Black-faced Firefinch

[w.l.]

Looks like I could get hold of a pair of these for a price I might just be able to afford... though higher than anything I have paid for finches so far.

Has anyone ever kept them, especially in a mixed aviary?
I wonder how they'd fare amongst my other birds.
Also, my bird-room while fairly large, is bare of greenery - wasn't always like that, but my munias have seen to it. So I wonder how shy or daring they are.

[608duj]

I have had several pairs that were wild caught. Similar to the Redbilled in temperament, perhaps shyer. I am sure they need live food to breed successfully. None of mine lived more than a few months.

[w.l.]

Thanks.
That note about them only living a few months doesn't exactly sound encouraging, even though breeding would not be a priority and I do provide live buffalo worms daily.

[608duj]

Mine were in a heavily planted flight room 8 x 8 with free choice mini mealworms, dry egg food, fresh veggies and hardboiled egg/w shell as well as Kaytee Finch seed.

But being wild caught who knows how old they were or what they had been exposed to.

I would get them again but would treat aggressively for cocci etc. immediately, something I did not do before.

[w.l.]

The ones offered here have been in the country for ca 3 months already and the seller says he already has a pair sitting on eggs. Lavenders and cordon bleus I bought from him are in perfect condition.

Hmm.... Still thinking.
May I ask how much you bought them for, compared to prices of say cordon bleus?

[608duj]

In the US when they are available they are about 90. RCCBs are 45. Bluecaps 75. These prices vary with the season of course.

[w.l.]

Thanks.
Sounds like the price here would be all right, but your experience with them makes me think twice (or more!).
Access to good avian medicine and quality food here is rather limited, to say the least.

[w.l.]

Well, when the price dropped to $45 for a pair, I could not resist any more.
On my way home (a 7 hours journey) with a pretty pair - hope they'll survive!

[lovezebs]

w.l.
Good luck with new birds. Hope all goes well.

[w.l.]

So far all is well.
They got into my birdroom on the fast-track, too.
I trust the seller enough!
And despite what I had read about them earlier, they are already among my least shy finches.
A nice addition to the mixed flock.

On this pic still as nervous new arrivals in a temporary cage:

DSCF4842.jpg

[monotwine]

Beautiful pair. Waxbills are always lovely to look at.
I've never kept the black faced fires, but all my wild caughts get a thorough pre aviary release quarantine. Although they are quarantined usually just to leave their country of origin and then may be required to be quarantined prior to sale in your country (here that is the case) often they pick up diseases like Coccidiosis and Protozoa along with parasites due to the high volumes of birds being kept together. I like though to spread the quarantine out for a long time so that they are not stuffed full of medication in a short period of time. i.e. between medical treatments allowing days to a week for probiotics and rest with vitamins etc.

Good luck with your new pair. They sure look great and healthy from their picture.

[w.l.]

Thanks.
Here there's no mandatory quarantine period.
But the importer I bought them from keeps his birds in fairly large and clean cages and treats them for infections, and of this species he had relatively few individuals so kept them uncrowded, too.
As he first tried selling them for a 3 times higher price, they also spent quite some time sitting there - like 3 months?
I already saw them ca 2 month before buying.
So in effect, they were (unintentionally) already 'quarantined' quite a while. I guess that helped.
Hope they will stay in good condition!
The fact that I am in a place with a climate similar to their place of origin must help, too.

[w.l.]

They are doing great and the male is busy building a nest already.

[DanteD716]

Wow congrats!

[Sally]

I missed this thread originally. If that price is $45 US, that is a terrific deal, I wouldn't have been able to pass that up. Good luck with them, I love waxbills so much.