Question: Why don't my Bourke hen's eggs hatch?

 

Question:  I’ve was trying to breed a couple of Bourkes for the last 2 ½ years with no luck.  Some kind of calamity or birth defects always ruined the clutches.  Out of six clutches they only raised 1 healthy baby to adulthood.

I thought it might be a genetic problem so I got a new male.  Mommy just got through sitting on 3 fertile eggs but abandoned the eggs at 23 days.  I cracked one open and it was still alive ☹, poor thing.  It was FAR from 23 day of gestation.  Maybe half way developed.  I felt bad that I opened it. ...Help!!

 *****

Answer:

Here's my first piece of advice:  Never open an egg unless the hen has abandoned it herself and it is cold.  Eggs DO NOT begin to develop until a hen begins to brood them. So, counting the number of days might be a grave error. She might lay 3 eggs and not begin to brood right away, then sit on the eggs and lay two more ... all eggs will begin to develop when being warmed, and not before.  So, it is possible that those three eggs might all hatch on the same day, which could be the 28th, 29th & 30th days after being laid. Then the last two two eggs a few days after that... Yes, it takes 18 to 21 days for them to develop and hatch, but ONLY after they are being brooded (warmed). If a hen doesn't immediately brood (and most don't), then you can't count from the day an egg is laid. Well, you can count, but don't be surprised if it takes longer to hatch. 

That's why people can order duck eggs and have them shipped to them, taking days to arrive, but still begin to develop when put in an incubator. Any bird or fowl's egg can sit for several days and still be a good egg. All it needs is to be fertile before brooding, which can be several days after being laid. It can wait to start developing days after being laid, and only after it is kept warm can you reliably count the days until hatch. 

Also, it is wise to allow a hen to abandon her eggs herself. Never remove them because you know they are infertile and won't hatch. Hens learn from the experience of infertile eggs. Or, if some hatch and others don't, leave the unhatched eggs in the nest. They help keep newly hatched babies warm.

It sounds to me like your hen is doing everything she can do for you. Just leave her alone and maybe she will do better in the future. Be sure she has a large cuttlebone or more. You can add a brown rabbit salt block...the iodine and minerals are good for them. I highly recommend a copy of "Rosie Birds Guide to Small Exotic Birds." There's a lot of useful information in it. It talks about nest boxes, etc. I hope you have 1 to 2 inches of pine shavings in the bottom of the box so her eggs don't roll around ... a potential problem that might keep them from hatching. Bourkes are not like Budgies and need shavings in their box. I'll put a link at the bottom. 

One last thought. After three clutches of eggs each year, it is wise to remove the nest box so that your hen doesn't become physically stressed. I hope you understand their circadian rhythm and why and when they lay eggs. It's in the book. There's also a link to my videos and my Blog. I hope they can help you be more successful with your sweet Bourkes. 

ROSIE BIRD’S GUIDE TO SMALL EXOTIC BIRDS on Amazon in USA:              

https://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Birds-Guide-Small-Exotic/dp/198676348X/

ROSIE BIRD YOUTUBE VIDEO CHANNEL:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnja_zyZnS_zHp7wksScpOw/videos

 

THE SPLENDID BOURKE BIRD BLOG:

https://thesplendidbourkebirdblog.blogspot.com/

 

Peace and Blessings,

Gail (Rosie Bird)

Question: When Will a Bourke Hen Lay Eggs?

 

I get questions on my YouTube videos nearly every day. Thought this common response is worth sharing on this Blog too, so here it is.

All our birds love these swings.

Bourke's Parakeet hens should be at least a year and a half old before laying eggs (18 months). Some may want to lay as early as one year old, but there is a risk of egg binding in a hen that is too young. Best age for breeding and laying eggs in Bourke's is two years of age. For the first year they are still building their own bones and should not use calcium to lay eggs before they are fully mature.

If your question is about how long after you see them mating will they lay eggs ... I don't know. It can be different for each hen. Even hens without a mate can lay eggs. They won't hatch, of course. It is day length (day light) that triggers egg laying in all birds and fowl. Wild birds lay when it is warmest during spring or summer. As days shorten, they don't raise babies. Our domestic birds are the same way. Even indoor lighting can trigger them to want to lay eggs. It is called circadian rhythm. 

We can control their urge to lay eggs by limiting the amount of light they get to only 8 to 10 hours per day.  Or, to encourage them to lay, provide indoor lighting that lasts at least 14 hours per day.  But, be sure to allow them some night time, at least 8 hours.

