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.

Parakeet Observation with Egg Food

He'd eaten a lot of this before I took the picture.
He's not even a father, he just likes egg food.

When I added Lady Gouldian finches to my flock, a breeder recommended giving them egg food. Since we make a lot at once, this year for the first time we're giving it to all parakeet varieties as well as the finches.

I've observed that many of the egg shells left after their babies hatch are still there. In the past, I assume they ate them for the extra calcium since egg shells were seldom present except after an immediate hatch.

This year, all the hens are leaving shells in the nest. They just push them aside. The egg food is probably providing them with all the calcium they need. It should also be noted that the father birds are gobbling up the egg food as soon as it goes into their cage. The first day it was given to them they viewed it warily, but now look forward to it fresh every morning.





My favorite male Bourke, Sweetheart.


Bourke and Splendid males feed their mates, who in turn feed the young. After the young leave the nest, fathers take over much of the feeding for about two or three weeks. Splendid males may feed babies while in the nest, however, it's unusual for a Bourke male to do so. With Gouldian finches, both parents feed the young in the nest. Typically, both attend to them during the day, but only mothers at night.

Egg food:
Boiled chicken eggs, including shell, cooled
Dry bread crumbs
Blend together in a blender until shells are ground up
If too wet, it can be dried on a cookie sheet in a low oven
Excess can be stored in the refrigerator for approximately a week.

Last time we blended in mixed vegetables, which kept it moist. The birds seem to love it, moist or dry. Inverted jar lids make excellent serving bowls for small portions that need to be replaced often. Don't leave egg food to go bad. If you leave it in the cage, remove anything that remains by the end of the day, or sooner. Some sites recommend not leaving it longer than an hour. If you live in a hot climate, that is good advice.

Six baby Lady Gouldian finches, 3 wks old tomorrow
 and full of egg food.

Peace and Blessings!

Found Petamine Breeding Formula

My husband and I both remember buying this for our budgies when we were children. He grew up in Ohio and I grew up in California. It's sad to see it change hands several times and no longer be available over the counter in pet stores and supermarkets as it was for decades.

If you've missed Petamine Breeding Formula which seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth, the Scott Company sold it to a seed company.

Slightly worn labels on the Petamine
received recently.

Back labels are "scuffed" too. Contents are sealed.

I made several attempts to contact the new owners of this product. The email address in their website bounced because the "box was full." So, I waited a week and resent it. It was still "too full."  So, I called the 800 number and spoke to a pleasant young woman. She couldn't answer my questions, but said she'd have "Shane" call me back. I left my number and, over a week later, no one has called back.

While on the phone with the young woman I went ahead and placed an order for Petamine Breeding Formula. She said they have cases of 1.5 lb packages that the Scott Company sold them. When those are gone, she said they will only produce 20 lb bags of the Breeding Formula.

Shown here with the old 2 lb package that sadly hasn't
been available for quite a while. A better value at the time.
I transfer small container contents into the bigger package
because I can scoop out of it. It's easier to use and preferable.

It seemed like a wise idea to purchase two 1.5 lb packages, enough to last a breeding season (or two) for 14 small breeding birds. They charged me $15.47 for a 1½  pound package. When it arrived I expected to receive a catalog, as advertised on their website. There wasn't any catalog in the package. I was not charged shipping from California to Oregon, but there was a $1.00 handling fee. Total cost for three pounds of Petamine Breeding Formula to me was $31.94.

If over $10 a pound is worth the price to you, Petamine Breeding Formula is available. It came via UPS, albeit, looking a bit worse for wear. Purchased from:

Volkman Seed Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 245
Ceres, Ca. 95307
Phone# 1-800-635-9359
Fax# 1-209-634-8525
E-mail address: info@birdseed.com 
(Good luck with their email. Maybe you'll be luckier than I was and they will receive and answer it. My two attempts bounced because their mailbox was full).

(Note added on 6/8/12: "Shayne did finally phone back and verified that all the products that will go into the Petamine they produce will be from the USA...none from foreign vendors. After the death of so many American pets from China's sale to us of melamine that tests like protein and went into cat food, I tend to only trust products grown and processed in the USA, or possibly Canada).

Peace and Blessings.

