Fledging Bourke's Parakeets - Growing up

Advantages of Co-Feeding Our First Clutches

Songster entering the nest box of his four youngsters.

This year we retired Rosy and Pretty Boy. They are elderly and their clutches from 2018 and 2019 weren't very successful. We might let them have one clutch later in the summer, but will wait and see. So, we have three pairs reproducing at present. Two other pairs we hope will do something in the future.

Because of the pandemic that's currently keeping us all at home, we decided to only co-feed these babies. If, for any reason, we had to be away from home, or were ill, hand feeding would be a problem. Co-feeding is allowing the babies to trust us and become tame without a full-time commitment to feeding them.

Watch the video of our 11 first clutch babies of 2020 on the colored link.

You Tube Video Link, click below

2020 First Clutches of Baby Bourke's Parakeets - Tame and Sweet

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

Baby Bourke's Parakeets -- Color Speculation & Banding of First Clutches

In Rosie Bird's Latest Video we are banding some of our 11 new baby Bourke's Parakeets.

Nest Box Construction

This post is taken from Chapter 17 of my book,
 "Rosie Bird's Guide to Small Exotic Birds" by Gail A. Lewis

Home to multiple clutches of baby birds, the humble nest box duplicates
the hollows where many varieties of birds nest and reproduce in the wild.

Making a nest box for your birds need not be an overwhelming project. Anyone with basic carpentry skills and a few tools can produce an inexpensive and functional box. The sizes given in this chapter will yield a box suitable for the various Grasskeets discussed in this book. It also works for Linnies and Finches. If you plan to raise larger birds, proportionally increase the dimensions.

Tools You Will Need

A saw capable of cutting plywood.

A 12 inch ruler or tape measure.

Drill with a 3/8 inch bit, 1/8 inch bit, and a 1¾ inch hole cutter.

Piece of 3/8 inch dowel – about six inches.

Rasp to round off corners.

Sandpaper to smooth edges.

Carpenter’s glue, such as Elmer’s Wood Glue.

Clamp(s) to hold pieces together as they dry.

A generous handful of small finish nails.

A hammer to drive those nails.

Pliers and small wire cutters to install nest box.

Each nest box is constructed of a bottom piece made from ¾” exterior plywood. The sides and lid are made of 3/8” plywood.

We asked our friendly local lumberyard to rip a sheet of plywood into nine inch strips lengthwise. Since a sheet of plywood is 48 inches wide, this yields five 9” x 8’ strips and one thin remainder. Save that remainder to use later. If you’re only making a couple of nest boxes, check with your lumber yard to see if they sell half-sheets of plywood.

Here’s a cutting list of pieces needed for a Grasskeet-sized box:

Floor – 9” x 8 1/4” piece cut from ¾” exterior plywood.

Front – 9” wide x 11” high plywood piece with the entrance hole, and a row of four or five small holes, 1/2” down from the top.

Back – 9” wide” x 10” high cut from plywood.

Side A – 9” wide x 9 ¾” high cut from plywood. This ¼” is the lip that the lid will rest on.

Side B – 9” wide x 10” high plywood piece. This will become the hinge side.

Top or Lid – 8” wide x 10” long plywood.

Schematic of the Nest Box

Viewed from above — Lid not shown

All corner joints are glued and nailed
for strength and stability.

Preparing for Assembly:

1. Cut your plywood floor to size.

2. Cut out the plywood pieces from a 9 inch strip of plywood.

3. The front will be mounted against the cage. Determine where you want to place the entry hole. [This will be determined by the location where you intend to remove several bars of the cage so the birds can access it from inside the cage.] It can be centered, or off to either side. Draw a horizontal line across the back (the 9” x 11” piece) about 3 ½ inches down from the top. Draw a vertical line where you want the middle of the entry to be. Where these two lines cross marks the center of the entry hole. Drill a 1¾ inch diameter hole there.

