Taming Frightened Birds

We get lots of questions, and this subject seems to crop up frequently. Kristina asked, "I bought a Rosy Bourke and he will not come to me or anything. He runs away or flies away. What can I do to tame him?"

Young, hand fed Rosy Bourke Parakeets, close
to being weaned and able to eat on their own.

Our Answer: 

Hello Kristina, 

My book, "Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds" includes "Taming, Talking and More" in Chapter Ten. Meanwhile, here are a few thoughts.

1) How old your bird is helps determine how well you can tame him or her. Young birds are easiest to tame. 

2) Birds raised in a home environment are much easier to tame than those that grew up in an aviary without close human contact, interaction or household noises. 

3) Frequent gentle, sweet talk is the best thing you can do for a frightened bird. Bourkes like to be talked to and almost always will respond to a quiet, friendly voice. 

4) Once he's not afraid of you, after days or weeks, then offer treats gradually from your hand. Spray millet is good, so is cooked corn or fresh broccoli or kale. Mine particularly love rice chex cereal. Hold your hand still by his perch and see if he will come take it from you. Patience is key.

5) Never get angry at, or frustrated by, your bird. They are excellent at sensing our moods and will respond accordingly.

I hand feed Bourkes from about two weeks of age, and those in my videos were hand fed and therefore very tame.  You might want to consider a hand fed bird companion for your bird. A bird that is already tame can be instrumental in helping the other bird gain trust and be less fearful. 

I always recommend people get two birds.  They are social creatures and very subject to depression if left alone during the day when humans can't always be present. Even those who work in the home will not be constantly around for their pet bird, so another bird is of immense value to your bird's happiness and well-being.

Buying a hand fed bird is the easiest way to ensure you'll have a friendly bird, however, with patience and diligence, most birds will settle down and hopefully begin to trust you. Good luck." 

Peace & Feathered Blessings!

Feather Art by Chris Maynard.
He does beautiful, intricate artwork. In this picture
he used some of our Rosy Bourke Parakeet feathers.

Rosy Bourke Parakeets With New Clutches of Babies

We currently have 12 baby Bourkes ... four in each of three clutches. This video is of Rosie with Pretty Boy, Starfire with Sunset, and Peaches with Stormy.

We did an earlier video of Blossom and Songster's clutch.  Bella is still on eggs, and Sweetheart & Valentine aren't doing anything yet. Fuchsia and Flame are retired for this year ... they are growing older and I want them to stay safe.

We love these wonderful, sweet-natured, uniquely beautiful birds.

They are Feathered Blessings.

 

Question on Why Eggs Don't Hatch...



Using a book light to candle eggs.
Checking to see if they're fertile or not.

We've covered this topic before, but it's worth addressing again. The question below arrived in email today, and is copied here just as it was written.

 

"Hi There, I have a pair of bourse hen lays eggs try to hatch but no babies come out this is her second clutches. Please let me know the reason and its remedy. Thank you"

 

Our Answer:

 

Hello Jenny, Are you sure you have a male and a female Bourke? It takes two. Sometimes two hens might act like a pair, but they won't have fertile eggs. Or, sometimes a young pair fail to mate successfully. The hen must stand very still, and the male must balance adequately on her back. He carefully bends his his tail under her for their vents to make contact in order to be successful. Some males have to expand their wings for balance, so potential parent birds should not have their wings clipped. 

 

If you have birds of each sex for sure, then maybe with more practice they will eventually succeed. If you are certain the eggs were fertile, but still did not hatch, perhaps they got cold. Or, maybe the hen doesn't have water she can bathe in. Hens have to be able to adjust the nest's humidity, especially if the weather is hot and dry. A place to bathe in is important, but do NOT spray or mist a hen yourself. Let her decide how much humidity is necessary.

 

Less likely is that the babies inside the eggs have some genetic defect, but that is only likely to happen with one bird, not all of them. 

 

Those are some of the most likely possibilities. If you have two birds of the opposite sex, and the male is feeding the female, then eventually they will probably succeed at mating. Meanwhile, don't remove infertile eggs until the hen actually abandons them herself. Hens learn from the fact that their eggs didn't hatch, and are more likely to have fertile eggs in the future. Removing them yourself is not wise. Eggs are due to hatch in 18 to 25 days, but only after they've been warmed by brooding. If she's frightened off the nest too soon, they could get cold and not hatch. She should be allowed to abandon them herself, usually after 25 days for a Bourke hen.  Good luck.

 

 

CLICK HERE and Link to the Book with all the Answers! Smiles.

 

 

Our experienced mother hen, a Rosy Bourke, named Rosie.

Jewel, a Splendid hen.





Male Bourke, Sunset, a blue-edged Cream and his mate,
Starfire, a Lutino Bourke hen. Their first clutch in 2018.
 





 

 

 

CLICK HERE: LINKS TO ROSIE BIRD ON AMAZON.COM

 

 

Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds -- Bird Book is Now Available

When Should Bourke Hens Quit Breeding?

Flame and Fuchsia in 2014 -  © Gail Lewis

Got this question today and thought I'd share it:

 

"Hi Gail, 

I have a quick question. At what age would you say a Bourke hen is too old to breed? 

Thank you!  - Julie"

Our Answer: 
"Hello Julie,  It sometimes depends on her health, how much she's bred in the past and how much exercise she's had throughout her life. Hens in smaller cages that can't fly freely whenever they wish, won't be as strong.

As my hens age, after say six or seven years of age, I limit their clutches to one or two and never three. I have one hen this year, Fuchsia, that I didn't give a nest box to. She wants to breed, but to discourage her, she won't get a nest box. In 2016, because of a family emergency, I didn't get boxes taken down soon enough and this hen had four clutches. It didn't seem to affect her at the time, but may have long-term. Last year, at age 7, she had an odd thing happen with her eggs ... hard to explain. It wasn't egg binding, but she had some difficulty as two eggs seemed to need to be laid at the same time. Maybe one didn't get laid soon enough and another followed right behind it. Luckily she laid both the same day, back to back, but ended up with what appears to be a prolapse. Neither egg was good, by the way. Today she's healthy, but any more egg laying would probably not be wise for her.

In 2017 she only hatched and raised two babies of her own (after a record hatch in 2016). However, last year she did foster babies from other hens with large clutches, and one for a hen who only hatched one egg. I didn't want that baby to get cold by being alone, so gave him to Fuchsia to raise with others. She's an excellent mother, but is at risk for laying more eggs. She's very tame and sweet, so at a little over 8 years of age I am retiring her and her mate, both hatched in early 2010. She will be missed as a foster parent, but I'm too fond of her to risk allowing her to lay again ... if only she could brood and not lay eggs!

Males work hard at raising babies too. Yet, our old Rhett (now departed) was still fathering offspring at age 12. He had three hens in his lifetime, and the last two outlived him. It was his third hen that he raised babies with. Cherry was younger than he was. I often wonder if he was overworked and I should have retired him sooner. He and Cherry did skip a year on their own, but surprised me by going back and raising young the following year.

As is typical, there is not black and white answer ... each bird needs to be evaluated separately based on their health and history. Hope this is helpful. "

Peace & Blessings,

Gail 

Fuchsia looking into a newly arrived nest box, about 2015 or 2016.
Flame has already been inside to inspect and approve it. © Gail Lewis