Past Questions For Rosie Bird

Questions to Rosie Bird And The Emailed Answers. Some From Last Year, But Topics Are Relevant.

Fuchsia inspecting new nest box as Flame looks on.

QUESTION: What to Feed
Hi. My name is Luis and I just bought my first pair of Bourke parakeets. Can you tell me more about them? What you feed yours.  What type of fruit you feed yours. I read an article and it said no fruit because it not good for them. Is that true?  Honestly I never knew they existed until I found an article on the splendid parakeet. I plan on getting a pair of those eventually but I liked the pink. If you could help me out. Thanks.

Male Splendid Parakeet outside nest box.

ANSWER: I've never read that fruit in general is harmful and have offered apples and oranges to mine, but they ignore them. Avocados are a fruit that is poisonous to them. Avoid avocado!

In addition to parakeet seed and spray millet, they love many vegetables: kale, peas, green beans, corn, lettuce, shredded carrots. They will also chew on breads. Egg food can be made with boiled chicken eggs, blend shell and all, and add some dry bread crumbs, everything blended together. Always have calcium available, usually with cuddle bone, mineral block, oyster shell grit, and as I've mentioned in past posts on my blog, rabbit salt blocks contain iodine which the birds will chew too. It's good for them.

Below is a link to one of my posts about what they can eat. You can also use the search feature and type in "nutrition." Bourkes are wonderful birds.

http://thesplendidbourkebirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/healthy-additions-for-your-birds-diet.html

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QUESTION: When to Toss Out Old Eggs    
My hen’s been sitting on eggs for three weeks already. Will she toss them out of the nest box?? I believe I have a pair. One is all pink and the other one gray with blue and a little pink. I named him pinky.


Fuchsia with five offspring. Never throw out eggs.
Let the mother bird decide when to abandon them.

ANSWER:  Typically, I leave the eggs until the hen abandons them herself. I think that is best for her. Also, there is the possibility that a last laid egg might still be fertile. This year, one of my hens laid five eggs and the last three were fertile, but not the first two. I left those in the nest for quite a while before removing them. And, when I did, I candled them (held a bright light next to them to be sure they were clear).

If you remove the eggs before she abandons them, the hen may not trust you with her next clutch and be more afraid when you look into her box. Also, if the eggs don't hatch and she knows they weren't "stolen" maybe she will realize herself why they didn't hatch and make sure the next clutch is fertile.  You have a better chance of having good eggs the second time if you don’t remove the first “bad” clutch.

Are you sure she has a male for a mate? Two hens will lay eggs without a male. Sometimes both lay eggs so there are too many in the nest and that's an indication.  However, with Normal Bourkes you can identify males easily. They have a tiny line of blue feathers about the cere (nose). The one you described sounds like a Normal.

Did your male display? Throw his shoulders back, stand tall and flare his wings out for the hen? If not, you might have two hens. Or, perhaps one or both birds are too young and that's why the eggs aren't fertile. If that's the case, future clutches should turn out better. 

Best of luck next time around. Bourke hens go right back and lay a 2nd clutch...another reason to let her decide when to abandon this one.
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A pair of Normal (wild colored) Bourke Parakeets.

QUESTION: Male Bourke Aggression & About Harvesting Weeds

My male Bourke got really upset when the hen got out of the box one time and started picking her feathers until she went back in. And he stands guard.  I’m pretty sure her eggs aren’t any good.

Also, do you know what weeds we can give them???

ANSWER:  Some bird breeders talk about harvesting weeds for the birds...newly sprouted are best. But, I've never done that. No one has ever pointed out to me what is safe and what isn't, so I don't do it. I give Kale and broccoli, cooked corn, carrots, peas ... I know there are wild things available, but I don't harvest them. For one thing, my indoor birds are protected from any illnesses that might be carried by wild birds.

Bourke hens don't usually toss their old or infertile eggs. They just quit going in the box. If he's harassing her, that doesn't sound good. Usually the hens are dominant. Does he have a tiny strip of blue over his nostrils (cere)? Normals have this, but Rosies do not. As I said, it sounds odd that he "makes" her stay in the box. That's not typical male Bourke behavior. They are usually hen-pecked by their mates.