It is also important to provide good calcium sources. Cuttlebone is essential. We have two cuttlebones for each pair of our Bourkes. We buy 6 to 8 inch sized cuttlebones, not the tiny ones found in too many pet stores. If you do an online search you will find them. We also provide a white mineral block, but even more important, we add a brown rabbit salt block. These salt blocks have iodine and other trace minerals that are advantageous for birds. Don't worry about the salt. Your birds will only use as much as they need. Keep the salt blocks away from cage wires, however, or they will damage them. We place ours on the floor with newspaper under them, and away from overhead perches. 

As an FYI: Since adding these brown rabbit salt blocks several years ago, we've not had a single egg binding incident. These were recommended to us by a long-time bird breeder who used to travel across the USA and Europe giving speeches about small exotic birds. He knows his stuff, and we're happy to share it with you. They also increased the size and success of our birds' clutches. 

Some recently weaned 2020 Bourke's Parakeets.

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

TAMING YOUNG BOURKE PARAKEETS

Two hand fed baby Bourke Parakeets

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

Tame parent Bourkes watch as babies are hand fed.

ANSWER ON TAMING:

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

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

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

 

Lady Gouldian finch hand fed babies.

Once you've tamed her, I recommend getting another bird. They are flock animals and people can't be present 24/7, so having a companion all the time is a kind thing to do for every bird.

Best of luck,

Gail

Some weaned young Bourkes that were hand fed.

SEXING, MATING AND SHARING CAGES WITH OTHERS...

The year 2018 was full of health issues for my husband and me. Although recovering from surgery, I’ve answered questions sent to rosie.birds@gmail.com. Haven’t shared them on this website and should have. Here is a recent inquiry about Bourke Parakeets and my response.  Blessings all!

------------------------------

QUESTION

 I understand that Bourke's can be difficult to determine gender until they molt (I would assume most especially the Lutinos and rosies).  That being said, will two males or two females get along well?  What if one baby is a male and the other a female...will they copulate later if there is no nest box for them? –Dana

ON MATING:

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

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

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

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

SAME SEXES IN A CAGE TOGETHER:

Putting birds together while young is the best option. Youngsters always accept one another.

That said, usually Bourkes get along well with other Bourkes and other varieties of small birds. However, placing a mature bird in with another mature bird needs to be done slowly by introducing them first.  One might decide to protect his or her home from the stranger. It’s wise to put their cages beside one another, but not put the birds together in the same cage yet. Give them several days or longer to get acquainted.

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

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

SEXUAL IDENTIFICATION:

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK OR TAP:   Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds

Peace and Blessings.

Reader Question on Naming Bourke Colors and More

QUESTION:

Hello Gail,  Last week, I acquired a pair of Bourke's.  The male is a dark-eyed Rosey, and I believe the female is a red-eyed lutino.  I've attached a picture of them.  What would be the correct terms for their mutations? 

They had two tiny fuzzy little dark-eyed chicks when I got them on the 26th of this month (picture taken today is attached).  I am assuming they hatched on the 24th and the 26th.  With my other parrots, their eggs tend to hatch two days apart.  Is it the same with Bourke's?  There were several other eggs, but some were not fertile, two were no longer viable, and I'm not sure about the other one.  I don't know if it's a DIS or not at this point, so I'm just going to leave it alone.

The father is doing a great job of feeding the mother millet, a safflower seed blend, pellets, and freshly-chopped veggies.  The mom comes out occasionally, but is in the box probably 90% of the time. 

I've raised parrots (green-cheek conures, parakeets, English budgies, parrotlets, and cockatiels) and even doves for years, handfeeding all but the doves.  However, as I mentioned above, I'm totally new to Bourke's, and I want to become educated on them.

Though I've raised parrots for years, I'm not at all good with genetics or being able to keep mutation names straight.

Will you please explain to me the difference between lutino and rubino?  I understand a rubino to be a cross between a rosey and a lutino.  And I understand that a rosey is another word or opaline.  Is that correct?  But what are the differences in appearance? 

What exactly makes a fallow a fallow?  Can you have a dark-eyed lutino or rubino, or are the eyes always red?  Can a rosey have red eyes, or will they always have dark eyes?  Can any of the offspring between my pair be a normal Bourke's, or will they definitely be rosey or lutino or maybe even rubino? 

