Bourke Parakeet Youngsters, All 11 of Them! July, 2019

Our current hand fed baby Bourkes nearly weaned. Love these little critters!

Hand Feeding Tutorial — With Many Young Bourke's Parakeets

Our latest sweethearts!

Bourke Parakeet Youngsters, Summer 2019

Bourke Parakeet 2nd Clutches. Beautiful, Healthy Baby Birds.

We love our Bourke Parakeets! Latest You Tube video of them shows Starfire and Sunset raising three, Blossom and Songster with four and Peaches and Stormy with five. Two of Starfire's are actually two that she's fostering from Peaches... Who knew Starfire could be a good surrogate mother for our more prolific Peaches!

Bourke Parakeet Babies Nearly Weaned, 12 Tame Youngsters

Babies, babies, everywhere! It's Springtime!

Splendid Parakeets Get a Nest Box Next Door to Bourke Parakeets

Our Scarlet-chested Parakeets are Splendid! Smile.

Young Bourke Parakeets Fledged and Learning to Eat

An update on our 12 baby Bourkes!

Baby Bourke Parakeets Being Co-Fed (hand-fed and parent-fed)

Photo shows Stormy watching over one of his babies as I hand feed it.

Bourke Parakeet Parents and Babies — Four Separate Clutches

Four clutches with a total of 12 baby Bourkes! 

Splendid or Scarlet-chested Parakeets, New to the Flock

Our newest flock members ... Ricky and Lucy, a mated pair who parented together in the past.

Bourke Parakeets Newly Hatched, day-by-day from 4 Tame Hens

Following our Bourke hatches. As of today, we have 12 baby Bourkes, although not all are shown in these videos. More videos to come with all 12!

Nest Boxes for Grasskeets Ready for Spring Hatches

Today's Video by Rosie Bird on You Tube. 

Rosy Bourke Parakeet Nest Box Installed, First One This Year

Rubino Bourke with Dark Eyes!

Have a look at the two Rubino photos sent to us from Margie Archibald Hoard. One has dark eyes! 

Dark-eyed Rubino baby in front and red-eyed baby in back.

This is something I didn't think could happen in a Rubino (or a Lutino), but it appears to be the case. The one behind makes it easy to compare one with red eyes to one with dark eyes. Even though some yellow exists on their wings, I'd call both a Rubino if the rose goes all the way down their backs to their tails. If there is yellow on the back anywhere, then they'd be Lutino.  

As I told Margie, I'm still learning things every day, and a dark-eyed Rubino is news to me. I appreciate her sharing the photo and information. 

Same dark-eyed Rubino when a little older, per Margie.

The two babies below are ours. They are siblings from the same clutch and one is a Rubino while the other is a Lutino. It's the same genetic circumstance, just different terms for their difference in color. 

Windy Ridge Rosies babies ... ours. Clearly a Lutino and a Rubino.
These two beauties are out of Stormy and Peaches. They're sisters hatched in 2018. 

Don't delay. If you haven't already purchased a copy of 

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

be sure to do so. It's on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or from other booksellers. 

PEACE AND BLESSINGS,

Gail  

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.

Rosie Bird is Back - Specialist on Bourke Parakeets

Tame Young Bourke Parakeets, Feathered Beauties!

A Marketing "Plug" for BIRDS NOW ads ... Smile.

We've had some success advertising our young Bourke Parakeets online at Birds Now. No, we're not affiliated with them in any way. Simply have benefited from using them to advertise our birds.

If we actually shipped birds, which we don't, we wouldn't have enough to fill all the requests. As of Oct. 19, 2018 we've sold 24 young birds this year and have 21 remaining to sell. All are 2018 hatches. Some are hand fed and very tame and others are parent fed, but used to indoor activity so they don't panic over household noises ... not the garbage disposal, vacuum cleaner, dishwasher or a barking dog. 

2018 Lutino Bourke hen and 2018 Normal Bourke male.
These two chose each other and want to become a mated pair.

This lovely Lutino hen and Normal male have decided they want to be a couple. He's been feeding her and she happily accepts his attentions. So, I've decided to offer them as a couple. His mother is also a Lutino and his father is a red-eyed opaline fallow Rosy Bourke. Together they should produce some beautiful clutches of mixed colors. He sings most of the time, and beautifully!

She hatched April 14, 2018 out of our Peaches and Stormy. He's a Normal split to Lutino and Peaches is a light pink, red-eyed opaline fallow Rosy Bourke hen.

The male is out of Blossom, a Lutino hen, and Songster, a red-eyed opaline fallow fellow. Smile. He was hatched June 12, 2018. Although not necessary, when he was even younger, he was DNA tested to positively identify his sex. He has a pretty certificate from Health Gene in Canada showing he's a male.

Can you imagine the color range of youngsters they will produce? If we didn't have several pairs of Bourkes already, we'd be tempted to keep them ourselves. If you're interested, write to rosie.birds@gmail.com for more information.

She is lovely and he is a talented singer!

Our dog, Skoshi (means small in Japanese), is a cute little guy. He's half Shih-tzu and half Pekingese, although the Shih-tzu is most apparent. He barks at anything unknown, but the birds are so used to him that they ignore any of the sounds he makes. Before we had Skoshi, we had a large malamute and lab mix whose bark was deafening ... they ignored him too. Birds get used to all members of the family. If they panic over anything, it's wise to reassure them in your calm voice. They will respond and calm down too. A stray cat at the window, or a hawk perched outside can frighten them. Night fright can occur among any bird species and usually we won't have a clue as to what set them off... Again, a calm, reassuring voice should be all that is needed to settle them back down to sleep.

Our little dog is gentle with the birds. However, it is
best to never leave other pets alone with uncaged birds.

Just listening to them. He knows they're babies.

Peace & Blessings to you and your family, 

including your feathered family members. 

Keep Smiling! 

Bourke Parakeet Youngsters, Hand Fed, Wild Color of Australia

Bourke Parakeets, Hand Fed and Tame, Oct., 2018

Bourke Parakeet Youngsters ... Many, Many Available

Bourke Parakeets Not Feeding Their Hatchlings. How We Handled It.

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/

Hand Feed or Co-Feed Baby Birds? An Easier Taming Method.