Bourke's Parakeets Nestlings and Youngsters

Our latest babies. 

Advantages of Co-Feeding Our First Clutches

Songster entering the nest box of his four youngsters.

This year we retired Rosy and Pretty Boy. They are elderly and their clutches from 2018 and 2019 weren't very successful. We might let them have one clutch later in the summer, but will wait and see. So, we have three pairs reproducing at present. Two other pairs we hope will do something in the future.

Because of the pandemic that's currently keeping us all at home, we decided to only co-feed these babies. If, for any reason, we had to be away from home, or were ill, hand feeding would be a problem. Co-feeding is allowing the babies to trust us and become tame without a full-time commitment to feeding them.

Watch the video of our 11 first clutch babies of 2020 on the colored link.

You Tube Video Link, click below

2020 First Clutches of Baby Bourke's Parakeets - Tame and Sweet

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

Mystery Bourke Parakeet, Part 3

Our Mystery Bird is weaned and ready to take off to her new home. She was DNA'd as a hen.

Our "Mystery Bird" is a Pastel Cream fallow Bourke Parakeet.

A DNA from Health Gene in Canada says she is female. 

All her colors are soft and muted: Pink, yellow, blue and gray.

She won't darken as much as a male would, but her
colors will become more pronounced as she matures. 

Bird in front is Sunset, the father of the Pastel Cream
in the back. He is also a fallow Bourke. 

Because he is male, Sunset's colors are very bright.
Pastel Cream fallow Bourke in center with her sister,
a Rubino Bourke in back. 

Pastel Cream Fallow Bourke in front of her sister,
a Rubino Bourke from an earlier clutch. Their mother
is a Lutino Bourke named Starfire.

Our Mystery Bird is weaned and ready to take off to her new home. She was DNA'd as a hen.

Mystery Bourke Parakeet -- Part Two

He or she looks more yellow here than actually is. The striking blues don't show up in the video as well as they should. These colors will darken and change after a first molt ... so, our little one remains a mystery yet to come...

Mystery Bourke Parakeet & Sibling -- Part One

This is only Part One ... Part Two coming soon. Then, a final Part Three later, after a molt. He is a sweet bird and pretty amazing!

Baby Bourke Parakeet April, 2017 Update

2017 Baby Bourkes for sale,
hand fed and very tame.

All the photos in this post are of young Bourke Parakeets from the first clutch of Pretty Boy and Rosie, or from Stormy and Peaches. Rosie hatched three Rosy Bourkes from four eggs;   Peaches hatched five of her six eggs, producing three Rosy Bourkes, two normals (wild color) and one lutino. Although Stormy is a normal Bourke, he carries a gene for lutino from his father, a lutino Bourke.

Normal 2017 Baby Bourke,
hand fed and for sale.

One of two Normal Bourke Babies
Hand fed and very tame.

Flame and Fuchsia are our oldest pair of Bourke Parakeets.  She always lays five eggs per clutch and in the past usually hatched and raised them all. However, last year none of her eggs were fertile. This year, she's not had much success either. But, she does make a wonderful surrogate mother.

Young Opaline Rosy Bourke,
a tame swinger.

Our newest hen, Bella, a normal, laid four infertile eggs. Then, in her second clutch she had two fertile eggs out of four. They both hatched. However, the first baby died and it appears to me that it was not fed. Sometimes young, inexperienced hens do that... Sad, but true.

So, when the 2nd egg hatched two days later, I removed the baby and gave it to Fuchsia who is sitting on her usual five eggs. Some might be fertile in this, her 2nd clutch, but they haven't hatched yet. I candled them and removed one that was definitely fertile and replaced it with Bella's baby. I'm confident that Fuchsia will raise this little fuzzy creature and will probably have saved its life.

2017 Opaline Rosy Bourke,
tame and for sale.

I've been hand feeding those eight babies from the two clutches so they will be very tame. Each one is beginning to eat on its own and will be ready to go to a new home very soon. We're located on the south coast of Oregon near Coos Bay.  Sorry, but we are not currently shipping birds.

Below is Rosy Bird's Latest Video:

PEACE & BLESSINGS EVERYONE!

