Orange Cheeks

[MiaCarter]

Photos, please!

Love those little OCs! So spritely and peppy.

They're so darn lovely. You just want to love them and squeeze them, except there's nothing to squeeze! LOL

I'm so happy you finally have a real pair, it seems! It's so frustrating when you have not-so-dimorphic species like this. But I figure as long as they're happy, then we're good. (And then you just hope for eggs! And if not, it's just an excuse to get some more!!)

[debbie276]

lovezebs

lay a piece of damp paper across the top of your mealie farm for a while. If their are any worms they will come up for a drink. I used to feed carrots and it worked well.

[lovezebs]

MiaCarter

Hi Mia, and welcome back.

I did have a true pair, but lost one recently. Invested in another sweetie, and I 'think' I have a pair again, but I won't know for sure, unless we do see some eggs.

Yes, they are lovely little birds.

~Elana~

[lovezebs]

debbie276

Hi Debbie.

So far I've managed to grow tons of beetles (too bad my feathered babies don't eat those ).

Today I will pick up some fresh bran/oats to offer to my ugly black beauties (beetles).

I have been offering carrots, as well as potato. I will give the wet paper towel trick a try for sure. Do you leave it on for a few minutes, a few hours???

~Elana~

[debbie276]

I'd leave it on a while (hour or so) if the worms are teeny tiny, might take a while to get to the top. They are really really, did I say really teeny tiny at first.
Let us know how it goes

[Sally]

Another thing you can use is a slice of raw white potato. Just lay it on top of the bran, and just like with the carrots that debbie276 uses, they will be drawn to the potato. When you pick up the potato slice, you will find all these little worms hanging on, plus more gathered in the bran just under the potato. If you still have lots of beetles, you may not have any baby worms yet, the beetles should be laying eggs right now, and then the beetles die off. Once the beetles are dead, I remove all the bodies and then just wait for the eggs to hatch. One day, you will notice that the bran is moving--success!

[lovezebs]

debbie276 & Sally

Thank you ladies

I have been putting potato and carrots in, but the potato went moldy, so I'll stick with carrots....... if I put a beet in there, will I get red worms??? I should try it, just for fun.

Regarding my beetles, these darn things don't die, they just get bigger, and I seem to get more and more of them . The nearest I can figure, they're born pregnant and give birth to more beetles, skipping the egg/worm/pupae stages, lol.

I bought more oats and bran today, so will try one more time. I'm not ready to give up on my Wonder- Worms yet.

~Elana~

[debbie276]

I do remember it seemed like forever to see the first mealies.

[Rox]

Back to the Orange Cheeks, how far off the ground to they prefer to be? Will they use a nest of some sort, or prefer to make their own?

Hi Elana, both of my pairs have built in brush, directly on the floor of the aviary. I haven't had any luck getting the waxbills to accept your typical nest boxes or wicker baskets. They all seem to prefer to build their own nests, with long entrance tunnels and a cocks nest on top.

Good luck with your mealworms! It does feel like forever until the first worms appear but once you get a cycle of beetles going, then you should have a continuous supply of worms (always keep some of your worms back to grow into beetles and continue the cycle.)

I'm planning on making changes and upgrading my mealworm breeding program over the next few months, in preparation for spring. If I come across any brilliant ideas to make it all easier and less maintenance, I will let you know

[lovezebs]

debbie276

Thanks Debbie.
It has been since January. I must have missed the worms at some point, I guess. ..

~Elana~

[lovezebs]

Rox

Thanks Roxanne.

Not sure how to get these oc's to nest on the ground in a flight. If they're on the ground, I can't clean the bottom of the flight, which will get pretty ripe very quickly (yeck!). I guess I will have to be creative. ...

Reg. Mealworms, I'm hoping for the best here. I NEED SOME WORMS!

~Elana~

[Derk]

Regarding my beetles, these darn things don't die, they just get bigger, and I seem to get more and more of them . The nearest I can figure, they're born pregnant and give birth to more beetles, skipping the egg/worm/pupae stages

lovezebs

Careful what you wish for!

I'll start small but grow rapidly, it will be the survival of the fittest and the strongest ...my beetles, they will be ginormous, better than any beetles ever. If ever we have beetle battles, my beetles will win every time.

I will be Queen of the beetle .... No one will be able to even come close, or hold a candle to my guys. My ....beetles will be the strongest and the most aggressive.....

I will feed them only the best super carrots and super dooper spuds...
. .........

~Elana~

[lovezebs]

Derk

Mary, haahaahaha.....

Yea, dig up my old posts, that were a spoof of another post altogether. Poke fun at my ginormous beetles that refuse to beget wormlings, sniff, sniffle.... see if I care.

But you'll see, YOU'LL SEE, who shall have the best worms in the end. You know what they say, he who laughs first, gets worms last, so watch out girl, watch out!

~Elana~

[Derk]

oops! messed up and don't know how to delete a message once posted - kinda spoils the fun.

[Derk]

lovezebs

No threats allowed on this site. It is supposed to family friendly remember?