If removing the eggs will make him quit it, then I'd remove them. But, check for that blue line of feathers ... it's tiny. If it's not there, maybe the reason the bird is aggressive is that it's actually another hen. If you have two hens, they can pair up when a male isn't available. Although, I'd expect both to go in and lay eggs in the same box.  Better luck next time.


Two Opaline Fallow Rosy Bourkes with red eyes.

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QUESTION: How to Follow Blog

Hi, I’m becoming interested in the Bourkes!  I have 4 pair (3 rosies and 1 rainbow?).  I have one lone normal female, for whom I am seeking a male.  I like them because they are so quiet and gentle (seemingly?).  Don't know how to "join" your blog or if you are continuing with it, etc.

Thanks for the information that I read earlier.

 ANSWER:  Hello Jimmy, My blog has three columns; hopefully you can see all three. I moved the sign-ups toward the top of the first column. Enter your email address and push "Submit." Then you should get an email notice every time I post. The blog is still active. I don't post as often as I used to (or want to) because I've written a novel and am trying to get through the edits so that it can reach publication.

Believe me, blogging is a lot more fun and I feel guilty not spending more time editing the novel. The publisher, Cape Arago Press, is after me to hurry it up.

Good luck finding a mate for your normal Bourke hen. Too bad you don't live in Oregon. Smile.

One more thought. If you push the HOME button on the upper left, it will return you to the last post that went up. It sounds like your search took you somewhere else. Or, click here:
 http://thesplendidbourkebirdblog.blogspot.com/

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QUESTION: Unexplained Sudden Death of a Parent Bird
Hi I have two Bourke parakeets that have four young hatchlings. Yesterday I got home to find my male, only 1.5 years old, dead on the bottom of the cage. He was very healthy, eating good, singing, flying around. I have no idea what could have caused this and am now concerned about the babies. Do you think my female will be able to feed them enough by herself? Or do you have any suggestions as to what could have caused this and what I should do?  Thanks, Laura



Hand feeding Rosy Bourkes at approx. 3 weeks of age.

ANSWER:  Hello Laura, First, get some hand feeding formula immediately and watch the babies closely to see if their crops are full. You may have to hand feed to keep them alive. I had one hen whose mate didn't help her feed (he was younger than she). She refused to feed two of the four babies. One died before I realized it and I had to hand feed the fourth, youngest baby.

That was Spicy, the first bird I ever hand fed. She accepted him back into the nest and he stayed warm with his remaining two siblings, but she would not feed him.

I use Exact Hand Feeding formula, but get some immediately and have it ready. The directions are on the package. You can put the babies back in the nest and hopefully she will keep them warm and feed them. They will also help keep one another warm. If she appears to have abandoned them, you may need to provide warmth and food.
Sorry about your male.

ANOTHER QUESTION FROM LAURA:
I actually have some on hand [hand feeding formula] just in case, although I have never hand fed a baby. Right now the babies are 1-1.5 weeks. How often do you think I should supplement feed?

ANSWER: How Often to Hand Feed and Loss of a Parent
I hope you got the earlier email about being ready to hand feed. In fact, if it were me, I might pull the babies anyway...yet, they might be a comfort to your hen. Or, she may be so depressed she will abandon them. In any case, it's very sad.

If they’re only a week old, I’d recommend five feedings during the day and one in the middle of the night. At two weeks, continue with five feedings and stop the one at night. By three weeks, you can go to four feedings, and then three, etc. When they have feathers, offer nestling food and parakeet (budgie) seed. Chopped fresh broccoli is good for them too, as well as spray millet. You want to have foods ready for them to “try” to eat. Even once they’ve begun to eat a bit on their own, you still need to supplementally hand feed until they quit asking to be fed.  However, they may continue “begging” longer than necessary. The birds all like hand feeding formula. 