Bourke Babies for Sale. Many Varieties and Probable "Splits"

We prefer to only have one pair of Bourkes per cage,
however, babies temporarily change that.

Young Peaches and Storm produced two clutches the end of 2015 before we removed their nest box. They were late in the season because of their youth. Not old enough in the Spring, by Fall they wanted to breed so we let them.

In their first clutch she laid five eggs, and raised four very different babies. The second clutch held six eggs. Five hatched and they raised all five. Rosie Bird on You Tube has several video's of these babies. A link is given at the end of this post for the latest one.

A Lutino and a Rosy on perch in back.
Rubino on floor with Normal on front perch at right.

There are six babies remaining that are currently for sale.We don't ship our birds. Pick up needs to be somewhere between Reedsport, Oregon (north of us) or Coquille or Bandon, Oregon (south of us). We are located in North Bend, near Coos Bay on the South Coast of Oregon, by the Pacific Ocean. We're NOT near Bend, Oregon, which is in Eastern Oregon. People often get confused between North Bend (named because it's at the north bend of Coos Bay) and with Bend, Oregon ... two very different places.

Storm is a Normal Bourke, split to Lutino since his father is a Lutino. His mother is a Rosy. Peaches' parents are both Rosy Bourkes with dark eyes, and they seem to throw one or two Opaline Fallow babies with red eyes in every clutch. Peaches is a light pink, Opaline Fallow with red eyes and some yellow feathers on her wings. So far in two clutches they've had four Rosies, two Normals, two Lutino's and one Rubino. These offspring could be split to Lutino as their father is.

Lutino in front has a bright yellow back.
Rubino is behind her. They're siblings.

Very young Lutino, Rosy and Rubino, all siblings.

Very young Rubino Bourke hen. Rubino's have red eyes
and are rose colored with no black edging anywhere.

These Lovelies are for sale.

 
If you are able to travel to our beautiful coast, we can describe fascinating places to visit, such as world famous Shore Acres State Park, for instance. Many nice places to stay in Coos Bay or North Bend as well. Many hotels or motels, plus our favorite Bed & Breakfast:  http://www.coosbaymanor.com/

Write to rosie.birds@gmail.com with questions, or for more information.

Here is the link we promised to our video on You Tube of four baby Bourkes currently for sale as of February 20, 2016.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQDyNoD0PU  Or view below:

 



 

Peace & Blessings!

Bourke Parakeet Babies, Four Different Colors in Same Clutch

Had a request for updated photos of our recent baby Bourkes. We were preparing for my husband's surgery last Monday, hours away from home. Everything is going fine, but he will have at least six weeks before adequately recovering. Being a caregiver takes time and energy away from other endeavors.

The Lutino hen before her feathers were all in.

Sweet little Rubino, my favorite actually.

It's been quiet among most of the birds. Only one pair is currently producing. All others are on vacation until next year. Peaches and Stormy had their very first clutch later than everyone else.

Rubino in front, a Normal, Lutino and Rosy.

This beautiful mixed clutch is a thrill to get. Stormy is a Normal Bourke male who is split. His father is a Lutino and his mother is a Rosy. A grandparent must be a Normal, since he is. Peaches is out of our Rosie and Pretty Boy, both are Rosy Bourkes. Peaches, the mother of this clutch, is an opaline fallow with red eyes.

We're getting feathers here and very alert.

Only one young pair, Peaches and Stormy, have a nest box. All others had their three clutches in Spring and Summer, so will wait until next year.

We're growing up! Dad at door, Mom in center.

Mom in center, standing. Only 3 babies showing, but there are 4.

Here we are at six weeks, fledged and weaned already.
Rubino in front, Lutino and Normal. Rosy below.
Photo taken October 24, 2015.


PEACE & BLESSINGS TO ALL!

 

ROSY BOURKE PARAKEETS, SOME NEWLY HATCHED BEING FED

Hand Feeding Baby Rosy Bourke Parakeets, and a Link to Video with Tips & Tricks

Hand feed, or allow parents to feed?

