QUESTION: Aggressive
Baby Bourke in Nest
Hi Gail, I have one
baby bourke's that is a little over two weeks old (only one egg hatched from
six)! The parents are doing a good job feeding him. The past few days my
husband and I have been patting him and picking him up so that he can be used
to our hands and also when I clean the nest box. But just yesterday he began to
lunge and bite at our hand. Do you know why he is doing this? Did we do
something wrong by picking him up out of the nest? Thank you!
ANSWERHi Melissa,
He does this because he's afraid. His instinct is to
attack something he feels threatened by.
However, if you leave him for his parents to feed
and continue to handle and talk sweetly to him, perhaps over time he will
quit being afraid. But, there are no guarantees. It depends on his personality
and how often you handle him, etc. There are lots of factors involved.
I'm not surprised if he hisses and tries to lunge at
you. It’s a baby Bourke’s normal reaction to fear while in the nest box. Look
at it from his perception. He's snuggled down feeling comfortable and safe and
something really huge suddenly lets in lots of bright light and then reaches
for him. Whoa...what the heck? I was safe and happy, now what?
I have one male Bourke who was hand tamed (not hand
fed), but his hen was hand fed and she helped convince him I'm not a threat. He
will get on my finger when I want to put him back in his cage, but he doesn't
fly to my shoulder like the hand fed birds will.
Good luck with him. Being a lone nestling is going to make him more easily frightened too. There's safety in numbers. Smile.
**********
QUESTION: Time of Year to Breed Bourkes
I recently purchased some pairs of rosie bourkes. I
have normals, rosies, pinks, rubinos, and lutinos. I am wanting to know what
and when their breeding seasons are. I also raise English budgerigars and I
usually breed them starting in November through May or June depending on the
weather … Thanks in advance.
ANSWER
Hello Doug,
In the USA, many are raised indoors. Like all birds,
their breeding is triggered by length of daylight. We can moderate this by
using artificial light ... whether on purpose or by accident.
Bourkes indoors, where artificial lighting may stay on
until late, can be encouraged to want to breed at any time during the year. If
they are in an outside aviary, the day length will trigger their instinct to
breed during longer or warmer days.
In my case, my birds start wanting to breed in
February. That's also when the trees flower on the South Coast of Oregon.
Inland the season is later, but the coast has an early spring. I have given
them boxes in February in the past, but I've decided it's best for me to wait
as late as possible...usually late March. However, if they start mating, I go
ahead and put up nest boxes. After two or three clutches the nest boxes come
back down. Nest boxes also stimulate breeding.
I have a lot of information on this blog about
breeding and what has worked best for me. In the far right column is a
"Label List." Click on "breeding" and it will bring up 52
earlier posts on breeding birds. Scroll
through them and read whatever sounds applicable to you.
**********
QUESTION:
How Long Do Bourkes Live?
Thank you for your website.
There was very little available information about Bourke's when I got mine
nearly 10 years ago. Could you tell me what you find is an average lifespan for
a Bourke's? Thanks.
ANSWER
Hello Ann,
I know a breeder with Bourkes that are over 14 years
old. He retired them several years ago and doesn't raise Bourkes any longer. He
lets them enjoy an outdoor aviary.
I have a pair that are over ten years old and are
still raising young. Both have beaks that over grow and need to be trimmed
periodically even though they have cuttlebone, mineral block and oyster shell.
They're my oldest pair. I've not had to trim the beaks of any of the others.
Just that pair, and the male more often than the female.
A book, "Bourke Parakeets" by Doreen
Haggard, was published in the UK in 1997. She says this: "The
lifespan of a Bourke's parakeet is 8-12 years, though some have been recorded
as living for longer."
My husband found this book for me many years ago on Half.com. It was mailed to us from the UK. I've seen a few others occasionally on the internet, if you're interested. There are a few things the author and I don't agree on, but for the most part it is informative and she makes some worthwhile observations.
