FINCHforum

Hi All Happy Finchers,

I don't know who it is, or what it is, but I'm definitely hearing some loud begging from somewhere in the Waxbill flight

I am not going to stick my nose in it, I'm just going to do a wait and see.

The mealworms and fruitflies are disappearing at an alarming speed, so there is something somewhere being fed

I guess I'll need to stick more nests and nest boxes in there at some point, seeing as I have an Owlette as of this morning, laying eggs in a seed dish, sigh....

Pretty nice

What specie of waxbill do you have there?

Ricardo Ronsini

Hi Ricardo,

There are several species in there....

Goldbreasts
Orange Cheeks
Red Ears
Strawberry
Star Finch
Owl (Bicheno)

So we shall see
It will be a surprise

Very exciting, keep us updated on them. How do you use the fruit flies in your flight and how to you keep them in your flight and not flying away?

lovezebs

How are the kids doing?

Did you find out who was the screaming fellow?

Ricardo Ronsini

You know, it was one of those mysteries of life.

I definitely heard babies, but left things alone, because some of these tiny guys can be very nervous brooders.

Then I stopped hearing the begging.

A day went by, and nothing.

I checked the boxes....
NOTHING!!!
No babies, no eggs, no egg shells...

So either they cannibalized each other's or their own infants, OR I've gone crazy, and I'm starting to hear things. Not sure which...

Chrismurdoch3 wrote: Very exciting, keep us updated on them. How do you use the fruit flies in your flight and how to you keep them in your flight and not flying away?

I believe you can buy "flightless" flies

lovezebs

That's a pity, i was looking forward to see some waxbill babies pictures.

They seem to be tough to breed.

lovezebs

I thought I heard begging in my one flight with the Red-billed Fire finch pair, but now I see lots of eggs tossed on the floor. Sometimes, I wonder if these birds do some 'murmuring' to themselves while sitting, so that it sounds like begging noises coming from the nest?

Chrismurdoch3

Nothing to show for all the excitement

The fruitflies, are flightless fruitflies.
You can get them in good pet shops, or order them (I think).
They come in a container, the same size as a large yogurt container, with screened air holes on top and a feeding medium inside.

What I do, is place them in a shallow bowl of water, poke out a couple of the air holes, and out they come. Then the hunting begins. The ones that the birds initially miss fall into the water below, and then the fishing begins.

Quite grusome from the point of view of the fruitflies, but then no one is forcing them to come out of the container.

They are plump and juicy, and the Waxbills in particular really love them.

Ricardo Ronsini

Not so tough to breed if they are in the mood.

My guys lately have been playing mind games with me...

I'll see one of my Owl girls sitting in a food cup on one or two eggs, but not in the next box. Nect thing I know, she's back on the perch and the eggs have disappeared

I think if I want to get babies, I'll have to put these kids into seperate breeding cages to stop their silliness.

Sally

I don't know if they're talking to themselves, or if they revert back to baby stage in the nest, making baby noises, but this was just weird.

Now I know the sound of begging babies when I hear it, and I was hearing it....

lovezebs wrote: Ricardo Ronsini

I'll see one of my Owl girls sitting in a food cup on one or two eggs, but not in the next box. Nect thing I know, she's back on the perch and the eggs have disappeared

It seems that you might have a serial killer working there

Birds can be really nasty with eachother. I've seem footage of birds that won't stop pecking eachother (usually chickens)

I guess birds, like people, have some weirdos in their communities.

Zebrafincher

Ricardo Ronsini Zebrafincher

Serial killers and weirdos....
That's all I need, sheesh.....

I did have a serial plucker in the Zebra flight, who still strikes now and again
You'll have a nicely feathered Zebra in the evening, and a bald necked Zebra in the morning. Everyone tight beaked and beady eyes, looking as innocent as angels, grrrr.