Hand feeding Rosy Bourkes at about 2 weeks of age.
Tame parents are keeping a close watch on the event.

Feeding babies is physically stressful for parent birds. If your male wasn't strong for whatever reason, then the added stress of feeding his mate and starving himself may have had something to do with it. I hope you are giving them egg food. It's easy to make and extremely good for feeding parents (see recent post). I also give nestling food that is higher in energy than just seed (they also always have budgie seed). They get cut up fresh kale and/or broccoli. They get cooked mixed veggies too...corn, peas, carrots, green beans. They can survive on just seed, but not as well. Especially if there is anything else going on.

I keep an excess of food in their cages all the time. If they run out, the male is likely to be the first to feel the loss as he feeds as much as he can to his mate. They also consume a lot of water when feeding babies. I give them fresh, cold water at least twice a day when they're raising young. They need water present all the time, so I have two cups and a bottle of water on the side of the cage as well.

About your male...It's impossible to know what he died of if there are no outward signs of injury. An avian vet can do an autopsy if you want them to. I took a 3-year-old hen to a vet who shipped her body to an avian vet about a four-hour drive away. She only took birds from other vets...wouldn't do it any other way.

The result was that this 3-year-old hen was obese. She'd never mated or laid an egg. I'd fed her and the other birds lots of corn, which they love, and safflower seeds, which they also loved. After that diagnosis that the fat on her organs had killed her, I quit giving safflower to my birds and cut way down on the corn...they are both high in fat. A parenting bird uses more fat, but she'd never been a parent or even laid an egg.

 

I'm very sorry for your loss. It couldn't have come at a worse time with babies in the nest. However, do everything you can to supplement the food for your hen. She's going to be more physically stressed then ever if she attempts to continue to keep her babies going. Also, in the past she's had food that he already ate, so it was thinner than what she's going to have to process herself.

I highly recommend helping her with lots of extra good food. Is she tame? If so, that's a plus because it will make it easier. If she's not, then I'd be tempted to pull the babies and begin hand feeding. Of course their age is a factor too. If they are small they will accept the hand feeding easier than if they are already feathering. And, if they are bigger, she has to feed them more food, so that's harder on her. I tend to hope they are still small... If so, consider pulling them to hand feed. They will be very tame and sweet afterwards, and their survival is more likely.

Best of luck. Don't hesitate to write with any further questions.

ADDITIONAL ANSWER:  So your babies are tiny. That's probably a good thing. Have you checked their crops? The widowed mother bird might gradually begin to feed them less and less (or not). I'd keep a close watch on them. If she's doing great right now and for the next few days, it doesn't necessarily mean she always will.

So, I'd let her feed them for another few days (if she does, keep checking). Then at 2 weeks, I'd pull them out and begin feeding with an eyedropper. Follow your directions and make sure the food isn't too hot. I test it like a baby's bottle on my wrist to be sure it's not too hot.

Parent fed baby Bourke.
 Look how they stuff them soooo full!

Manufacturers recommend a thermometer, but I'm lazy and my wrist is easier. Keeping the food warm is an issue. You need a tiny bowl, it cools fast, so when it does I sit it in another larger bowl with boiling water to help keep it warm...first you let it cool to very warm, then you try to warm it up...a problem, but do-able.

As the babies mature, they can take cooler formula...say when their feathers are almost full.  I always have extra left over...don't reuse it. Mix it fresh every time.

I think I'd allow them to remain in the nest box and see if she goes in with them. She may continue to feed them, but your helping will be a great boost. Or, if you prefer, you can remove them to a box, but you have to keep them warm. If she totally abandons them (I doubt she will, Bourkes are sweet, good birds)...but, if she does, move them to a box or something where you can add extra heat to keep them warm. I put them near a small space heater; they're in a cardboard box with pine shavings in the bottom...the top closes tightly.

At their age, I think you can avoid feeding in the middle of the night. But for the first few times I'd look at their crops. If they are empty, feed them! If they are almost empty, feed them. The books say let them get totally empty...I don't do that. I think it's more risky. If you watch the parents they gorge their babies until they look like they'll pop. So, I feed them all that I can.