Four newly hatched Rosy Bourke Parakeets.
Best to wait and allow the parents to feed them
until the young are about two weeks of age.

These two hand fed birds are learning to eat on their own.
Offer lots of choices for them, especially spray millet.

Bourke Parakeets are easier than most birds to hand tame while young. Even those left in a cage all the time will become quite friendly, coming up to the cage bars when you talk to them.

If you can hand feed your baby birds, however, they will become remarkable pets, sweeter and more affectionate than those that are hand tamed. It is labor intensive and requires a great deal of care.

Click below for Video on You Tube of me hand feeding Rosy Bourke babies:  

HAND FEEDING VIDEO - TIPS AND TRICKS

Two hand fed baby Rosy Bourke Parakeets.

Mother Rosy Bourke in nest box with her youngsters.

Four Baby Rosy Bourkes being parent fed.



Rosy Bourke Fosters Another's Baby At 18 Days of Age

So many things to post about and so little time. 

There really are five baby Bourkes in this photo.
Red-eyed baby is laying in front of the two in back.

Our Rosy Bourke, called Rosie, is the sweetest of birds. She and Fuchsia were both on their 3rd clutch of the year and I didn't want them to begin laying more eggs even before their current clutch had fledged ... just knew they would. To prevent that, I removed their youngsters to hand feed and took the nest boxes off their cages.

 

I'd been hand feeding their babies for a day and a half when the unexpected happened. It looked like my husband was having a stroke and I called 911 for an ambulance. Fortunately, it wasn't a stroke, it's Bel's Palsy, which most people recover from in a few weeks ... thank you, Lord.

 

However, Wednesday morning proved very chaotic. I had to follow to the hospital. What to do with the hand fed babies!? It seemed highly possible that they might fly my husband to a larger city than our rural community. Even if they didn't, under no circumstances would I get home in time to keep feeding the baby Bourkes. We live a half hour drive one-way to the hospital as it is. I wouldn't leave him and commute back and forth while he was in danger.

 

As they loaded him into the ambulance he asked if I'd be following. "As soon as I can," I said. Then raced around the house making sure the dog and cat had plenty of extra food and water. Fortunately, I'd already freshened all the birds' waters, but I added extra water bottles to all the cages and gave them all two sprays of millet (that was fastest).

 

Still, what about the babies?

Hand feeding baby birds, I change their box each time
they're fed. Throw out the paper towel liner, and allow
pine shavings under them to dry from droppings that
soak through the towels. A clean box at each feeding.

Fuchsia's nest box uses plastic cables to attach it to her cage and my husband puts it up while I hold the box ... not a quick fix.

 

I decided to trust my sweetest bird, Rosie. Her box has two hooks that allow it to quickly hang from the side, easy to install. I sliced through half the duct tape covering the hole where her nest box had hung and folded it back like a door. Then put the box back on. It hadn't been cleaned yet, but that wasn't much of an issue.

 

The real issue was, will they re-accept their young after almost two days absence? And, more worrisome, Will Rosie and Pretty Boy accept a foster baby that is already 18 days old? Not even a newly hatched chick?  Not only do they need to feed it, they need to not "savage" it as an intruder in their nest ... a potential risk.

 

Yet, it appeared to be my best option and I put all five babies into Rosie's nest box.

 

No one was home at our house from early Wednesday morning until late Wednesday evening after my husband was released from the hospital. I immediately checked the babies. All five were stuffed full and contented. 

 

What a wonderful bird is Rosie, our Rosy Bourke hen!  And, what a grateful diagnosis for my husband. He may be very uncomfortable for several weeks, but it isn't life threatening. God is good.

 

I still want to post photos of the two pretty baby Linnies we've had for two weeks now ... that post is coming up next, I hope. If things will only slow down a bit, smile. 

Peace & Blessings.

 

Flame & Fuchsia's Babies on Video

Flame and Fuchsia are parents of three baby Rosy Bourke Parakeets. They're less than two weeks old in this video taken July 3, 2014.

Peace & Blessings to all.

Have a SAFE, Celebratory Fourth of July.