I saw in a video of yours that you band on approximately Day 9 (or when their little eyes open).  With all of my birds, I tend to band on Day 8, but 9 works for me if you think that's best.  I've read elsewhere that the English budgie/parrotlet/parakeet band is appropriate.  Do you agree?  I just so happen to have this size as I've raised may of those chicks.  Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise!  - Dana

Dana's mated pair.

Dana's Lutino and clutch.

ANSWER: 

Hello Dana, 

Wow so many questions, all good ones though. All Lutinos or Rubinos have red eyes. All fallows have red eyes. To be fallow, a Bourke will have gray edged wings instead of black, and red eyes. Gray can be very dark or very light. Bourkes that are fallow can be any shade of rose (even dark rose), or any shade of pink, but will always have lighter wing edges and red eyes if they are fallow.

Lutino and Rubino are really the same except that to be named Rubino, a Bourke must have rose or pink all the way down its back to the beginning of its tail. Like the bird in your picture, a Lutino can have some pink on its back, but it doesn't reach to the tail. Instead part of the back or rump is yellow. Some Lutinos are all yellow from back of their head to their tail, others like yours have more pink.  

A Rosy (my preference for spelling, although maybe I'm being out-numbered by Canada and Europe who write Rosey with an "e") ... A Rosy Bourke always has dark eyes, otherwise it would be a fallow. A Rosy Bourke always has dark-edged wings. 

The color of your babies could be normal if the male has a normal parent or grandparent. Odds are better that they will be Rosies. Note that normal babies in the nest develop dark feet, whereas a Rosy will have light colored feet. Occasionally, a Rosy will have feet that are not pink, but slightly between the dark color of a normal and a Rosy. Those, I believe, are Rosies that are split to normal. 

Bourkes with dark eyes, cannot be Lutino. However, your hen could produce Lutino males. She can only carry the gene for her own color. She decides the sex off all the offspring, as you may know from raising other birds. Birds are different in this way from mammals. In birds, it is the female that determines the sex, not the male. Your male, however, could possibly be split to another color beside his own. Only male Bourkes can be split for another color. If you know the color of his parents and grandparents, that helps... 

With bands, you can use either Budgie or English Budgies sizes. I have only used the smaller Budgie sized bands although the site I get them from (L&M Bird Bands in San Bernardino, CA), says that English Budgie bands work too. My Linnies used Parrotlet or Lovebird sized bands, and those would not have worked for my Bourkes. Although I band at 8 or 9 days, I'd keep checking your babies. That timing works best for clutches of four, five or six. When there is only one or two babies, they grow faster as they get fed more, and might need to be banded earlier. :-)

I highly recommend a copy of my newly published, "Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds."  In that book I tried to answer most of the questions I frequently get. It also has a chapter on egg binding and what to do in an emergency. There is also a chapter devoted exclusively to Bourkes, my favorites.

Here is a link to it on Amazon in the USA, but it is also available from Barnes & Noble and other booksellers, as well as Amazon in most other countries. Please do a review ... I will greatly appreciate it. Thanks!    

Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds by Gail A. Lewis

Peace & Blessings,

Gail

www.amazon.com/dp/198676348X/

Question on Why Eggs Don't Hatch...



Using a book light to candle eggs.
Checking to see if they're fertile or not.

We've covered this topic before, but it's worth addressing again. The question below arrived in email today, and is copied here just as it was written.

 

"Hi There, I have a pair of bourse hen lays eggs try to hatch but no babies come out this is her second clutches. Please let me know the reason and its remedy. Thank you"

 

Our Answer:

 

Hello Jenny, Are you sure you have a male and a female Bourke? It takes two. Sometimes two hens might act like a pair, but they won't have fertile eggs. Or, sometimes a young pair fail to mate successfully. The hen must stand very still, and the male must balance adequately on her back. He carefully bends his his tail under her for their vents to make contact in order to be successful. Some males have to expand their wings for balance, so potential parent birds should not have their wings clipped. 

 

If you have birds of each sex for sure, then maybe with more practice they will eventually succeed. If you are certain the eggs were fertile, but still did not hatch, perhaps they got cold. Or, maybe the hen doesn't have water she can bathe in. Hens have to be able to adjust the nest's humidity, especially if the weather is hot and dry. A place to bathe in is important, but do NOT spray or mist a hen yourself. Let her decide how much humidity is necessary.

 

Less likely is that the babies inside the eggs have some genetic defect, but that is only likely to happen with one bird, not all of them. 