When I was new to hand feeding I let myself get stressed over any air in a baby bird’s crop. Be sure you have no air bubbles in your feeding tube or eye dropper. But, if you see a little air in the crop, I've never lost one because of it and have seen it with parent fed babies too.  Some books say this is deadly, but it doesn't appear to be...at least not for Bourkes. 

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Splendid hen above, male below.

QUESTION: On Sexing Splendid Parakeets

I just read one of your posts on sexing Splendid parakeets and it mentioned a white bar on the underside of the wing for females. Is that something that comes in later or should it be there on a 4-month old female? The one I just purchased does not have a white band under either wing. Just curious.

ANSWER:  They usually get this banding very early. I had one baby that had broken white bars. I thought it would be female, but the white bars eventually faded into black and it was male. Solid bars indicate a female... Broken bars can be either one. All black under the wing is male.

Or, sometimes Turquoisines are mistaken for Splendids. You either have a male Splendid parakeet or a female Turquoisine parakeet.

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QUESTION:  Best Age to Hand Feed

Hello I’m trying this time around to hand raise my baby rosa Bourke parrot. When is the right time to start doing this?

ANSWER:  I'd start feeding at two to three weeks, but no later. Two and a half weeks might be optimum. You can start even earlier if you’re comfortable doing so. Once they've started to feather they are harder to get to accept hand feeding instead of their parents’ food. Be sure to keep the baby warm and away from drafts.

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QUESTION: On Splayed Legs

Baby Splendid with splayed legs.
They're splinted together here.

Thanks so much for the information. I have another problem. One of the babies in the nest has legs that stick out the front near its beak. Is there any way I can fix its legs or will it need to go to heaven, or is that normal?

I have only had the birds a short time and when they came to me they were very skinny and I didn’t expect them to lay.  I wormed them and kept them on a vitamin liquid. Could the cause of it be that they were very skinny?

ANSWER: Birds with splay legs usually develop it from sitting in the nest incorrectly. Do you have pine shavings or something similar in the bottom of the nest box? If you notice a baby while young enough you can attempt to move the legs to their proper location. I'd like to see a photo of the defect if that's possible.
 I have some posts about splay legs. Here is one:

 http://thesplendidbourkebirdblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/parakeet-leg-defect.html

The baby in that post only had one leg extended incorrectly and my attempts to fix it were probably started too late, or I didn't leave the splints on long enough. At any rate, I gave her away to a teenage girl who has had her for a year. I recently got an email from her saying how much she loves the bird. It flies just fine and can roost on one leg. Birds are amazingly adaptive.

Another reader had a young Splendid whose legs splayed out from side to side. She tied the baby's legs together early on and hand fed the bird. Its legs went back to normal by the time it was weaned. In that case, both legs were splayed. My Bourke only had one leg splayed and when I tied it to the other leg, it pulled the good leg off to the side and I was afraid I might cause an injury to it. Better one bad leg, then two. That's when I added a match stick between them, but the bad leg still pulled the other out of alignment. Wasn't sure what I should do and removed the splint. The bird still has its splayed leg. But, the Splendid with two legs held slightly apart, but prevented from splaying, recovered normally.

My attempt to correct a splayed leg. They're splinted.

Before you decide to put your bird down, or as you said, send it to heaven, wait and see how well it survives. It could be that it will move around in spite of the deformity. It might make someone a nice single pet even if it requires more consideration than most birds.

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QUESTION: Making a Nest Box For Mealy Amazons

I was browsing and looking for how to make a nesting box for my mealy amazon pair and ended up on your blog site. I was wondering if you could help me how to make nesting box for them?  Emil from Iceland


Mealy Amazon Parrot from Google
Images. Attributed to rightpet.com

ANSWER:  Hello Emil, I didn't answer right away because I wasn't sure about mealy amazons, and have since done some research. Since mealy amazons lay in hollow trees, a wooden nest box should work well, just as it does for my parakeets. However, it has to be larger, of course. Because they like to chew and will probably knaw on the nest box opening, a thicker wood is probably called for.
I found a recommended nest box size at the following website:
 http://animalworld.com/encyclo/birds/amazons/mealyamazon.php#Breeding/Reproduction

Here is their recommendation: Mealy Amazons require a nest box "that is 31"-39" (80-100 cm) high with an inside diameter of 12"-14" (30-35 cm) and an opening of 4"-5" (10-12 cm). Provide some soft bedding material inside on the bottom of the box."

