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.

Bjarne's Birds: Photos of Bourkes, Splendids & Turquoisines in Color Morph's

I had six tame Rosy Bourkes and one male Splendid out for free flying today. About an hour later, all the Bourkes went back to their cages on my finger without any problem. Got no arguement from them.

The handfed Splendid, however, refused to go home. Eventually, I got out a net and caught him with it. He didn't seem to mind... He knew he was supposed to go home, and must have figured he deserved to be caught in a net. I rarely use a net, but he just would not go back in his cage.

Found this site full of fascinating color changes in both Bourkes and Splendids.

I don't think you can breed a prettier bird than a male Splendid parakeet in his natural state. However, Bjarne's photos of birds he's bred for different colors are all very interesting.  I once thought I might like to try and breed a solid black budgerigar, however, if it takes 22 aviaries like Bjarne has for his parakeets, I'm not up to it. Smile.

Hope you enjoy his photos. 

Bjarne's Birds ... Interesting Bourke & Splendid color changes

Bathing Bourke Parakeets. David and Bathsheba?

Morning bath time ...  My husband arrived in the kitchen this morning at an opportune time to snap these photos.  Rosie and Pastel are two handfed youngsters we decided to keep. They enjoy bathing in the sink. There were three birds bathing, but Flame finished before my husband arrived, and decided to stay on my shoulder to watch the other two.

Thinking about it.

We have a Splendid who used to do this, but I've learned from experience that you need to continue to give your tame birds lots of attention. If you ignore them for too long, they become less tame. He no longer trusts me enough to bath in the sink on my hand. So, these birds usually come outside their cages about once a day, most often in the morning - our favorite time together.

If you do, I will.

How does it feel?



How's this pose? Happy now!




Ahh...just the way I like it. Nice of them to install
this sink in the island bar just for us!




The others don't know what they're missing!



Personality Differences in Bourkes, Splendids and Budgies

As I played with my tame young Bourkes this morning, it struck me how different they are from other varieties of parakeet. I held a baby Bourke out for my husband to see and he instinctively reached over to pet it on the head.

“They don’t like that,” I said.

“Yes, I’ve noticed. They’re very different from the budgies, aren’t they?” he replied.

It’s true, Bourkes and Splendids are approximately the size of the common Budgerigar parakeet, but their personalities differ widely. Budgies and cockatiels like to have their heads scratched. Bourkes do not.

BOURKES: Although they sing, Bourkes are typically quieter than a budgie and less active during the day. They are happiest, most active and sing more often at dawn and dusk, napping a lot throughout the day, especially in the afternoon.

As pets, some Bourkes will nibble at you, offering kisses. They like to ride around on an owner and can be trained to prefer a shoulder to the top of your head. Some will even come to you when called, and bathe in a stream of water running into your hand. But, they are less likely to do either than a budgie. As a rule, they are more reserved and careful. A positive in their favor is that they don’t chew on everything in sight like a budgie will. If you line their cages with paper, some will chew on it and others won’t. However, those who chew it do so a lot less enthusiastically than other varieties of parakeet (so they’re less messy). I’ve read, but can’t confirm, that in a planted aviary, Bourkes leave the plants alone. Mine love greens such as lettuce and kale, so I keep house plants away from their cages to be safe.

SPLENDIDS: I’ve called these little birds clowns in the past and I still think of them that way. Not only are they brightly colored like clowns, they act the part. Splendids love toys and bright objects, especially mirrors. In the wild they feed on the ground and will spend a lot of time on the bottom of a cage or aviary floor. As for lining their cages with paper … expect it to be shredded regularly. They like to chew. And bathing is a must for them. They like taking baths and, unlike Bourkes, tame birds will easily bathe in your hand if you encourage it. Water is their element and water cups will quickly be filled with anything they can find to put in it. Hence, their water needs to be changed more often than any other bird species I’ve ever owned. They make soup of their water, placing veggies, paper, seed shells, whatever they can into it.