**********
QUESTION:
A Bourke Male With Two Hens
Well, it has been a while since I have sent any news. I
have 1 Bourke male and 2 Bourke females... This is my first season with them
and I am pleased to tell you that the male is "man enough" to handle
BOTH females!
I had placed 2 parakeet nest boxes on the cage and
they both set out in each nest only to decide to use only 1 nest between the
two females...wow! They hatched baby after baby from under each hen but only 1
chick was fed for a day or so while the rest died fast after hatching.
I came to the realization that I was the problem...really
dumb new Bourke breeder...I was checking the box often and even though they
were comfortable with each other they apparently did not like me peeking.
I replaced the 2 parakeet nest boxes with 1 cockatiel
nest box. (thinking maybe they were just too crowded in the 1 smaller box.) This
time I had better success. Two chicks being fed and healthy between the 2 moms.
GREAT! Male is caring for both females in the box and out...but I can only assume
I AGAIN looked too many times... and both hens left the box for 2 days and
nights. Both chicks were fat and healthy but the nights were cold and the
youngest did not make it. One died a fat healthy chick that got cold. MY FAULT!
I ended up with 1 nice male fledging the nest and now
both hens are laying another clutch.
How many eggs in nest now you say? Heck if I know! I
learned that even though this male breeds and cares for 2 hens, these hens set
and feed chicks together with no problem, that it is I who is the problem with
this wonderful trio and have pledged to keep the nest box shut and not to peek
for a while. Then it will only be a one time peek to check the
process they are making. How many eggs...any chicks..etc. I will leave them
alone until something fledges to see what they have.
I was excited to read about the [Normal] pair you have
that produced 2 rosies out of 4 chicks! Congrats!
HOPEFULLY I may someday get the same? Or should I
purchase 1 rosie to breed with the normal?
One thing I know...I will not be so nosy
again and will instead wait and see what they have at fledging. Have a
wonderful blessed day.
Hello Mary,
It's wonderful that your male is so attentive. I've
read that when Bourkes were still rare that they did put one male with two
hens. But I've never tried it.
If your male is a Rosy and your hens are Normals then
you can expect Normal males and Rosy hens. If you told me their colors, I don't
remember. Color is sex-linked in Bourkes. With my Normal pair that threw two
rosies and two normals, the rosies were hens and the normals were males. That
was because my normal father was out of a Rosy dad and normal mother. He was
split to Rosy.
It's sad that your babies didn't all survive. My birds
are indoors, so cold nights never go lower than 68 and usually closer to
70...still a baby with no feathers needs its mother for warmth even in warmer
temps.
Typically, I can look into any hen's box and she won't
get off her eggs or babies. Even the hens that weren't tame would stay
put. Maybe that’s because they lived in the house with us and were so used to
our coming and going, unlike with an outdoor aviary situation.
Since they won’t get off their eggs, I have to check
when they leave the box to defecate. You have to be quick because they go right
back. That's easier to do when they're in the house and you can see them most
of the time. With two hens in the same box, they probably don't leave at the same
time.
I had two hens share a box once, but I didn't have a
male with them so their eggs weren't fertile. I think they were sisters, which
might have encouraged their companionship. They were some I purchased, I didn't
raise them.
The hens I have now are hand fed and tame. If they
come out of their separate cages at the same time, they bicker at each
other...especially during breeding season. The males do the same with each
other. They're all protective of their cages and their "space."
Fuchsia has three babies that are out of the nestbox,
but not yet weaned. The male has taken over and she went back into the box and
started laying a second clutch. The box needed cleaning, so I removed her three
eggs and emptied out all the pine shavings and replaced them. She was slow
to go back inside, so I wonder if I should have left well enough alone. Only
time will tell. I noticed when I picked up the eggs that I could feel one of
them "pecking" against the shell already. Amazing. She usually lays
five eggs, so will probably lay two more. At least the box is clean and sweet
smelling again.