 

Those are some of the most likely possibilities. If you have two birds of the opposite sex, and the male is feeding the female, then eventually they will probably succeed at mating. Meanwhile, don't remove infertile eggs until the hen actually abandons them herself. Hens learn from the fact that their eggs didn't hatch, and are more likely to have fertile eggs in the future. Removing them yourself is not wise. Eggs are due to hatch in 18 to 25 days, but only after they've been warmed by brooding. If she's frightened off the nest too soon, they could get cold and not hatch. She should be allowed to abandon them herself, usually after 25 days for a Bourke hen.  Good luck.

 

 

CLICK HERE and Link to the Book with all the Answers! Smiles.

 

 

Our experienced mother hen, a Rosy Bourke, named Rosie.

Jewel, a Splendid hen.





Male Bourke, Sunset, a blue-edged Cream and his mate,
Starfire, a Lutino Bourke hen. Their first clutch in 2018.
 





 

 

 

CLICK HERE: LINKS TO ROSIE BIRD ON AMAZON.COM

 

 

Budgies vs. Bourke Parakeets

Budgerigar Parakeets in a Pet Store.
This is our granddaughter, moving
toward loving birds, we hope!

It's been a while since I've posted any of the many questions that rosie.birds@gmail.com receives almost daily. This one today was fun to answer.

"I have found your wonderful website and am wondering if you might answer a couple of questions regarding the Bourke Parakeet. I have been searching for a young Budgie Parakeet from a responsible breeder, but have not located one near our home ... I recently came across the Bourke and am wondering if they make equally wonderful pets as the Budgies do? It seems they share similar qualities, but can you tell me if they do best with a companion Bourke (or other species) or as a single? We are looking to add either of these to our family and thought you might help us streamline our search. Thank you so much!" 

Our Answer: 
Budgies and Bourkes are approx. the same size and both eat Budgie seed mixes. Budgies are more likely to accept fruit in their diet. Bourkes don't seem to like fruit, but they love veggies. Their personalities are very different. Most Budgies are more active, louder and chew more. They climb and Bourkes don't. Bourkes need to fly for exercise since they aren't climbers. Bourkes are quieter and less messy than Budgies and less active. They love being talked to and, even if not hand tame, most learn to come to the side of the cage to be face-to-face with their owners. They love people.

Budgies can be more clown-like and silly. If not tame, they are more likely to bite, but a frightened Bourke will too. Either will tame down if adopted while very young. But, an older Bourke is more likely to become trusting than is an older Budgie. Bourkes have a sweet song and don't often do any screeching, which a Budgie might.

Bourkes are most active at dawn and dusk and tend to nap during the day. However, they wake and will interact with an owner if approached. Budgies nap too, but less often than a Bourke. Bourke eyesight is sharper in dim light than is a Budgie's. However, Budgies can mimic words or phrases repeated to them and owners will understand them. Bourkes wolf whistle and sing prettily, but their mimicking ability is very low.

We've had both and since we keep a large flock, and are fondest of peace and quiet, Bourkes work better for us than any other species. That said, however, a tame Budgie can be just as affectionate and as much fun as any Bourke. A bunch of Budgies, however, are raucous. By contrast, a room full of Bourkes may sound like a rain forest, but a softly quiet one. :-)

Young Bourke Parakeets we raised.
These four are siblings from same clutch.

All birds are happiest with another of their own kind. Even another bird helps because owners cannot always be present, and having another bird "friend" is advantageous. Bourkes are typically very gentle birds and Budgies can be aggressive, especially Budgie hens. Putting them together successfully depends entirely on the two birds. A Budgerigar hen is likely to be cruel to a Bourke hen. A male Budgerigar, however, might treat his Bourke hen as if she were his mate. They cannot interbreed though. Bourkes are only able to reproduce with another Bourke.

Because Budgies are more abundant, they are typically easier to find than Bourkes and cost less. You'll never find a "pink" or "rose" colored Budgie, in spite of the fake photos on Pinterest. The rare rose of Rosy Bourkes is what drew me to my first pair decades ago. Since then, I've grown to love the Normal (wild-colored) Bourkes and all other shades of Bourke Parakeet. These sweeties are my favorites.  Hope this was helpful.

Peace & Blessings,

Gail

(aka Rosie Bird)  

BOURKE PARAKEET DIET AND OTHER ISSUES, A QUESTION

Recent Inquiry. Some emails result from Rosie Bird Videos, and possibly not from this blog.

