Orange Cheek Waxbill Care

 

Native to west-central African usually found in grasslands and savannas near water. Being like most finches they are a flocking bird and will do best if you keep at least a pair of them together, they are pretty peaceful and may be kept with other species of the same temperment. They are fairly simple to care for just provide fresh clean water at all times and make sure the seed is replaced often. They have a very high metabolism and will feed throughout the day to keep up, they are excellent at husking the seeds and making it look like their food dish is full. Orange Cheeks will also eat insects, either live or freeze dried mealworms can be offered. Orange Cheeks should be kept at least 70 degrees year round. There isn't a cage that is too big for any bird, so when looking to get started the best thing to do is get as large a cage as you can afford. For small finches like Orange Cheeks make sure the bar spacing is adequate so they can't get their heads stuck or even escape entirely. We use and reccommend corn cob bedding with our birds.

 

If you're looking to breed Orange Cheeks their average clutch size is 4-6 eggs that will start to get incubated after the 3rd or 4th egg is laid. They will hatch after about two weeks of being incubated and they will fledge in 14-16 days after that. They should be weaned by 4-5 weeks after hatching.