Since they are in the house, I like to clean the boxes
between clutches. However, I noticed she had turned the shavings over and done
a fair job of making it nice herself. But, there was stuck food on the sides
that had started to mold, so it is better to clean it out. Hopefully, the eggs
didn't get cold. I cleaned very fast and they were warm when they went back,
but her hesitation to return is bothersome. Being tame I expected her to
recognize the cleaning routine from previous years and go right back. If all
the eggs don't hatch, that will tell me I did the wrong thing. It's been okay
in the past, but usually I was able to clean sooner...she was in a hurry to lay
this year. ;-)
May all your babies survive this next time.
**********
QUESTION: What Could Cause ‘Dead in Shell?’
I have a pair of rosey bourkes that recently mated.
The female sat on the eggs and protected them. After about three weeks, the
eggs did not hatch and the female left the nest. I checked the nest this morning
and there were five eggs. Three of the eggs did not develop. However, two of
the eggs had fully formed chicks that did not hatch. One of the eggs showed
signs of a crack all around the top which indicated the chick was in the
process of hatching.
I really do not understand why the chicks died. There are two other pairs of bourkes in the aviary and I did not see any signs of them going into the nest box and causing any issues. Have you had this experience? One person told me it might be due to the lack of humidity causing the shells to be too hard. The aviary is outside and I do not think this is the problem. Another person told me the hen might have been spooked off the nest in the middle of the night and the eggs got too cold. It would be nice to know what happened and try to prevent it from occurring again. Thank you.
I really do not understand why the chicks died. There are two other pairs of bourkes in the aviary and I did not see any signs of them going into the nest box and causing any issues. Have you had this experience? One person told me it might be due to the lack of humidity causing the shells to be too hard. The aviary is outside and I do not think this is the problem. Another person told me the hen might have been spooked off the nest in the middle of the night and the eggs got too cold. It would be nice to know what happened and try to prevent it from occurring again. Thank you.
Hi Vin,
Either of those scenarios is possible. Is this the
hen's first clutch? Did you have a cold snap one night? Also, if she was only on them three weeks, I'd have left them longer. Even if an egg was laid 21 days before, it might not start to develop until a few days later if the weather is cold, or if the hen doesn't sit on her eggs right away. They won't usually abandon the eggs until much, much later than they were supposed to hatch.
It's always heartbreaking when eggs don't hatch, but it's happened to all of us. This year my oldest hen laid four eggs and hatched all four. The first two had red eyes, but both died...one the day after it hatched and the other a week later. She managed to raise the other two with dark eyes.
There are so many possibilities. I had one pair
that always laid fertile eggs and carried them to term, but they never hatched.
I even took some of their eggs and incubated them, but had the same
experience. They grew to full term, but didn't hatch. So, it wasn't the hen's
fault. There was something wrong ... possibly with the combination between the
two (a genetic defect, perhaps? They weren't related to each other). Or, were
the eggshells too hard? Too much calcium, if that’s even possible? I'll never
know. They were treated just like all the other birds that were
successful.
I ended up putting them with new partners to hope for
the best. Don't know how that will turn out.
Better luck next time. Bourkes typically go right back to have another clutch. Make sure you have plenty of fresh water available that she can bathe in. If needed they carry moisture into the nest on their feathers.
**********
Hello Kathy,
How tame he will be probably depends on his history
and how old he is. Young birds tame down fairly easily. All will eventually be
less afraid, but maybe not finger tame.
They bathe themselves. A shallow bowl of water, or a
water cup and they'll splash water on themselves. Warm weather encourages
bathing. Give them fresh cold water ... they don't like it warm or even at room
temperature. I keep a water cup (or two) in my cage all the time and change
them at least once a day if not more often when it's hot. I also have a water
bottle hanging outside the cage with the tip inside. That way, if they splash
most of the water out of the cup(s) they always have water available to drink
from the bottle hanging on the side of the cage.
Make sure there's no perch over the water supply to
keep the water from getting droppings in it. However, that can still happen, so
I also clean my cups daily, or give them a new, clean cup and set the one from
the day before aside to wash.
The best way to tame him is to talk to him many times
daily in a "sweet" voice ... sort of like you'd talk to a newborn
baby. Then, you can offer him treats ... spray millet, fresh Kale or broccoli.