Splendids are more active than other parakeets. They do a lot of pacing when in their cage and probably are happiest in an aviary or, when tame, being allowed to fly about the room. Individual birds can be very interactive with their owners. However, if not tame, they tend toward being easily frightened. I keep a night light on in the room with Splendids after dark to protect them from crashing into the sides of their cages if something suddenly scares them.

BUDGERIGARS: Active and intelligent, the only drawback to a tame budgie is that they chew and can be noisy. Otherwise, they’re confident little guys who make great pets and are very interactive. They learn to repeat human words that owners can understand when no one else does. Clearly, they do not repeat as well as a parrot, but they try. They come in almost every color of the rainbow, except red or pink. Those colors are reserved for Splendids and Bourkes. Another plus in their favor is that their droppings are typically drier and more concise than other birds’. That might offset their tendency to shred paper and anything else within their grasp.

NEOPHEMA’S: There are many varieties of Neophema Parakeets and I’ve not experienced others, although I’d like to get to know Turquoisines better. Their colors are gorgeous and I hear they are a fun bird to keep. Perhaps someday I’ll find a breeder willing to accept a pair of Bourkes in trade for a pair of “Turqs.” Other Neophema varieties include: Neophema chrysogater, chrysostoma, elegans, elegans carteri, elegans petrophila and pulchella.

Parrakeets of the World  - The photo above was taken from this book. Here is a link for it at Amazon.com

Bourke & Splendid Update on Switching Mates

BOURKES:

This post is mostly about disappointments, however, keep in mind that we did just band baby Bourke #25…so there is also much good news for 2010.

Currently, Brandy is on three eggs with Rory. He never produced fertile eggs with Bella and we hope he does better with Brandy. She is the hen who had a baby savaged and others injured. I had to rescue all her babies with Chitter and hand feed them. Now, Chitter is with Bella (Rory’s former mate). Chitter and Bella are successfully raising one baby, the only fertile egg that Bella has ever laid. This baby is still in the nest, but fully feathered and has never had any injury. So, Chitter and Bella may prove to be a happy, successful pair with Chitter exonerated.

If Rory is also unable to fertilize Brandy’s eggs, then perhaps she is the best hen for him to have, since it is beginning to look like she is the guilty party who injured her young. Brandy is currently on two eggs with more expected. She came from one of our best breeding pairs. They were wonderful parents. One of Brandy’s hand fed daughters is my favorite bird…very affectionate, very intelligent and so sweet. Genetics isn’t reliable at predicting what a bird’s (or a person’s) personality is going to be like.

Sugar is back on three eggs. She and Spice have had two previous clutches that were fertile, but did not hatch. She seems devoted to incubating her eggs, so I don’t believe the problem is that they got cold. Must be something else. Spice is a hand fed Normal Bourke. Rosie, my favorite hand fed Bourke hen, is very interested in him. If none of Sugar’s eggs hatch this time around, I may replace Sugar with Rosie. Sugar isn’t tame, and for that matter, isn’t as pretty as Rosie. I could put Sugar with Spicy’s father, Bing Jr., as his hen, Willow, is older than Bing Jr. and she’s no longer interested in brooding.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

SPLENDIDS:

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that our two pairs of Splendids haven’t produced any youngsters for the past two years.

And so, this year I swapped Splendid mates. Although Rainbow and Rivka were observed attempting to mate, her eggs were not fertile with him either. It’s so disappointing! The other new pair took longer to become friendly with each other. The hen, Jewel, has entered the nest box and Rainbow Jr. has been feeding her. However, no attempts at mating have been observed. It seems unlikely that she will hatch her eggs either.