Have you looked at the tab at the top of my blog that gives directions for making a parakeet nest box? You could use the same instructions, but make the dimensions bigger as indicated above. I put pine shavings in the bottom of our boxes. They're available for hamster cages and other small rodent cages, but work perfectly for lining Bourke parakeet boxes. I put in about an inch, but with the amazons it would need to be deeper...possibly three inches or more.

Best of Luck Everyone … With All Your Breeding Endeavors!

 

Young Rosy Bourkes, recently fledged and weaned.

Splendid Scarlet-chested Parakeets and Determined Bourke Parakeets

Two pairs of Splendids are on friendly terms sharing a large common cage.
However, when nest boxes are introduced, that could change.



Cherry when nest box is first opened.
Notice relaxed tail.

Cherry after taking a photo with the flash.
Tail is spread wide, making herself appear larger.

Cherry, a Rosy Bourke hen, has four eggs that aren't going to hatch. Yet, she refuses to give up on them even after setting twice as long as it takes for eggs to hatch (18-21 days for Bourke eggs). I could take them away, but would hate for her to be angry with me.

Her previous clutch was also infertile, but I gave her an egg from one of her daughters who had laid it on the floor of her cage. That egg was laid about ten days later than any of Cherry's, but she stayed on it and hatched it. She raised the lone chick. She's been on these current eggs even longer, perhaps hoping beyond hope that one may just be late like last time.

This is Rhett, Cherry's mate. He's my eldest bird.

Cherry's mate, Rhett, was my very first Rosy Bourke. His mate, Scarlett, has since passed away, as did Cherry's first mate, Bing (he was quite a singer). Rhett and Cherry never did much with their first mates, but together they've raised more birds than I've kept count of.  As older birds, their productive years are behind them though.  Nevertheless, if Cherry continues to want to brood there may be other opportunities for her to foster eggs. For instance, one of the eggs she's sheltering is from a Splendid. I had hoped it would be fertile, but such was not the case. If it had been, Cherry would have raised it like one of her own.

Budgerigars also make good foster parents for any of the small varieties of parakeet. Timing is important, so my nest boxes all go back up on the cages on the same day. The hens may not all lay at the same time, but it stimulates them and they will overlap one another, making fostering (when necessary) a possibility. This way, I've been able to save many eggs from young mothers unwilling to set, or hens who suffered egg binding and recovered, but weren't up to caring for their clutch after that. Putting fertile eggs under other hens is highly successful. I usually pick an experienced hen, and/or one with only three or four eggs.

Jewel & Rainbow, Scarlet-chested parakeets.

Recently sold Rosy Bourke youngsters.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

UPDATE A FEW DAYS LATER:  Cherry finally gave up. She actually had five eggs, don't know why I thought only four. Two of the eggs were actually fertile. Sad that they didn't hatch. I'm thinking that maybe I need to add Vitamin D since they are never outside, and windows filter sunlight. They have iodine and calcium available. It surprised me that this aging pair is still able to produce fertile eggs...good for them! However, could her age have anything to do with the eggs not hatching? She always kept them warm and babies were fully developed. Some kind of genetic defect from older eggs, maybe?

FOSTERING EGGS & THEIR VIABILITY

If you have one or more fertile eggs that a hen cannot, or will not, take care of, you should try to foster them with another hen. The ideal situation is to have other hens with eggs that were laid about the same time. You can usually transfer an egg or two to a setting (or brooding) hen without too much trouble. If you don’t have a hen available, you can always try incubation as a last resort, but that’s another story.

