My Goldbreasted Waxbills are sitting on eggs!

franny · Post by **franny** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:14 pm

I've only had them since July 29. Day before yesterday I noticed that the hen seemed to spend more time in the nest. And the cock was taking the nesting material almost right out of my hand, grabbing it as fast as I stuffed it in the wires of the cage! So yesterday when they both came out of the nest as they do when ever I move the cage to vacuum, I got up on a chair and had a peek. I can see 3 eggs for sure, but may be more!

I won't do any more peeking, as I don't want to upset them. One of them always pops back in the nest right away, after I quit moving the cage. And the hen now seems to be the one staying put the most. She didn't even come out when I stuck my hand in to replenish the eggfood and remove the bath from the bottom of the cage. (It's a terra cotta saucer.)

So I hope that means that they'll look after babies without being too upset by all the activity. The cage is in the living room. My cat sits on the back of the chair which is about 6 inches from the front of the cage, and just stares at "Dick" while he plucks the nesting material from the wires. He sees her, but isn't detered. Maybe because she's pretty old, and seems content to watch. She hasn't batted at the cage even. Just stares and puts her face as close to it as she can. Very funny to watch.

My societies had babies when she was younger. She could jump up and stretch out on the top of the cage, and I think she liked the warmth of the light, along with the bird's eye view.

They were pretty laid back, but I doubt the waxbills would take it in their stride!

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:20 pm

Sweet. Good luck!

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:33 pm

Yes, be careful not to bother them and Good Luck!!

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:46 pm

okay.... so I can see that I am not the only peeker around here.

I hope all goes well for you. But please watch out for that cat. There have been some horror stories on here about cats and birds. Good luck and keep us posted.

Post by **Sally** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:34 pm

Never trust a cat. I love cats, but they are sneaky little things, and pretend to ignore the birds, but they are basically hunters at heart, they kill for the sheer joy of it. It is amazing that your GBs have settled in so quickly and feel comfortable enough to raise a family, and right there in your living room! So much for the theory that finches need lots of privacy.

I would try to not move the cage at all until the babies hatch and fledge--parents may put up with a lot, but they still could decide that conditions just aren't right and abandon.

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:41 pm

Cats are very sneaky. my friend had a cat when i was in Virginia and he never bothered the birds, but at night he would be all over thye cages and i would wake up to cages being tipped over. Luckily i never lost one. But today my friend came home and his mother told him that there cat came in his room and killed one of his white headed munias.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:15 pm

Cats and birds don't mix,you might think they aren't watching but there watching, good luck

franny · Post by **franny** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 5:56 pm

Thanks everyone, for the warnings about cats. When I designed the cage that was definitely one of my considerations...to make it as cat proof as possible, and have most feeders outside the cage. As long as the birds can't get out, I'm positive the cat can't get in!

The doors all open upwards, so their weight makes them drop down automatically when I pull my hand out. Same with the door at the front where I remove the tray. I can quickly remove the tray and drop the door down and lock it, while I wipe the tray out and replace the paper.

I only open the cage once a day to give them eggfood or millet sprays. (Well twice, on the days I offer bath water.) And that feeder is at the end farthest from the nest. All other feeders (water, seed, kelp, oystershell/cuttlefish/charcoal) are accessable from the outside.

I figured that I would try to stick to my usual routine and just hope for the best. I considered not vacuuming until the eggs hatch, but I don't think I'd better leave it that long! Or my sister's face will look like this:

Will try to keep the movement to a minimum though. They do pop out of the nest a lot quicker than the societies would have. But so far they go right back in pretty quickly.

My cat can't knock the cage over. Not even if she hung from it with her claws (if she had them). It has legs that sort of embrace the top shelf of the stand, to keep it from sliding off, that makes it impossible to tip it over. I tried.

Certainly would take a lot more than the weight of a dog or cat, or even a person bumping it, to ever be able to dislodge it or tip it over. My big fear is that they will somehow slip out while I put the treat cup in, or the bath water. So I am very, very careful.

When my little shih tzu was a puppy, one of my young societies slipped out of the cage while I was cleaning, and Tody grabbed it. She was so fast she even beat the cat to it! But I hollered at her to "drop it"! And to my surprise, she dropped it right into my hand. It was a miracle it wasn't hurt.

So I'm as careful as I can be ever since then.

I'll just have to sit back and wait now, to see what happens, since I can't peek anymore.

Will let you know if I hear any little peeping sounds coming from the nest. Does anyone know what I could sell the babies for, if they do manage to raise some to fledglings? I paid $70 each for mom and dad. I'm located near Vancouver, BC, Canada. I was thinking about maybe $30 each? Would that be a fair price to ask? Or too much? When I had societies they sold in the pet stores for $10-$15 and I sold my babies to the pet store for $5 each (quite a few years ago now). I'd rather sell any babies I might get, to individuals, or breeders so will likely post an ad on Craig's list. Just wondering what you all think is a fair price.