There is one other recourse available, short of finding new Splendids, which I haven’t been able to do. We have two extra Splendid males. Unfortunately, Flip is unable to fly due to a “window accident” as a very young bird … hence his name … after his accident, when he tried to fly with his injured wing, he’d flip over. The other male, Rudy, is one I traded for. He came from the same breeder who provided the hens and the breeder can’t tell me whether the three birds are, or are not, related to each other. I had hoped to acquire another hen for Rudy, but it has never happened. I’m considering putting him with one of these hens and see what happens. They just might accomplish something.

Decisions, decisions.

Looking ahead to future posts:

• Budgies make great kids’ pets. How to be sure the Budgerigar parakeet you buy is a young one.

• Photos of intricately carved egg shells.

Bourke Parakeet Location & Coloration

Here is a map of the areas where Bourke Parakeets originated and still live in the wild. I would hazard a guess that there are now as many domestic Bourkes living around the world as there are living wild in Australia.

Probably there are more domestic Rosy Bourkes outside Australia and Tasmania than living there. However, Australian bird breeders raise Rosies too and seem to have a wider span of color varieties than anywhere else.  

As you know, Rosies (or Rosas in the UK) are not the native, natural color, but have been bred to increase the pink/rose shades.  Some Bourkes have even been bred to be more blue and even yellow, although the yellow looks rather washed out to me. See the photo at right of a "yellow" Bourke. It was taken from Doreen Haggard’s “Bourke’s Parakeets” book published in the UK. 

Will a yellow Bourke ever be as bright and colorful as a yellow Budgie or Turquoisine?  I don’t believe yellow Bourkes begin to compare with either of those parakeets.  Also, the bright pink and rose of the Bourke Parakeet is so very unique and unequaled in any other parakeet, so I see no advantage is striving for yellow.  However, I do enjoy the bright blue rumps on some of the Rosy Bourkes, and it is especially pretty on a Normal Colored Bourke. So, an all blue Bourke sounds attractive. Yet, Budgerigars have that color already firmly established. But, no others share in the remarkable shades of rose and pink found only in Bourkes.

This photo of two of my very young Rosy Bourkes shows the difference in color between a Rosy and a Pink. These two are siblings from the same clutch. They lack the blue rump that appears on both their Rosy parents, indicating perhaps that they are moving even farther from the Normal coloration.

Below is a Rosy Bourke male and a pair of Normal Bourkes. Notice the beautiful blue on their shoulders and the turquoise color at the base of the tail. The pink at the bottom of their chests is more muted and doesn't rise as far as on Rosy Bourkes derived from them. 

Bourke Behaviors

Thanks to “Sags” for his comment on the last post. I thought I’d address some of the ideas he raised. He said he’s been told another way to sex Bourkes is by looking at two birds sitting “together; a hen will generally sit flat to the perch, whilst the male will be more upright.” I believe this goes along with my observation that males “strut” their stuff during breeding season. They may sit higher to stay alert and protect their mate. However, at other times during the year, I see no difference in how they sit on a perch.

My bird pairs are mostly in cages of their own, 30 inches long by 18 inches wide and 18 inches high. The length allows Bourkes to fly in circles, something they do well.

Sags also says he thinks “hens will bite with a vengeance, much more than males when held.” I haven’t noticed any difference. However, I’ve learned how to catch or hold them so that I won’t be bitten. When reaching into a cage, I may use a washrag to capture birds I feel are likely to bite with “a vengeance.” Then they can bite the rag all they want to. I also keep a bird net handy in case one escapes, but I seldom need it. Of course, tame birds don’t bite!

When I was a kid my grandfather taught me how to hold wild budgerigar parakeets to avoid nips. You pin their head between the second knuckles of your first and second fingers so that they can't turn their head to bite. This hold works fine on Bourkes and Splendids too. See photo example at left.

Note that in the UK Bourkes are called Rosa Bourkes and in the U.S. we call them Rosy Bourkes – same birds. Sags added, “As you say Rosa is sex-linked, but a rosa hen paired to normal male will only produce normal looking coloured birds, the young males being split for rosa...unless the father is split for rosa (only males can be split) then you get both rosa and normals in the young males and hens.”