Bourke Parakeet Video of Newly Hatched Baby

Rhett and Cherry had fertile eggs, much to my surprise. They are quite elderly by Bourke standards, both over ten years. This first hatchling appeared to be dead in the nest, so I took its cold body out and noticed movement of its beak. My hands were cold, so I held it against my warm midriff and soon felt it begin to wiggle. I quickly prepared Exact Hand Feeding formula and fed him. He gulped down the food.

 

 

 

I returned him to Cherry, tucking him under her. I was hopeful she'd accept him back and had only accidentally let him slip away from her. She's been a good mother in the past.

 

I checked her before going to bed and didn't see him, so believed he was still under her, warm and safe. Next morning, however, he was in a far corner and this time he had died. Why did she reject him? I don't know. Would he have survived if I hand fed him? Well, he did have a partial black area on his stomach. Babies with black stomachs typically don't survive because there is some internal problem. This is true for finches, as well as Bourkes, and possibly for all birds. His was not ALL black, but did have that one area... Could that be why she rejected him? As an experienced mother, did she believe he couldn't survive?

 

Because of this chick's death, when Cherry left the nest momentarily, I checked her eggs. Three were not going to hatch, but one was piping (tapping and peeping). It would soon hatch. Would she reject that chick also? Was she tired and unwilling to keep raising her young...only willing to brood the eggs?

 

My sudden decision was to remove the viable egg and give it to Fuchsia who has a very good partner and has successfully raised nearly all her young.

 

 

 

The same day, Fuchsia hatched the egg and has been feeding the baby for several days now. It has dark eyes. Maybe Cherry would have done okay with it, and I felt sorry for her, but knew  Fuchsia would care for it and she has.

 

After a few days, Cherry gave up on the other three eggs in her nest, realizing they were not going to hatch.

 

Meanwhile, Fuchsia still has eggs due to hatch soon and so does Rosie.

Peace & Blessings.



Recognizing Young Bourke Parakeets

The photo below is of a mother Bourke and her two young. It was sent to us by Melissa K. Upon first glance, I wondered which was the mother. Then it became obvious. Look at the length of their tails. Young Bourke tails are shorter than their parents'. Although it won't be long before they reach the same length.

Three beautiful Bourkes. Mother in front is a Normal. She hatched
 both a Normal and a Rosy baby. Photo by reader, Melissa K.

I've posted before about how to identify young Budgerigar parakeets, but haven't said anything about young Bourkes. Short tail feathers are an indication, but that doesn't last long. Chances are, by the time you see one for sale, its tail will already be as long as any mature Bourke.

 

The color of a Budgie's cere (nose) stays light much longer. I've posted about Budgie cere color changes already, but a Bourke's cere does not indicate age or sex like a Budgie's will. 

 

In a mature Normal Bourke, a tiny line of blue feathers over the cere indicates the sex is male, but this isn't likely to be present on a Rosy Bourke. It also isn't present in very young Normal Bourkes.

Some of my hand fed young Opaline Pink or Rosy Bourkes.

 

I'm still trying to get movies from my new Christmas camera downloaded to the computer in such a way that they can be uploaded onto this site. Upgrading computer, etc. Coming soon (I hope) illustrative videos of our sweet birds.

Peace and Blessings.

 

 

Handfeeding Question & Answer

Janice writes:  "I am raising some rosys also. My hen is on her 2nd clutch of the year. The 1st egg hatched April 1, the second on April 3rd, and the 3rd egg on April 8th. All were fine this morning. The parents were in and out eating and I assumed feeding all babies. Well I checked in the box around 8:30p and 1 baby was dead, and the smallest one is near death. The largest is fat and happy. I hand fed the smallest by 8:45p, and it ate well. It is so tiny, it must be the chick that hatched yesterday. I only put small drops of formula on its beak and watched as it drank it down, the drop was low, I added another until I saw the the crop was full, or nearly full. The chick stopped so I did also. I returned it back to its mother. I will check it again in 2 hours."

The first bird I ever hand fed. Spicy is a male Normal
Bourke whose mother hatched four babies, but would
only feed two. I lost one before realizing the problem,
and rescued him. He's several years old now.  When older,
his parents raised clutches of four without any problem.