The website will tell you what things my Bourkes prefer. If he's young, you can
try slowly raising your finger up under his breast so he will step up on your
finger. But, if he goes crazy, back off until he's calm. Try again the next
day. Keep talking softly and sweetly to him. They sense our frustration,
impatience or anger...so none of that. Best
of luck.
**********
QUESTION:
Is Air in the Crop Dangerous For Hand Fed Babies?
I pulled two of my young baby Bourkes on Tuesday this
week to start hand feeding. Within a day they quickly adjusted to the new way
of feeding and beg and guzzle their food quickly. I've been feeding them 4 times a day and do
so until it looks like their crops will burst. I've read through your posts on
hand feeding and see that their crop can come over their shoulders when well
fed. I've seen this too, so I'm guessing they are getting enough. My question
is that there seems to be a little air in the top of the crop each time after
feeding. Is this normal? If not, what might we be doing wrong and how can we
correct it. By the time their next feeding comes the air seems to be gone. Thanks
again for the help and congratulation on the new little addition to your
family. [our puppy].
ANSWER
Hi Scott,
We try to avoid getting air in the crop. I've read
sites that say it's deadly, but it isn’t. In fact, it’s difficult to totally
avoid. Even parents sometimes get air in their offspring's crops.
When you feed make sure all the air in the eyedropper (if that's what you're using) is out of it. It means expressing some of the food until it's all at the tip. Also, I make more food then I'll use so that I can put the tip of the eyedropper down into the food and not pull any air into it. I refill before all the food is out of the eyedropper.
Avoid getting air in the tube and avoid feeding them
with any air. A little air isn't deadly, but not desirable either. The less air
they get in their crops the better.
Keep them warm. You'll also want to use warm water to
clean off any excess food around their mouths. Be careful not to cover the
openings in their cere (nostrils). The formula I use gets very hard when dry
and then is very hard to remove. It’s best to get it off while it's still soft.
It tends to hide under the feathers on their cheeks, so I always check there. Mine
always get used to being “cleaned up” with warm water and don’t struggle or
complain. I use a soft washrag. Don’t hold their face under running water.
Good luck. You'll have some very sweet birds!
QUESTION:
When, or if, to Clean Nest Boxes in Use
I have a quick question for you regarding my four hatchlings. Their nest box is really dirty, is that normal or should I clean it and put fresh shavings in it for them?
Hello Laura,
It depends...is the mother bird doing her business
outside the box, so it's only baby droppings? I hope so. Most hens are clean
that way, but once in a while one might not be. It's usually because she isn't
healthy and it's more work to leave the box.
It won't hurt the babies if you leave the box alone
and don't clean it. That's nature for them. However, I have cleaned boxes
before the babies fledged. If the weather is warm and the box begins to smell,
then I clean it. Not so much for the young as for us... Although they probably
prefer a clean box. If the weather is cold then the droppings help keep them
warm (and there is less odor).
If the babies are still in the nest, I don't remove a box to clean it. I do remove the babies to a safe, dry place...into another box deep enough that they can't escape. If they're feathered, put the box inside a cage or close the box's top because they can fly away.
Scoop out all that you can, or want to, and replace
the pine shavings with fresh ones. Don't wash the box and get it damp. Just
scoop away what you can. Scrape the sides if you want to, but do all of this
quickly. Much of it may only be the food the mother has regurgitated that has
attached itself to walls, etc. Return the babies as soon as possible. If you
have a tame pair, this project is easier.
After the babies have fledged, any regurgitated food
in the box can mold in warm weather. So,it's a good idea to clean the box
thoroughly after the babies leave, and before the hen returns for another
clutch. Unlike other birds, most Bourkes go right back for a second and third
clutch with very little time in between. They can typically handle two clutches
a year with no effort. While young and healthy a third clutch is okay too. A
fourth is a stretch, so I'd remove the nest boxes after the second or third
clutch and wait eight or nine months before putting them back up.
PEACE AND BLESSINGS.