Here’s how to check to see if an egg is good. Warning: always handle the eggs gently, as there may be a viable chick inside. Fill a cup with warm water – not hot, but comfortably warm when you place a finger in it. Check one egg at a time by carefully putting them into the water. (I use a half-full one-cup clear glass measuring cup.) If the egg floats that indicates it has started to dry out, meaning it’s old and no good. If the egg sinks, it’s fresh and has a chance of hatching providing it’s fertile.

Determining Fertility. A few days after an egg is laid there should be red vessels visible through the egg. Hold the egg over a flashlight and peer through it. If there are red vessels, then the egg is fertile. If, after a few days the egg is still clear, then it isn’t fertile. But, remember it takes approximately three days for vessels to appear. All eggs appear clear at first. I always wait at least a week before ruling that an egg isn’t fertile. Sometimes, too, I simply leave the eggs with the hen until she decides to abandon them herself.

The photos show an egg directly on a flashlight and one balanced atop a toilet paper roll with duct tape over the top. A hole is cut in the center of the tape to craddle the egg and allow light to shine through it.

NOTE:  If you have one or more babies hatch, leave all remaining eggs that didn't hatch in the nest. They help keep new chicks warm.

I’ve fostered eggs, and once even a chick. Here are my stories:

My first pair, Rhett & Scarlett, were happy together. However, of the eggs Scarlett laid, only one was ever fertile. She managed to raise a hen, Bonnie. Later, another older hen passed away with four eggs in the nest. I floated them and one sank. Scarlett successfully fostered that egg and raised the baby.

I had another hen that typically hatched four eggs, but often wouldn’t feed all of them. When her eggs began to hatch, I monitored the babies closely. As soon as it became apparent that she wouldn’t feed the last baby, I placed the new chick under Scarlett. Fortunately, she had infertile eggs that were due to hatch which I hadn’t removed. Scarlett examined the chick, but didn’t appear to harm it. Fostering chicks is very risky. Keep an eye on the situation, other hens might kill a chick that isn’t theirs. If you can, hand feeding it is safer. However, although unusual, Scarlett accepted the newly hatched chick and raised it to adulthood.

I’ve read that most hens will accept another bird’s eggs if added to their own, but never chicks. Scarlett was probably unique in that regard, but she also had a very sweet nature and that’s why I thought she might accept the chick. If I hadn’t been working full-time, I would have handfed that baby, but was unable to do so then. Scarlett and Rhett successfully raised that adopted baby.

Currently, one of my hens, Cherry, is sitting on five eggs … well, not really … she has two eggs and three babies. She had three eggs when I gave her an extra egg from a young hen who laid it on the floor of her cage. That young hen had been mating, so I believed the egg to be fertile. I could have put it in the young hen’s box, but, believing it had a better chance with Cherry, I chose to give it to her because she and her mate are excellent parents. Cherry later laid another egg, giving her five. The fostered egg hasn’t hatched so far, but I’m still hopeful.

Fostering eggs and babies is never an exact science. The young hen mentioned above has since laid three eggs in her nestbox and is sitting on them. So, in retrospect, maybe putting it in her box would have been okay.

This is Cherry’s third brood of the year and the young hen’s first. I will close Cherry’s nestbox off once her babies are fledged. Three clutches a year is enough for any bird. Too many weakens them too much and you may lose them.

I’ve been told that Budgerigar parakeets (budgies) make very good foster parents for the more expensive parakeet varieties. This is true, and I once even acquired two pairs for this purpose. They did a good job rearing young, but my birds are indoors and four budgies were extremely noisy. I gave one pair away and, when the noise level remained high, eventually divested myself of the other pair too. I’ve grown used to the soft, lilting songs of the Bourkes and Splendids. Also, I have enough pairs now that foster parents are usually available. I try to open all the nestboxes at the same time of the year. An available nestbox stimulates mating and rearing young. If all the boxes are available at the same time, most pairs will raise their young in approximately the same time period too. This helps if fostering becomes necessary.

Peace & Blessings.