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Thursday, February 21, 2019

Rubino Bourke with Dark Eyes!


Have a look at the two Rubino photos sent to us from Margie Archibald Hoard. One has dark eyes! 

Dark-eyed Rubino baby in front and red-eyed baby in back.

This is something I didn't think could happen in a Rubino (or a Lutino), but it appears to be the case. The one behind makes it easy to compare one with red eyes to one with dark eyes. Even though some yellow exists on their wings, I'd call both a Rubino if the rose goes all the way down their backs to their tails. If there is yellow on the back anywhere, then they'd be Lutino.  


As I told Margie, I'm still learning things every day, and a dark-eyed Rubino is news to me. I appreciate her sharing the photo and information. 



Same dark-eyed Rubino when a little older, per Margie.

The two babies below are ours. They are siblings from the same clutch and one is a Rubino while the other is a Lutino. It's the same genetic circumstance, just different terms for their difference in color. 

Windy Ridge Rosies babies ... ours. Clearly a Lutino and a Rubino.
These two beauties are out of Stormy and Peaches. They're sisters hatched in 2018. 

Don't delay. If you haven't already purchased a copy of 
"Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds" by Gail A. Lewis 
be sure to do so. It's on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or from other booksellers. 

PEACE AND BLESSINGS,
Gail  


Wednesday, February 6, 2019

TAMING YOUNG BOURKE PARAKEETS

Two hand fed baby Bourke Parakeets
QUESTION:
Hello I have been watching your videos on YouTube. I have just adopted a baby bourke parakeet and I am wanting to bond. We got her from an established facility a few hours away that had been hand feeding her. I have had her since Groundhogs day. She is my first bird other than a chicken and a few budgies when j was a young child. The woman that j bought her from told me that I should be getting her out of her cage and holding her. Meaning i have to chase her around her cage corner her then grab her entire body. She bites me and struggles and it seems wrong and cruel. It also goes against what I have read elsewhere from many different sites and videos that I should go slow, putting my hand in the cage then go slowly until she is comfortable with me. I dont know what to do. I dont want her to be afraid of me but I also dont want to u do all of the handling that they have done. But if she has ever been comfortable with being grabbed and held like I was told to do today, then she certainly is not okay with me doing it. Can u please please help me? Any advice? She is only 8 weeks old btw  -- Chelsea


Tame parent Bourkes watch as babies are hand fed.

ANSWER ON TAMING:
It sounds to me like they lied about her being hand fed. She shouldn't be so frightened of being held if she was hand fed. Hand feeding requires some holding and instills confidence in the bird. That's the whole purpose of hand feeding. Otherwise, why do it?

You are right that chasing her is going to frighten her. Sometimes with Budgies it's the only way to get them. Bourkes are more gentle then Budgies. If she's really only 8 wks old she should tame down for you even if not hand fed. I hope they didn't exaggerate on her young age. and that she's really that young. Odd that she's biting at that young an age, however. Frightened Bourkes do bite, but babies less so. Keep in mind that she's away from her family and in a whole new environment, so be patient with her. Always be kind and speak softly and sweetly to her.  

I recommend finding something she really likes to eat and offer it to her from your hand in her cage. Spray millet is easiest for young birds to eat and all Bourkes love it. We only feed Calif. golden spray millet, not the ugly little gray stuff you find in pet or grocery stores. My birds also love rice chex cereal as a treat. You can crush it and hold it in your hand. Offer that to her from your hand while she is in her cage and always talk sweetly to her. Tell her how pretty and sweet she is and that you won't hurt her. She doesn't understand English (yet), but she does understand the tone of your voice and your intentions ... so voice them. Bourkes love to be talked to and she should not be an exception to this. Always talk to her every time you come into her room. Tell her good morning, and hello all the time. Your voice should become reassuring and hopefully you will overcome her initial fear of you. She's going to be lonely and unhappy for a while. She needs your attention.
 
Lady Gouldian finch hand fed babies.
Once you've tamed her, I recommend getting another bird. They are flock animals and people can't be present 24/7, so having a companion all the time is a kind thing to do for every bird.

Best of luck,
Gail


Some weaned young Bourkes that were hand fed.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

SEXING, MATING AND SHARING CAGES WITH OTHERS...