I didn’t know that only males could be splits. I have Normal males who produce Rosy hens, and realize they are splits (heterozygous), their father was a Rosy. All my Normal hens have only produced Normal males and Rosy hens. Their mates have all been Rosies. I expected that a Rosy hen with a Normal male would produce Rosy males and Normal hens. That’s what I had interpreted from what I’d read, but have not put it into practice before.

Recently, for the first time, I have a Rosy hen with a Normal male. Their first clutch was fertile, but the eggs didn’t hatch. If Sags is right, then all their young will be Normals. It will be interesting to watch this happen, if they manage to hatch their eggs. That hen is starting a new clutch now.

Sags said, “… I just wish I was as successful in breeding my birds. Things are not going too well so far (only last night I removed a dead chick, a lutino splendid)....I blame the British weather!”

When I have hens on eggs that are about to hatch, I make sure that the room they are in is at least 70 degrees or warmer. I think my success is because my birds live indoors where it’s always warm. They also get lots of light from large windows. Along with seeds, they get fresh greens and veggies too … maybe that helps.

Sags said, “Incidently, it’s my pictures in the link for sexing splendids. The wing bar is not 100% reliable, but helps when used with the differences in colour.”

Thanks again for your comments, Sags! I like your photos at: http://www.grassparakeets.talktalk.net/   It's a great site with wonderful web cam shots of babies in the nest!

P.S. I get my birds’ bands and bought the bird net from: L & M Bird Bands in San Bernardino, California. http://www.lmbirdlegbands.com/

May your birds bring you peace & joy. Here are two of my latest, almost adult babies.

Splendids

Since my Splendids haven't hatched any eggs in many months, I've not been blogging about them very often. To make up for that, here's a photo of our last clutch of youngsters taken quite a while ago. All look like hens, but all developed the typical scarlet chest ... all were males.

As with my Bourke book, I don't often find books about Splendid parakeets. However, I found this one on Amazon. I don't own it yet, but I'm tempted to order it. If you are too, here is the location: 

Splendid Reflections: 40 Years of Grass Parrakeet Husbandry

Tomorrow:  Recent insights on egg incubation

PEACE & BLESSINGS

Bourke Parakeets or Parrots? Neophema or Neopsephotus?

Thought I'd note that what we call a Bourke Parakeet in the USA is known as a Bourke Parrot in Australia, and sometimes as a Bourke Parrakeet – notice the different spelling with an extra "r" in parakeet. In the UK, they call a Rosy Bourke a Rosa Bourke...that's the spelling shown in the book I own, published in England. I have mentioned it before, but this time I thought I'd look to see if I could find another like it. Mine isn't for sale, but here's a link to one that's available, if you're interested. Mine is a hard copy, I didn't check everything at Amazon. You'll need to do that. My book is only 48 pages.  The book title is a Link: Bourke's Parakeets

Slight differences in names or spelling, but still the same birds. Smile. This is another book I own and enjoy for the varied color photos of parakeets. Not all are as small as the grass parakeets. The book is smaller, but has 384 pages. Notice the spelling difference. My hard bound copy was published in 1979. I'm not sure about the one(s) offered on Amazon. You can check them out yourself if you want to:  Click to Link: Parrakeets of the World 

The Bourke's Parakeet (or Parrot) was recently reclassifed from Neophema Bourkii to Neopsephotus Bourkii for three reasons: Habitat, Taxonomy & difference to other Neophemas. This explains why they have not reproduced with other Neophemas.

Other Neophema Species are:

Scarlet-chested Neophema splendida (also called Splendids)

Elegant Neophema elegans (Elegants)

Turquoise Neophema pulchella (Turquoisines)

Bluewing Neophema chrysostoma &

     Rock Parrot Neophema petrophila

All five varieties are known as GRASS PARAKEETS.