Rosy Bourke hen and her chicks.

QUESTION:

Good morning,

Please can you answer a few questions for me? I have recently acquired a pair of Rosie's and have not been able to get more info on them:

What seed do the eat? They don't seem to eat the parakeet seed but are in the budgie seed.
What supplement, veggies or fruit can they have?
Can they be put together in a cage with show budgies?
Do they have to be separated from other birds to be able to breed?


Grit, oyster shell, white mineral block, cuttlebone,
nestling food and brown rabbit circular salt block .


ANSWER:

Bourkes  primarily eat budgie seed, but can eat finch seed and some things in cockatiel seed. They like vegetables. I give mine cooked corn, peas, green beans and carrots. Fresh broccoli and/or kale are both very good. Mine won't eat fruit ... a few will try apple, but not fond of it. They should always have at least cuttlebone available. Other good things are mineral block, oyster shell and rabbit salt blocks (for the vitamin D in them).

When breeding I give mine egg food (boiled egg, including shell and bread crumbs blended together).

Bourkes can be housed with other birds in an aviary of adequate size. Larger birds may harass them, however. If you have a mated pair, the males will usually chase one another, and hens will also chase the other hen (an exception might be siblings, but more often than not, they will still be aggressive to the competition). Housed in an aviary, always provide more nest boxes than you have pairs. A budgie or cockatiel box is fine. In a smaller cage, it's okay to put young birds together until mature during breeding season. Then there may be problems if both sexes are present. I've had no trouble housing just hens, or just males together. Mix the sexes, however, and there will be problems when there's plenty of daylight (or artificial light) to simulate breeding season.

Please go to my website and enter "breeding" into the Search box. Many early posts will come up on this topic. There's even one on egg food.  Here is a link to one of them:

 

http://thesplendidbourkebirdblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/breeding-bourkes-splendids-or-other.html 

 

Lutino Bourke hen.

Peace and Blessings!

 

Bourke Parakeets: Determining Sex

Nest box being attached in February to begin new season
of breeding, egg laying and raising of young Bourkes.

QUESTION:
On Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 1:35 AM, David wrote:
Hi Rosie,
I’m trying to sex 2 bourkes. One is the wild type the other being a Rosie.
Hope you may be able to help.
Regards,
David
----------------------------

 

Baby Bourke at 9 days old, ready for banding with
Budgie sized bands. His feet are at maximum length.
Any bigger and he couldn't have been banded.

 

ANSWER:

On Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 10:53 AM,
Rosie Bird wrote:

Hello David,

Wild types are easy once they are mature. Males have a tiny line of blue feathers over the cere (nostrils). Females don't have that. Males are also slightly brighter in pink and blue areas, with brighter turquoise in shoulders. However, this feature varies between birds. So, the blue line above their cere is the main determining factor.

 

Normal Bourke Parakeet. This is a male. His colors
are slightly brighter than the hen's. Male Bourkes of
the wild variety also have a tiny line of blue feathers
above the cere (nostrils). Difficult to see in this photo.

Normal Bourke hen and chicks.

 

As for Rosies, only their behavior will give them away, short of having them DNA'd. Once mature, males will often display in ways that hens do not. They also seem to sing more and occasionally wolf whistle.

When I'm going to sell young Rosies and am unsure of their sex, I've sometimes sent a tiny blood sample in for DNAing. It requires clipping a toenail slightly short, dabbing a smear of blood on a card, and then dipping the "injured" toe into corn starch to staunch any further bleeding. I resisted doing that for years, but once done, I realized how easy it was and didn't seem to hurt the little birds. I use Health Gene in Canada. It's only $12 and they send a lovely certificate that follows up after an email giving the sex of the bird.  http://www.healthgene.com/avian-dna-testing/

Below is a copy from The Splendid Bourke Bird Blog on BlogSpot. If you go there and enter "Sexing" into the Search Box, you will get lots of posts on this topic. http://thesplendidbourkebirdblog.blogspot.com/

"Male Bourkes throw their shoulders back and flair their wings slightly at the shoulder, standing tall. I call this strutting. You won't see a hen do this and males do it at a very young age.

Hens take longer to behave like hens. If there is a male bird present they squat down and raise their tail, cheeping, (preferably for another Bourke, but I've seen them display for other parakeet varieties when no male Bourke is around). On rare occasions I've seen a male do this in front of a hen who doesn't want to mate...I think he's showing her how. :-) Birds have preferences for their mates too."