Getting Iodine into their Diet

Took the advice of neversink7 (see his comments on April 29 blog) and bought some granulated kelp from our local health food store in order to provide more iodine into our birds' diets. It was 44 cents an ounce (no minimum and no shipping charge). 

So far, the birds haven't investigated it like they would fresh vegies. Next step will be to try mixing it in with Petamine, a treat they like. He also pointed out that ladygouldian.com carries liquid iodine that can be added to their water. If our birds continue to ignore the granulated kelp, we might order some. We'll see.

Although most of my hens are successful, this year two have had fertile eggs that didn't hatch. Adding iodine may or may not solve the problem. It can't hurt to try.

This came from Canada. I won't buy anything that I know comes from China.

Incubation Observation & Other Thoughts…

(Watch for Comments at the bottom of each Blog; there may be one or two. The one added to yesterday’s blog, "Splendids," is particularly interesting. There is a Comments button at the end of each blog and it tells you how many, if any, comments there are).

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll recall our attempt to incubate two Bourke eggs. We were successful right up to the point where the eggs were even piping. It was very disappointing to lose the little chicks after getting them so close to hatching.

The cause, we had decided, might be that we didn’t have enough humidity present toward the end of incubation. More humidity is needed just before hatching. A dish of water was present, but we heard a recommendation to hang a wet washcloth near them in the last few days and keep checking it since it would dry out from the heat lamp.

Maybe that would have made a difference, or maybe not. Sugar, the hen who abandoned those eggs after becoming egg-bound with the 3rd egg, recently laid three eggs. It took her a while to recover from the ordeal we put her through to help her release the over-sized egg. At least she survived.

Sugar kept the three eggs from this clutch warm right up to the point of hatching, but these did not hatch either. After 21 days I was concerned, but left them under her for over 30 days. I wanted her to abandon them herself, but she was more persistent than any other hen I’ve ever had and remained on them – she was very determined, but in the end it did her no good.

Once the eggs were removed from her nestbox, I opened them. One was infertile, but the other two held dead chicks, fully developed and ready to hatch, but apparently they could not. Was it genetics, or something else? Unless she succeeds with another clutch someday, I may never know.

After talking to Bob Nelson, Bird Specialist extraordinaire, he said that the problem of “dead in shell” can sometimes be caused by low iodine in the parents’ diets. His solution has been to provide rabbit salt blocks which contain iodine. I was concerned about the salt intake, but Bob says they won’t consume more than they need. He warned about attaching the salt block to the side of a metal cage or the salt will damage the metal.

Eleven of my cages now have a small salt block available. We attached them each to a perch with small plastic ties (cable ties used by electricians). Getting them tight enough required pulling with a pair of pliers. So far, the birds are ignoring them.

***

As I sit here typing, I see Sugar and Spice mating again. Spicy’s picture is in the column at the left. He’s the very tiny, newly hatched baby being hand fed. At the time, his mother was mated to a much younger male (the only one available), and he wasn’t very good at helping feed the young. To compensate she was only willing to feed the first two eggs that hatched. When we lost the third baby, I paid close attention. Realizing she wasn’t feeding the fourth baby, I removed the newly hatched Spicy and hand fed him. He was my first experience at hand feeding. By the way, his father grew up the following year and the pair successfully raised three or four babies in most clutches thereafter.

GRIT OR OYSTER SHELL

Recently had an instructive conversation with master bird breeder, Bob Nelson, and thought I’d pass on some of his wisdom.

Our conversation winged its way to something flying about online (sorry, couldn’t pass up the pun).

Apparently, there’s been a misconception traveling over the internet that grit and oyster shell aren’t necessary, and perhaps even harmful, to birds. Stuff and Nonsense.

Bob says this was sparked by an article written by a young veterinarian after the death of a Blue & Gold Macaw. The Macaw that died was brought to this vet. Upon examination, the vet found that it had totally filled up on grit and nothing else, causing blockage and death. From this, the young vet assumed other birds might eat too much grit or oyster shell and have this happen to them. His article reflected a warning about giving grit or oyster shell to birds.

However, according to Bob’s information, all care for the Blue & Gold Macaw had been assigned to a child. As children will, the child forgot to feed the bird. In desperation and hunger the Blue and Gold filled up on the only thing in its cage, grit and oyster shell. It had nothing else.