Breeding Grass Parakeets

In earlier posts I should have mentioned that both Bourkes and Splendids are "Grass Parakeets" so named because native wild birds forage on the ground in the grasses of Australia. Not surprising since the main part of their diet is comprised of seed. Turquoisines and Elegant Parakeets are also Grass Parakeets. All four, as well as the Budgerigar, are roughly the same size. Splendids, Turquoisines and Elegants are small and members of the genus Neophema. Bourkes have the distinction of a genus all their own: Neopsephotus. Budgerigars (budgies) also have their own: Melopsittacus. Why do you care, right? It may show why a Splendid can cross breed with a Turquoisine, for instance.

As an aside, canaries can cross breed with green singing finches, but their offspring cannot reproduce (they are mules). I don't know if that's true for crossing Splendids or not - it's not anything I've tried to do. I also haven't tried to get mutations of Splendids. It's my opinion that the original variety of Splendids are far prettier than the dimly colored mutations... There are photos of them all over the Internet if you're interested.

Rosy Bourkes, however, are the first (and best) mutation from the normal color that is brown on the back. Yellows have also been genetically produced, but the various shades of pink and rose are my favorites. The color variations in the Bourkes are sex-linked. A simple example is that if you take a female Normal Bourke and a male Rosy Bourke, all your hens will be the color of the father and all cocks will be the color of the mother. Hence, if you have two normal babies in the nest and two rosy babies, you can be certain that the rosies are hens and the normals are male. I've read this and it has proven true for me with every mixed pairing over the past several years.

However, one of those normal male babies grew up and was put with a normal hen (whose lineage I don't know). Instead of throwing mostly normals, that pair throws 50% rosies. All those rosies have been hens. That normal father carries the gene from his rosie father. All the normals in the nest have been males.

Bourke hens typically lay an egg every other day. Splendid hens usually lay one every day. Both varieties lay from two to six eggs. Most often they lay four eggs. My experience has been that if they lay five eggs, you will usually get three babies, although I have had four in the nest, but never more than four no matter how many eggs.

If you talk to your birds and interact with them on a daily basis, they will become accustomed to you and allow you to peer into the nest box without a great deal of fuss. It's important to speak "sweetly" to the hen BEFORE you open the box. Tapping lightly on the "lid" or "door" before you open it is also a good practice. I had a male cockatiel once leap at me and come down landing on his brood, killing a new chick and damaging the remaining eggs. Highly disappointing. I should have waited for his mate to be in the box before I looked in, because she was more docile. But, they were a new, untame pair, unfamiliar with me and I with them.

I carefully keep track of the parentage of all my babies by naming each and every parent bird (both male and female because sometimes mates get swapped). This morning I wanted to check on Bonnie, a Bourke hen with Clyde. Bonnie only laid two eggs this time. After 19 days, the first egg hatched and the 2nd hatched two days later. I needed to check the size of her offspring. It's necessary to band the babies if you want them to be saleable to pet shops. If a baby grows faster than you expect, you may miss that small 2-3 day window when its feet are the right size for banding. Too big and you can't get a band on. Too small and it slips off and probably lost in the nest.

Now Bonnie used to be sort of tame. I could lift her off a clutch without any fussing. She knew me and I knew her. Although not finger tamed, she trusted me. Then, with her previous clutch , something went wrong. She laid two eggs and the third wasn't laid. I began to worry and watched her daily. Eventually, she appeared distressed. She was panting and even left the nest to sit on the bottom of the cage. This was a definite sign of egg binding and that something must be done quickly. Most birds will exhibit signs of a problem by sitting on the bottom of the cage, and if you know your birds, you'll recognize when they aren't feeling well ... fluffed up, eyes at half mast ... that sort of thing.

