Bourke Breeding Update

 

Sold seven Rosy Bourkes over the weekend, five 2012 babies and two from last year with pink eyes and beautiful. I'd planned to keep them, but have since decided to continue downsizing.



Spicy and Sweetheart.



View of Sweetheart's yellow feathers.

I still have my favorite male with pink eyes and am looking for a lutino hen for him. His tail is yellow and his body a deep rose. Spicy is the only normal Bourke I still own. He is the first bird I ever hand fed.

I am down to eleven birds and hope to place three of them soon. (Two are mated Gouldian finches and one is my defective youngster with the splayed leg).

That will leave me three mated, very tame Rosy Bourkes and two bachelor Bourkes, both very tame. I hope to get unrelated hens for one or both of them. Having only four or five cages is my goal. I've had as many as 12 cages and over 30 birds in the past. I love all of them, but want to continue writing and editing. When you have ten or more cages, it takes a lot of time to keep them well cared for. The four cages in my kitchen nook satisfy my love of birds and allow me to spend extra time with my tame pairs. And, having fewer gives me more time for writing and editing.

Fuchsia and Flame are raising two babies; Cherry and Rhett have three. I expect to remove and hand feed these five in a week or two. (And I wanted more time? Handfeeding uses time). Haven't decided whether to allow third clutches or not. We shall see. Meanwhile, Rosie and Pretty Boy are back in the nest and she's laying eggs for her second clutch.

Fuchsia almost looks like a baby herself jammed
against the wall of her nest box. She has two babies.

 

Cherry left the nest and I hurriedly took this photo of
her three babies. Fourth egg isn't likely to hatch.

 

As for my novel, "Cast Me Not Away, by Zara Gail Heritage," I'm still editing, hence the reason I'm posting here less often. I do so want to finish and let the Publisher have it back. Smile. (Zara is the pseudonym for my first novel).

Peace & Blessings.