****

There’s conjecture that parakeets and other seed eating birds don’t need grit. It’s true they can survive without it, unlike birds that don’t hull seed to survive. Yet, in the wild, seed-eating birds still consume grit, and oyster shell is a valuable source of calcium. I believe you are better off providing both, rather than not. Let your birds decide what they need and when they need it by always making it available.

By following their instincts, birds eat what is good for them. No bird, domestic or wild, is going to kill itself eating grit or oyster shell unless it’s starving. The tragic story of the Blue & Gold Macaw’s unnatural death doesn’t make a valid argument for not supplying pet birds with grit and oyster shell.

Healthy Additions for your Bird’s Diet

I have a cage of tame Bourkes who get preferential treatment. Whenever we cook vegetables, they often get some, and I’m learning a lot from them.

Along with seeds, I’ve always offered my birds extra vegetables or fruit, usually raw. They favor most veggies over fresh fruit. (Go figure, I like fresh fruit myself). However, our birds seem to prefer cooked vegetables, over raw. An exception to this is Spinach or Kale, which are favorites. They also like lettuce, but it doesn’t have the same nutritional value. They love sweet corn, petite peas and steamed broccoli, just as we do. I also offer them bits of bread of any variety we’re having for lunch or dinner. They enjoy taking the treats from my fingers as much as I enjoy offering them.

Here’s a list of foods that will introduce more calcium into your bird’s diet – especially valuable for breeding hens, or young birds.

Calcium in mg From Highest to Lowest:
Turnip Greens 694
Mustard Greens 582
Cabbage (outside green leaves) 429
Chinese Cabbage 400
Kale 390

Kohlrabi 390

Broccoli Leaves 349
Chard 300
Beet Greens 188
Dandelion Greens 168

Spinach 156
Okra 144
Turnips 112
Broccoli Stem 111
Endive 104

Rutabaga 99
Carrots 90
Raspberries 82
Strawberries 68
Cantaloupe 64

Yellow Wax Beans 63
Green Beans 55
Watercress 53
Oranges or Tangerines 48
Parsley 46

Cabbage (inside white leaves) 46
Celery 44
Yams 44
Blackberries 43
Squash 36

Watermelon 33
Blueberries 33
Lettuce Dark Green Leaf 25
Guavas 15
Pears 15

Collards (cooked) 14
Apples 10

Weaning Babies

The easiest "starter" food for baby parakeets is spray millet. Fuchsia is now sharing a cage with other babies who were reared by their parents. They all have spray millet available, as well as Petamine breeding formula because it has a soft powder mixture that may make it easier to eat. Typical parakeet seed is also present.

Several water sources are also in place. I have two cups of water and two bottles hanging on cage sides. Smart youngsters will find everything they need, but I have one that seems slow to mature and want to make finding water and food easy. Although all the others learned to eat right on time, one had to go home to his parents twice in the past week because he wasn't eating on his own and begged the other babies to feed him. They didn't.

Watch your babies closely to be sure they're eating. If not, you may need to put them back with their parents and wait a few days before taking them away again. Sometimes you will know it's time to remove them when their father starts chasing them instead of feeding them.

Most often, however, you will see them in the feed dish eating and leaving seed hulls behind. Empty hulls are a sign that they are successfully eating on their own.

Hand Feeding Baby Birds of the Smaller Kind…

These photos are of Fuchsia, the Rosy Bourke baby I previously wrote about. In these photos she/he is 18 days old. How do you sex a Bourke? It’s difficult in a baby bird, but adults are easier. I’ll cover that in a future post since this is about hand feeding.

A newly hatched chick should be fed a watery mixture of food almost every 2 hours. For best results, get up in the middle of the night and feed them. After a week, you can cut back to 3-4 hours. Fuchsia is being fed about every 4 hours, 5 times a day. However, I’m not getting up in the middle of the night. She waits from 9:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., 9 hours without food. She’d probably like to be fed in the middle of the night, but I’m lazy and she’s doing fine without it.

I use Exact Hand Feeding Formula. The proper mixing amounts are included with the package. It’s available at numerous sites on the internet, in larger pet shops and usually at the Grange. With a glass measuring cup, I boil a cup of water in the microwave. I put 1 ½ teaspoons of powdered Exact in a tiny bowl and mix in 3 teaspoons of boiling water, stirring until well dissolved. Newly hatched chicks to 2 days old get 1 part Exact to 6 parts water. Two to 5 days get 1 part Exact to 2-3 parts water. Five days until weaned, they get 1 part Exact to 2 parts water.