Peace and Blessings,

Gail

An Oregon Coast Sunset taken above Larson Slough,
about five miles from our home.

 

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

 

 

MITES ON BIRDS - A Question & Answer



Flame and Fuchsia, Rosy Bourke Parakeets

We get many questions and I try to answer every one. I'm remiss, however, about posting them here. Someday I'll go collect more and post others. Meanwhile, this one arrived today.



Duchess and her daughters, Lady Gouldian finches.

 

QUESTION:

Hi Gail,

I have a Bourke's parakeet with scaly face mites, a.k.a. knemidokoptes infestation. He was diagnosed today at the veterinarian. She put him, and my two others Bourke's on Stronghold medicine.

 

I give one dose to each bird today, then after two weeks I give the second dose. She's concerned he isn't getting enough vitamin A, so I'm adding a liquid multivitamin on their food. The peas they like the best so I drop some on top of those. They have more dandruff than usual and have been molting (or losing) feathers. This is my first experience with mites! Have you had this problem before? Any suggestions?

Thank you,

Melissa

 

ANSWER:

Hello Melissa,

Years ago I leaned into a nest box to inspect the babies and later noticed a tickle at my forehead. I looked in mirror and saw teensy black spots moving there. Ick! I'd probably let my head touch the edge of the box's lid when I opened it. I looked at the nest box closely and sure enough, that's where they came from... there were lots of them on the box lid. I was not happy.

 

No mites on these healthy Rosy Bourke Parakeet babies.

 

Unfortunately, the vets in our area don't know anything about birds, only dogs and cats or one or two treat horses and cows. Our closest avian vet is many, many hours away, although I made the trip once and she is very nice ... she's the only avian vet I know of in our whole state. :-(

 

After careful investigation, I ordered a concentrated mite spray on the internet. Our Grange had some kinds, but they didn't have good reviews, whereas this one did. When it arrived I diluted per directions and put it in a small bottle that had had eye glass cleaner in it. It gave a fine mist. Used a directed, it was touted to not hurt baby birds in the nest. I removed all food and water, then sprayed everyone, even those in the nests. Cleaned the cages and waited a short while for everything to be very dry before returning food and water.

 

Fortunately, it took care of the mites and I've never seen any since. What kind of mites they were, I've no clue. I still have the concentrate in case it's ever needed again.

 

Two things I'd recommend for your birds if you're not already doing it. Buy fresh Kale and give it frequently. We chop ours up and put it in empty lids. We store the extra leaves in the fridge for up to a week, and can chop a little every day for the birds. It's rich in Vitamin A.

 

Maybe even more valuable are the rabbit salt blocks. They have iodine and Vitamin D. The birds will use them as needed just as they use cuttlebone. A lifetime breeder, who gave talks to bird specialists all over the world before he decided he was too old to keep traveling, told me about this. Since I added them a few years ago, my birds' production of babies has increased ... that's an indication of good health. The salt blocks will damage wire cages, so keep each in a plastic dish or lay them on newspaper like I do.

 

The dander and molting could be expected from a mite infestation. Once they’re gone, and given a healthy diet, your birds should gradually return to their former splendor.

 

Peace & Blessings,

Gail

 

 




 

MORE  INFO:

This was covered in an earlier blog post last April. Here is the text from that post:

 

"Mites transfer to other birds easily.  I assume that, like cat lice, they can't survive on people or other animals.

I had mites occur once to my flock years ago. I bought a mite spray at our Grange that didn't work well (it was 8in1). Also, it was necessary to avoid the head and eyes. It said nothing about what to do for babies in the nest, and I had many of them at the time. 

What DID work was "Avian Insect Liquidator" by VETAFARM. It's a concentrate, and when mixed according to directions, it's approved for spraying into a nest box, even on newly hatched chicks. It costs more for a bottle, but is a concentrate and makes a lot. I mixed the concentrate into a tiny spray bottle because it only takes a small amount. I reused a spray bottle that previously had eyeglass cleaner in it. It is small and emits a fine spray.  

That mixture worked wonders right away. I had to order it online, but it came quickly. It was ordered through All Bird Products, Inc. The 100ml bottle makes two liters and I still have the concentrate these many years later.  I've never had a reoccurrence of the problem."

Mites sap a bird's energy and are harmful, especially to baby birds and should be taken care of as quickly as feasible.  

 

A young Opaline Fallow Pink Rosy Bourke Parakeet.

 

Peace & Blessings!

 

 

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.