The year 2018 was full of health issues for my husband and me. Although recovering from surgery, I’ve answered questions sent to rosie.birds@gmail.com. Haven’t shared them on this website and should have. Here is a recent inquiry about Bourke Parakeets and my response.  Blessings all!
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QUESTION
 I understand that Bourke's can be difficult to determine gender until they molt (I would assume most especially the Lutinos and rosies).  That being said, will two males or two females get along well?  What if one baby is a male and the other a female...will they copulate later if there is no nest box for them? –Dana



ON MATING:
 Once sexually mature, a male and female of any variety will want to mate when conditions are right for them, even if they’re brother and sister, or there is an age difference. We had a pair that bickered with each other all the time, yet still produced offspring. Once their mates were switched the bickering stopped. They didn’t like each other, but still mated. With new mates they were both happier.

 It’s long days that stimulate egg laying in all hens, and many will lay even when no male is present. The presence of a nest box helps stimulate egg laying, but isn’t always a requirement for an eager hen.  Eggs, of course, will be infertile. Chicken houses use artificial lighting to stimulate egg laying, and we do the same in our homes if lights are left on in a bird’s room into the evening or early in the morning. By extending “daylight” when normally it would be dark, hens react.

With Bourkes the male typically investigates a nesting area to be sure it is safe for the hen. Some Bourke hens ask to mate even when there is no nest box available, but most males won’t mate until there’s a safe place for her to lay her eggs. That is usual behavior in the majority of Bourke pairs, but occasionally may differ in some pairs.

We have one pair that are mating right now, but she’s not laying eggs. In another month or so they will get a nest box. I’ve tried to limit the number of hours of light they are exposed to and I believe that’s why she’s not laying yet. The fact that they are mating anyway is very unusual for birds. They are also a very young pair.

SAME SEXES IN A CAGE TOGETHER:
Putting birds together while young is the best option. Youngsters always accept one another.
That said, usually Bourkes get along well with other Bourkes and other varieties of small birds. However, placing a mature bird in with another mature bird needs to be done slowly by introducing them first.  One might decide to protect his or her home from the stranger. It’s wise to put their cages beside one another, but not put the birds together in the same cage yet. Give them several days or longer to get acquainted.

Chasing occurs most often during mating season when there is competition between birds. Hens will chase other hens away and males will chase other males. If there are only two of the same sex and none of the opposite sex in their cage, chasing isn’t likely to happen. In fact, Bourkes are happier if they are not alone in a cage. A companion, even of the same sex, is appreciated.

We kept a male Bourke and a male Linnie together. Both were tame and they became good friends.



SEXUAL IDENTIFICATION:
This is covered elsewhere on the blog. If you enter Sexing in the Search Box, it will find other posts. Briefly, Normal (wild-colored) brown Bourkes are easiest to identify once mature. Males have a tiny line of blue feathers on their brow above the cere (nostrils). Hens don’t have this, neither do very young birds.

Bourkes of every other color can be DNA’d by a reputable veterinary laboratory that does Avian DNA testing. Often Rosy hens will have darker faces than the males do, but this is open to a wide variation and unreliable. Or, sometimes the sex of the parent birds gives a clue to the likely sex of the offspring. This is not full proof either, but if the parents are two different colors from one another, it helps. Most baby Bourkes become the color of the sex of their opposite parent. In other words, a Rosy male is likely to produce Rosy hens. Likewise, if the mother is a Normal, she is likely to produce Normal sons. Again, this is not 100% accurate. Grandparents and other ancestors play a role too. Experience with past clutches verifies how well this works with a certain pair or birds.

Other than that, we must depend upon the behavior of the Bourkes to tell us their sex. Males will often do a “strut” by standing tall with shoulders back and wings slightly flared open at the shoulders. This is most often done toward other males. Hens will sometimes squat down, chests forward and tails up in the air, cheeping. However, I’ve seen mature, mated males do this in front of their hens as if to tell them what they want them to do. A few people claim you can tell a Bourke's sex by how it stands on the perch and will describe differences in how a male vs. female stands. I believe it's nonsense.

In all feathered animals the sex of the offspring is determined by the hen, unlike in humans where the father determines a baby’s sex. There is more on this in other posts as well.

Don’t fail to get a copy of my book on Small Exotic Birds. Below is a link to it on Amazon in the USA. It is also available from other booksellers in the USA, or from Amazon in the UK, and available from Amazon.com in most other countries.


Peace and Blessings.