Janice, it sounds like you are doing the best you can with the baby. Be sure to feed him all that you can stuff into him, and every two hours for a newly hatched baby. Follow directions on the box as it will be a warm, thin formula at first, and later need to be thickened up.

I wonder how your birds did with their first clutch...? They sound like they could be young birds and will do a better job of raising more of their young next year. Or, the babies could have a genetic problem and aren't meant to survive. The fact that they hatched though, means that they were strong to begin with.

I've rescued many babies by hand feeding them when their parents weren't able, or willing, to do so. That said, I have one bird that's a year old and still cannot entirely feed itself. He's like a concentration camp survivor who is alive, but not thriving. I feed him one or two times a day with a handfeeding formula and give him nestling food, which he seems to be able to eat some of. However, for whatever reason, he cannot hull seeds like other birds. When he wasn't thriving in the nest, I took him out and started hand feeding. If I had not done that, he would have died. Yet, perhaps he should have... He is a sweet, very tame little bird, but having to hand feed him for years to come does not appeal to me.

I don't want to frighten you though...most of the babies I've hand fed have grown into perfectly normal, healthy adults and they were all well worth the trouble.

Watch your babies to be sure the parents are keeping them warm. If they've rejected feeding them, they might (or might not) refuse to keep them warm too. Baby birds can expire from being cold even quicker than not being fed. When I've removed babies from the nest, I keep them in a box with pine shavings and a paper towel that I can throw away when soiled. I have a small electric oil heater that I place near the box to keep the temperature very warm. It's helpful to have more than one baby in the box to keep each other warm. You might want to hand feed BOTH babies so that they are very tame once grown, and to keep each other healthy and warm as they grow. That's my suggestion...if you hand feed one, do the whole clutch.

Best of luck. May your baby Rosy Bourkes thrive.

Question and Answer on Handfeeding Young Bourkes

Back & forth feeding is efficient.
They share a mother's beak, so why not?

Shawn asked a question today about feeding baby Bourkes who have fledged, but were still being parent fed when their father unexpectedly died. Their mother hasn't been doing enough, and the question is "how do you take over feeding when the youngsters aren't used to hand feeding?"

Here's my answer:

Shawn, I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

When baby Bourkes are used to being hand fed you can get away with three or four times a day for fully feathered birds (more often for younger ones). However, since yours aren't used to it, I'd offer them food more often for the first few days. Feed them as long as they'll let you. When they shake their heads and scatter Exact Handfeeding Formula on you, that usually means they're full. 

A clutch of three healthy baby Bourke Parakeets.

Meanwhile, offer them easy things to eat. If you can, buy nestling food. I get mine online from PetSolutions, however, it probably won't reach you fast enough. Millet spray is also easy for babies to start eating. My birds love cooked corn and perhaps your youngsters will try to eat it. Petite peas, cooked carrots, fresh greens that are cut up, like spinach, kale, etc. Anything to entice them to eat something on their own.

Be sure to talk softly too them when you try to hand feed them and be sure the Exact food is warm, but not too hot. Test it on your wrist. If they are hungry they should accept it. You might have to put it into their mouths at first...just a drop at a time to begin with, but they should want it when they taste it. Feed them as much as they're willing to eat. Parent birds stuff their youngsters so full they look like they could burst.

The key to taming them, since they are already feathered, is to handle them a lot and "sweet" talk to them. See my other blogs on taming birds. You may be starting late for hand feeding, but it should work okay. You have a good chance for exceptionally tame, sweet birds. Best of luck!

Here is a link to the post Shawn commented on:   Hand Feeding Answers



Nearly weaned, and eating some on their own.
I kept my favorite bird, Rosie, from this clutch of four and
it was painful to sell the others. They were all very loving.

By the way, although all my adult birds want nest boxes up, I've yet to do so. I limit my birds to two, possibly three, clutches per year and I want to be home during the entire process in case anything goes wrong. Since we may take a trip in a few weeks, and someone else will care for the birds while we're away, I'm going to wait until our return to give the birds their nest boxes. They can still raise two or three clutches this year prior to cool weather.