In Bonnie's case, there was no doubt. I caught her and could feel the lump of the egg near her vent. Be especially careful when touching that area. If you break the egg, you've lost your bird. With excellent advice of friends who raise more birds than I do, Bonnie was rescued. I did what my bird book said, and it wasn't enough. I held her over steam and put mineral oil very carefully into her vent, using a small syringe. After many hours, a wonderful couple advised me to also give her mineral oil by mouth and add mineral oil to her vent more than once ... every hour if necessary. I held Bonnie in a washcloth and let her chew on it as much as she wanted since she was NOT happy with me! When I was about to give up on her, I remembered something I'd done as a 12-year-old with my Budgies when they were ill. (More about that another time).

I took a small cage and covered it completely with a towel and put her in that cage. Then I boiled water in a large mug and placed the steaming mug inside the towel (not in the cage!). I left her alone for about a half hour before I peeked in. There was the egg on the floor of the cage ... In addition to the mineral oil, I believe she needed warmth, humidity and solitude to pass that egg.

She didn't return to the nest box to sit on those two eggs and I didn't have any other mother who could foster them. It took Bonnie a few months to fully recover from her ordeal. I worried and watched over her since she only laid two eggs this time. However, she seemed fine and two eggs were all she needed to lay.

With these two new babies, I needed to check their size. I tried to wait until she left the nest. Most mothers only leave to defecate, grab a drink and immediately return to the nest. I was never able to see her out of it. Since she is very protective and covers her young, I picked her up like I'd done in the past. Ouch! Had she changed! She grabbed hold of my pinky and wouldn't let go. Talk about hurt. Most Bourkes, if not tame, will bite if grabbed, but they also let go when you release them. She wouldn't! It was her turn to get even with me. It's the only time one has ever drawn blood, but she did. Unfortunately, the babies are still too small to band ... I'll check again Saturday.

I'll talk again another time about how the males help raise their offspring. Also, discuss hand raising babies. I've had a few that were rejected by a parent (rare), but reared successfully by me. Although these birds are easily tamed when young, hand rearing makes them super tame and loving.

Next Time: More on Banding & Hand Raising

Splendid Scarlet-chested Parakeets

The lovely bird above left is a female Splendid parakeet from Australia. Her colors are more muted than her mate's. However, her many shades include light blue, bright yellow, many hues of green with iridescent turquoise on her shoulders. Although more subdued in color than a male's vividness, she's still bright and pretty.

The handsome fellows above and to the right are both male Splendids, also called Scarlet-chested parakeets for obvious reasons. Because of their vibrant colors it is no wonder they're named Splendids. Only the males develop the scarlet chest when mature. Young birds look like the hens. Photos can't capture the iridescent nature of their sheen, especially on their cobalt blue faces. The male on the right is holding a white feather. Their backs, not shown in the photo, are dark emerald green.
Splendids are spectacular to watch. They are active birds, true clowns who love toys and swings.

Unfortunately, they also love to make soup out of water cups. Like the Bourkes, they love corn or almost any vegetable. They eat them, but much of it will end up in their water. Even if you only feed seed, you'll find hulls floating in their water every day. For this reason it is imperative that their water be changed daily, at a minimum. They love clean water and you will be rewarded with their funny antics as they bathe. Since much of the water in a cup is dispersed after a bath, it's wise to also have a water bottle always present too. However, Splendids also drop things in the narrow opening of water bottles too. Of course, you can introduce a shallow bowl of water for them to bathe in as well.

Although Splendids are higher maintenance than a Bourke parakeet, they are personality plus, not to mention their vibrant colors. As far as song goes, Splendids can't match the Bourkes for song. Bourkes have a lovely floating song, and males include a soft wolf whistle in it. Splendids make cheeps and chirps at varying levels. However, as you get to know your bird, you will recognize a certain sound that he uses to call you. They crave attention.

I like to keep the bottom of my cages covered in newspaper that I can throw out when it's soiled. It makes cage cleaning easier. Splendids chew newspaper... Smile. Some Bourkes chew too, but only a few, whereas I bet every male Splendid will mince newspaper.

Next time: Hints on breeding.