Abstract
A Housing
s waxbills are birds of tropical and subtropical regions it is essential to prepare their accommodation differently to the way we would for finches from temperate zones, such as British Cardueline species like the Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Siskin, etc. First and foremost, a birdroom must be constructed and this can he made out of, for example, brick, concrete, or preservative-coated wood; or by merely converting a spare bedroom, garage, or shed. The birdroom should be insulated against the cold and the interior painted in a light colour, such as white, eggshell blue or light green.
If possible, natural daylight entering via windows in the roof is excellent, otherwise it could mean supplying electric lighting throughout most of the day, even in summer, as side windows don't always admit enough. I also like my birdrooms to have regular air changes, particularly during hot weather spells, and have found it a good idea to have air vents at one end of the room and a good extractor fan at the other. The fan should be thermostatically controlled so that, over a certain temperature (mine is set to come on at 22°C [70°F.D, stale air will be expelled while, at the same time, fresh air will be sucked in and travel right across the room.
An outside aviary attachment, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it might appear in one's garden, is completely unnecessary for the keeping of waxbills and usually ends up proving positively harmful. As is to be expected, the birds we are considering thrive in temperatures of 22°C (70°F) and above,
and while it is appealing to consider one's birds flitting about an aviary on a warm summer's day the vagaries of the British weather mean that such days can quickly change to ones of cold and damp. Cold and damp are the captive waxbill's biggest enemies!
In the birdroom some form of heating is essential and my preference is for tubular heaters. These should be wired up to a thermostat and set to come on if the temperature falls below 15°C (60°F), and even 22°C (70°F) for some species. Waxbills also need at least 12 hours of daylight in winter, so it is essential to set up a dimmer unit so that this extra light can he achieved artificially by way of electric "speciality full spectrum" fluorescents and tungsten light bulbs. My own dimmer unit has been programmed to perform the following actions automatically: at 6:00 A.M. the light bulbs come on very gradually, so as not to startle the birds, until they reach full brightness, whereupon the fluorescents immediately come on. A second or two after the fluorescents light up, the bulbs go off. In the late evening, just before roosting time (around 9:30 P.M.), the bulbs come on again, really bright, and the fluorescents go off. Then, in the space of half an hour, the bulbs start to dim down gradually, again so as not to startle the birds, until they are all roosting comfortably in the dark. Some breeders prefer to leave a night-light on throughout the dark hours in case their birds should become startled, whereupon the bulb gives out just enough light to enable them to re-find their perch if necessa1y and thus to settle hack down.
I also use a light sensor attached to my dimmer so that if during the day it should start to go overcast outside, the fluorescents come on automatically to compensate. Should the day turn bright again, the fluorescent lighting switches itself off.
If one is really serious about breeding waxbills, then it is essential to house one pair of birds to a cage. The only time cages are unnecessary is if one intends breeding some of the timid colony nesting species, such as most of the Estrilda species, the Goldbreast and the avadavats, which
reproduce extremely well in a free-flying birdroom.
For some considerable time I pondered over the best design of cage that would suit both waxhills and keeper. I decided that the cage had to provide the birds with space enough in which to live contented lives - and not just to exist! - and it was essential that an ambience could he created that encouraged breeding; on top of this, it also had to he practical. After constructing two early prototypes I finally settled on a cage which l believe fulfills all the criteria I set myself.
My cage measures 1.17 meters ( 46 in) x 58. 5cm (23 in) x 58.5 cm (23 in) and, conscious of the fact that all birds need to feel safe from predators, I elected to construct it out of plywood and give it a solid hack and sides - hut birds also require plenty of light.
With this in mind, and like most boxcages, my cage has a wire-mesh front, hut it differs from the norm in that it also has an all-wire roof instead of a solid one. The reason for this is that the "open" roof allows extra light, he it nat-
ural or emitted from full spectrum fluorescents that can be placed from 2-4 feet overhead, depending on whether one uses a single or double fitment. Full spectrum lighting placed directly on top of a cage, or lower than that recommended, can cause visual and endocrine disturbance (Thrush, 2000).
If one is considering using full spectrum lighting it is best to employ "speciality full spectrum" rather than "general full spectrum." Such light is also beneficial to plants, and my cage allows for a pot-plant to be placed in either side of it.
I use 2. 5 cm (1 in) deep galvanized metal trays for ease of cleaning and these merely have newspaper placed in them as a lining. I prefer to use galvanized metal trays over wood or hardboard ones as the former don't become sodden or buckled due to absorption of water from spillages, such as from the birds' bath.
During cleaning operations I place a divider in a central slot, gently persuade the birds into one side and then completely slide the divider in behind them. The empty side can now be cleaned thoroughly as, unlike conventional cages, the cage doors open fully. Once the compartment is cleaned, I close the door, pull the slide back halfway and gently persuade the birds to enter the now vacated side. Once they do, the slide is inserted fully again and the whole procedure repeated. When cleaning is over I pull out the slide so that the birds have a full run again.