Orange Cheeked Waxbill

Shy2 · Post by **Shy2** » Tue May 20, 2008 12:31 pm

Well I broke down and bought a friend for my strawberry finch. I got a little orange cheek waxbill. It is so cute. Unfortunately I don't know if male of female.

But it is adorable. I was told it was about four months old, so not sure if it takes a while to learn it's song or not. The sound it is making reminds me of my dog's squeeky toys. And it does it alot. The two birds seem to be calling to each other.

The sound is just little squeeks, nothing continuous resembling a song like the strawberry. Does this mean it is a female, or does it need time to mature and develop it's song?

This little bird also LOVES it's bath. Yesterday I watched it get right in the bowl of water, and soaked EVERYTHING. There was water flying all over the place. It was so cute to watch. I just wish I would have caught it on video.

And now that I have two of these little birds, I want more and more and more. How can I be addicted after only two weeks????

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue May 20, 2008 1:19 pm

If you like finches, they can become vey addictive. I can never stop wanting another kind. I thnk you have been biten by the finch fever for sure.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:35 am

Sherry the addiction is so easy to catch and unlike other addictions there is no known cure

the only things that can slow us addicts down is lack of money to buy more birds and lack of space to kkep them although the second can be easier to remedy than the first

Shy2 · Post by **Shy2** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:16 am

the only things that can slow us addicts down is lack of money to buy more birds and lack of space to keep them although the second can be easier to remedy than the first

I can always cut corners to find money for another finch. I have even been thinking out changing/moving out furniture and replacing with smaller stuff to allow for a larger cage.

Is there a 12 step program for my addiction? I think I have the beginning of what could be a big problem for my husband. Besides wanting more birds, I can't keep away from this forum. I just want to keep reading and learning, which seems to only be making my wish for more finches greater.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:31 am

my input to the twelve step program is

step 1...........buy more birds

will let others add more

Shy2 · Post by **Shy2** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:07 am

I wonder if I can get away with Step #1 with my husband?

I can always tell him that I have to follow the advice of an "Expert".

Bonzo · Post by **Bonzo** » Wed May 21, 2008 3:57 pm

mickp wrote:my input to the twelve step program is

step 1...........buy more birds

will let others add more

step 2...........find a good lawyer

firetailone · Post by **firetailone** » Sun May 25, 2008 4:52 am

and step 3.................buy more birds

fairestfinches · Post by **fairestfinches** » Sun May 25, 2008 8:34 pm

The Orange Cheek waxbill males do not have much of a song. They have one, but nothing like a Strawberry, or Gouldian. If it is amle it will sing eventually, but it's very short and has no melody. The are still a cute and spunky little finch. We have had many pairs and enjoy them very much.

As far as the finch addiction goes. . .it's like meth or crack it only takes trying it once to get hooked.

We started out with one male Gouldian and now have an avian business breeding 14 species and over 200 adults. No idea how many juvies. You are not alone.

Sean

P.S. Step 4 (x infinity + 1) . . .buy more birds.

Shy2 · Post by **Shy2** » Mon May 26, 2008 5:40 am

Ok I think if I follow this "12-Step Program", from what I can tell at the end, if I follow all instructions I should have at least 12 finches.

Sounds good to me. I will definitely need a larger cage. And probably a good divorce lawyer (step 2).

Sean, my little orange waxbill seemed to be finding his voice yesterday. So far mostly all he has done is little squeaks, but yesterday they were longer, and more like an attempt at a song or a rhythm. No where near as nice as the strawberry, but still a cute sound.

Post by **Hilary** » Thu May 29, 2008 12:43 am

I have an OC male that sings like crazy in the morning. It's really only 3 notes over and over and over and over and......

Really cute, though!

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Sat May 31, 2008 2:35 pm

Are orange cheeks easy to breed? i have had a pair now for a while and they are very bonded and i was told that the female has laid eggs before but didnt sit on them. The male is always singing and they seem to really enjoy there home.

fairestfinches · Post by **fairestfinches** » Sat May 31, 2008 7:07 pm

They have been one the harder species for us to breed. We have several bonded pairs, but not much luck with them.

Sean

FINCHforum

Orange Cheeked Waxbill

Orange Cheeked Waxbill

Re: Orange Cheeked Waxbill

step 3