 

Peace & Blessings.

Bourke & Splendid Parakeet Personalities ... Also Handfeeding Baby Birds

In answer to a comment question on the post “Splendid Bourke Parakeets, or Those Moody Bourkes and Splendids” here is the answer I gave her about feeding baby birds and more. It contains relevant information and many won’t find it tucked away in a comment section, so here it is:

 Newly hatched Bourke parakeet chicks.



Three baby Bourkes being hand fed.

 


After a hand feeding with a full crop...

On Hand Feeding... 


This was for Lauren: Baby chicks should be fed as soon as their crop is empty. If newly hatched, check them every couple of hours. If they are a week old, I'd feed them before going to bed, and set an alarm to get up at least once in the middle of the night to feed them again...maybe at four-hour intervals over night. Once they're feathered you can skip the night feeding and probably feed them three or four times a day. The younger they are the more often they need to be fed. Crops need to be almost empty in order to be sure it moves on through. Parent birds feed the babies until they look like they will explode, so feed them until they look very, very full or refuse to eat more. If you see a bulge over their shoulders from the back, they're probably getting enough. Exact handfeeding formula gives good instructions on density of food by age of your babies. Good Luck.

Lauren said she's losing two babies in clutches of four. Here's my answer:

My Bourke parents when young often reject more than two babies. Sad. However, as they've aged, they've raised up to four, but never five. I've learned to check the babies every morning, afternoon and evening. If they don't appear to have been fed, I pull them to hand feed. Sometimes I've put them back with the parents to keep them warm...they feed the first two and I feed the last two. You asked about temperature for a box or fish tank. If it feels warm to my hand and the babies are warm, it's probably okay. Eggs need to be at 98 degrees, so that's about right for babies. I've not used a thermometer with babies, but trust what I feel with my hand. If the house is 72 degrees, I put a small space heater near their box. When old enough they move toward or away from the warm side of the box. If possible, hand feed more than one baby at a time and they will help keep each other warm.

Ready to be fed ...



Babies are full and these 2 from an earlier clutch enjoy a nibble too.

 Another note: Hens drink a lot of water when laying eggs and raising young. Have extra sources available to be sure they never run out of fresh water. I use a water cup so they can hop into it and take a bath. Since they splash most of the water out, they also have water tubes on the side of their cages.

When feathered & soon able to fly, they go into a cage, but still
want a place to snuggle into. Here a tissue box let's them go in
and out and feel safe, warm and secure, but not free to fly off.

Eggs need a certain amount of moisture, so water tubes alone aren't enough. A hen needs to be able to bathe any time she thinks it's necessary.

Lauren also said she wants to add Splendids. These little clowns are wonderfully active fun birds. HOWEVER, be prepared for a lot more work! They foul their water almost as soon as they get it. I give them extra containers of water, hoping it will stay drinkable for a full day. Still, it begins to get yucky within an hour or two and after 24 hours may smell.

Rudy outside his mate's nest box.

I like to put newspaper in the bottom of my cages to keep them cleaner and can change the paper more often than clean the wire on the cage floor. Splendids make short work of newspaper. They shred it, play with it, put it in their water. They chew more than Bourkes, and sometimes toss small things out of the cage and onto the floor...like fresh vegies, for instance. They are fun, beautiful and take more time and trouble. Bourkes are quieter, cleaner birds... That's why I have so many more Bourkes than Splendids. Smile.

Both varieties are sweet-natured and make wonderful pets.

Precious Pretty Pink Parakeets & Cats ...



Rosy Bourke Baby showing some blue on rump.
Normals have a blue rump. Rosy rumps can have wide variations.

 This little Rosy Bourke Parakeet is ready to leave the nest. In fact, she did, the very next day.



Patches Kitty is more interested in me then the bird.

 Even though Patches is a rescued cat who came to us as an older adult, she immediately learned to "ignore" the birds in spite of the fact that she survived on her own living in the woods and feeding herself, even through a snowy winter. Well-fed now, she has also learned to leave the wild birds alone. A stern, "No!" is all it took to convince her which side her bread is buttered on.



Our birds are part of the family.