a dominant male and mate alone in their own cage.

I would not house zebras with waxbills.

[MedicVal]

Thank you for the advise my husband is getting a another cage on his way home to separate them. What about the price on those other common waxbills? Was I right in thinking the price was high?

[Sally]

When you say common waxbills, I'm assuming you mean the St. Helena, which is also known as the Common waxbill. Bird Product in Arizona has them for sale for $35 each, so yes, I would say $100 is a little bit high, though it depends on where you are located. If you had to have them shipped in somewhere, then that would add a lot to the $35 price. Scroll down this page from Bird Product to see the price. The second link is to the species profile at the Finch Information Center, which will tell you a lot more about this species.

http://www.birdproduct.com/category/bir ... -waxbills/
http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... axbill.php

I have had Common or St. Helena's waxbills before, they are delightful little birds, but way too passive to be put in with Zebras. I also agree with the others that your cage is too small for the 5 Zebras you have now. A cage that is longer rather than taller works better for finches, as they like to fly.

[MedicVal]

Thank you everyone

[lovezebs]

MedicVal

I would 'not' house Waxbills (most especially some of the tiny ones, like the St Helena) with Zebra finches.
Zebra finches, are territorial and can become extremely aggressive, when new birds are introduced into their space.

Price wise, it depends on the availability of these birds in your area. I would check with bird clubs in your area, to see if there are other breeders of this particular species in your vicinity, and make some phone calls.

In regards to cage/flight sizes . The recommended size of cage for two finches, is 30 length X 18 width X 18 height. Keep in mind, that bigger is always better when it comes to finch accommodations.

[erine]

MedicVal
Where are you located? I paid roughly $100 per bird for my Waxbills (but that's Canadian and things are more here, especially in my smaller city) so location means a great deal. I just put my Waxbills in with my Gouldians in a very large cage. Gouldians are usually very passive but my Waxbills are clearly at the bottom of the pecking order. I don't have much experience with zebs but I'd never put them with Waxbills, either. You sound like you've been bitten by the finch bug. You've come to no better place to learn from the experts on here (I'm not one of them ).
Erin

[MedicVal]

I really appreciate all of the great advise! I've separated the older pair from the young pair and baby, and took out the nests. I really enjoy the music they make all day, but I don't want any more babies right now. Im glad I followed my gut and got other opinions before I made a huge mistake by getting those pretty little birds and putting them all in the same cage.

[MedicVal]

Erin, I'm in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. The bird expo we went to was in Lancaster. I'm not really sure where that breeder came though. I should have gotten a card. I really liked those little guys, so balanced and curious. I think that will my next adventure.
I would have to agree with you, everyone here had been really nice. Just reading the other threads has helped too.