Formula should be stirred until all lumps are out of it. This also helps it to cool. I keep the Exact in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and the cold powder helps cool the mixture. It should be warm, but not hot when fed. They don’t like it cold, however. I test it on my wrist just like with any other baby formula. When very warm, but NOT HOT, I pull it up into a glass eye dropper (usually found in pairs at pharmacies). When it starts to get too cool, I set my smaller dish into a larger dish of the extra boiled water and that re-warms it. Always checking, however, to be sure it’s not too hot or too cold.

Some books on birds recommend using a thermometer to be sure the temperature stays at the optimum degree (they’ll tell you what that is). I trust my wrist. Or, as you can see from the photo, a dab on my fingers tells me if it’s cooled too much.

Fuchsia learned very quickly to know where the food comes from. I slowly squeeze the formula into her mouth until she turns her head away. She puts the tip right into her beak and turns her head away when she’s ready for a short break. When she’s ready, we go at it again. She usually eats very quickly and I fill the dropper only a few times. There’s always food left over, but it’s easier to retrieve it from the bowl and into the eye dropper if there’s enough in the bowl. By putting my fingers around her head, it helps steady it. She tends to “bob” back and forth. I don’t hold her still, just create a barrier that restricts how far she wobbles from side to side.

I’ve read that you don’t want to inject any air into a baby bird’s crop. So, I make sure the dropper is full of only formula with no air in between. I even eject a small amount before putting it to her beak to be sure any air in the tip is exhausted before she’s fed. That’s another reason to have enough food in the bowl so the eye dropper can submerge far enough to avoid sucking air with the food. (However, I’ve noted what looks like a “bubble” inside their crops and it never seemed to harm them. Don’t panic if you see this too.)

Parent birds stuff their youngsters so full that they look like they could burst. I don’t worry about overfeeding hand fed babies. Their little crops do bulge. However, never force feed them. Let them decide if they want more or not. Check their crop and you’ll get used to seeing it at the size they are comfortable with.

Apparently some breeders put a tube down larger birds’ throats and feed all the formula at once. That is fast and efficient, but I can’t imagine doing it to a small bird like a Bourke or Splendid. They eat quickly anyway, and it’s much safer to let them eat from an eye dropper at their own pace. I’m certain they’re happier that way too.

Be sure to inspect glass eye droppers before every feeding. If it becomes chipped at the tip it won’t be noticeable and you don’t want to use it if it’s damaged. Children can become curious and play with droppers when you don’t know about it … so check them. Eye droppers are very fragile; anyone can pick one up to move it and accidently damage it without realizing it.

Be sure to clean all your utensils thoroughly after each feeding. Run hot water through the eye dropper until there’s nothing left in it. Also make sure the rubber bulb on the end is well rinsed. Because food can dry inside, I sometimes leave the dropper in the bowl of boiling water (now very hot, but no longer boiling) while I clean up the baby.

Yes, the baby gets sponged off too. Formula is going to spill out the side of a baby’s beak and probably on its chest. If left there, it will harden and be difficult to remove. It’s much easier to take a damp cloth or tissue and wipe it off after each feeding. Fuchsia appears to enjoy the attention from this procedure.

Do not save left over prepared formula. Mix it fresh each time you feed.

When I began feeding this baby almost a week ago, I was disappointed to need to do it. I knew it would take time and effort to save this baby’s life. However, I find now that I truly enjoy my moments with this baby and have great affection for her. She has a pleasant, peaceful effect on me.

In the future, I expect to walk around the house with Fuchsia on my shoulder and exchange “birdy” kisses with her. Although it’s easy to tame a young Bourke, just like with a young Budgie, when hand fed the birds bond in a unique way.

What about our three cats? Trust me, they leave the birds alone. I expect to introduce this baby to them when it’s outside the cage. More risky, but I’m confident they can learn to accept the new, tame pet that’s occasionally loose in the house. Never unsupervised, of course.

I have lots of cats with bird stories to share. I’ll get to them eventually, I promise. Have a great tomorrow.