Lavender waxbill owners

[metinemre]

They amaze me everyday. So brave, so curious. they look at you like they are inspecting you and judging you lol. They try every single new food. They eat every fruit and vegetable. Love them. 2nd favourite after green singers now.

[Derk]

w.l.

So exciting! Congratulations!

[MiaCarter]

w.l. Wow, that's great news!!! Congrats!

I LOVE lavenders. I'm on the lookout for a new pair. They are amongst the prettiest in my opinion and they have the sweetest little personalities. They get along so well with others and they're so curious and sweet. They're surprisingly brave for waxbills, which are generally more shy.

[w.l.]

I love them too for their beaity and curious, brave behaviour.
However mine proved troublemakers in my main big communal aviary where they weredestroying nests of cordon bleues, so I actually exiled them to my smaller holdingbaviary filled with munias and golden sparrows, one of the latter a super-pushy and horny male.
Being known as hard to breed, I didn't expecg them to breed therr (no munias or sparrows have) but they still got the full range of food and some nesting material, and they showed me they were not to be overwhelmed by pesky sparrows and munias anyway!
I am really impressed by them, too.
And in their abscense, the cordons have finally managed to raise 2 chicks, too - a 2nd one fledged a few days after the first!
I still consider sufficient small livefood (so not full mealworms only!) essential for breeding African waxbills.

[Ariel Bergman Finch]

very very nice birds!

[lovezebs]

Ariel Bergman Finch

Hi Ariel, and a warm welcome to the Forum.

There is a section for new Members, where you can introduce yourself and your birds (if you currently have some).

If you are a bird lover, then this is the place for you. It's a wonderful site to chat with other bird lovers, ask questions, get answers, get information, and make friends.

Best wishes

Elana

[Ariel Bergman Finch]

Thanks so much,Elana!,I'll introduce myself and my birds over there, and i'm really glad i found this amazing forum, thanks again!

[Daniel]

Hello all,

I just brought home our first birds two days ago. An orange cheek waxbill and a lavender.

The lavender seems to have a tremendous amount of energy flying back and forth almost nonstop for 10-15 minutes at a time before taking short breaks.

They are currently housed in a 18x18x30 cage.

Now that I have done some reading, I have seen several places where it says that is definitely too small for a lavender.

This morning I watched him allopreen the orange cheek for a good couple of minutes and it looked very very thorough - bordering on aggressive. The orange cheek did not seem to mind (just sat there and would offer up his/her neck). Being new, I don't know if this is normal or not.

All the activity and the somewhat aggressive allopreening makes me worry that the lavender does not have enough space, and that (as much as I hate the idea) I should return it so someone with a larger aviary could take him home.

The orange cheek seems rather content to perch most of the day with some small flights about.

Could someone weigh n and tell me if a) the lavender's behavior is normal; b) if the cage space is too small; and c) whether or not I should return the bird. He is very lovely and has a wonderful personality - besides the constant flying, he cheeps regularly.

I just want him to be happy and do what is right for him.

Thanks,
Dan

[Sally]

Daniel Lavenders are very active birds, so it is not unusual for him to be flying this much. I have one lavender left (sex unknown), and he is in a 38x19x19 cage with a Gray Singing finch and a male Strawberry finch. All get along well. One thing to note: if your Lavender gets out of the cage, it will be difficult to catch him. They are extremely fast. Mine has gotten out several times, as he doesn't miss a chance to sneak past my hand when the door to the cage is open. It's like he sees that opening and makes a dash for it.

[Sheather]

I recommend letting your finches out of the cage to fly. I have always let all my birds out, and they greatly benefit. They all, without any exceptions, go back on their own when hungry and to sleep. This would let your finch get all his energy out without necessarily needing a larger bird cage.

[Daniel]

Thank you Sally and Sheather!