4. Carefully sand and smooth the edges of the entry hole to protect your birds.

5. About ¾ inches below the entry hole, drill a 3/8 inch hole on your vertical line for a perch.

6. Take your six inch dowel and carefully drive it through the hole under the entry. Enlarge the hole slightly if necessary, but not so much that the dowel doesn’t fit tightly. Center the dowel so there’s as much inside as there is outside. This allows a mother bird in the nest to stand on it while the father bird in the cage feeds her from outside the box. You can make this easier by placing one of the cage’s perches adjacent to it.

7. Drill a series of four or five 1/8 inch holes in an evenly-spaced line about ½ inch below the top of the board. They will be used to attach the nest box to the cage.

Creating the hinge:

1. Take the thin leftover strip of plywood and cut a piece equal to the width of the lid. This will be used to form a hinge. The lid is hinged from side-to-side and is attached between the front and back of the cage.

2. Apply glue, clamp the strip tightly, and let it dry.

3. After the glue has dried, use the rasp and sandpaper to round the bottom and top edge of the hinge end. This will allow it to open and close without binding. You’ll also want to round the exterior corners and edge, sanding them smooth. You’ll be lifting the lid often to check the eggs and baby birds...so smooth is nice.

Assembling the Nest Box, Step 1:

1. Lay your floor board floor flat on your work table. It helps to lay the four sides of the Nest Box on the work table around the floor so you can visualize how it comes together.

2. Attach the sides. Apply glue to one side of the base. Put Side A in place and drive several nails along the bottom to reinforce the connection. Remember, the lid will close onto Side A; its placement determines the direction the lid faces. Repeat the process, putting Side B on the opposite side.

Assembling the Nest Box, Step 2:

Attach the front and back. Spread glue along the floor edge and the edges of the piece. Carefully slip it in between the sides you’ve already put on. Nail along the floor and temporarily clamp. Repeat the process with the final piece. Once it’s in place and clamped, drive some nails along the joint where the two sides meet.

Assembling the Nest Box, Step 3:

Install the lid. Put the lid on the box the way it will be installed. The hinge portion should slip in between the front and back sides. Hold in place by pressing down the lip onto Side A, the shorter side, so the lid is level. Mark this position on Side B with a pencil line.

Now turn the box on its side and align the lid with the pencil line. Move it away from Side B creating a tiny gap so it doesn’t rub when opened. Once the lid is properly positioned, drive a 2d (1”) finish nail through each side and into the thin scrap glued to the lid. The nails will act as a hinge allowing you to open and close the box lid.

How to attach the Nest Box to a cage:

Align the nest with the hole you’ve created by removing several sections of the cage’s bars. Feed an 8” plastic cable tie through one of the holes previously drilled across the top of the Nest Box. Loop it around the upper horizontal bar of the cage and tighten. Four or five ties securely hold the box in place.

You can view our nest boxes at the Link Below: 

ROSIE BIRD VIDEOS on You Tube

***

PEACE AND BLESSINGS! 

Baby Bourke Parakeets Newly Hatched, and Hatching

Our Sweet Hens are Busy. Eggs are Hatching!

TOYS FOR PARAKEETS, SAFE OR UNSAFE?

ROSIE BIRD'S Latest Video on You Tube

Excited Bourke's and Splendid Parakeets! Nest Boxes are Installed for Sp...

Our sweet, tame Bourke's get their nest boxes for the upcoming year's breeding season. And, we have added a pair of Splendid Parakeets as well...

A Rainbow Bourke Parakeet -- Hen Shows What They Look Like

2020 Nest Boxes are up! Showing two of six.

Night Lights for Pet Birds, Especially Bourke Parakeets

Night Frights can injure pet birds. This is what we do to help protect ours.

Egg Binding Advice

This Bourke hen survived a harrowing experience.

Mystery Bourke Parakeet, Part 3

Our Mystery Bird is weaned and ready to take off to her new home. She was DNA'd as a hen.

Our "Mystery Bird" is a Pastel Cream fallow Bourke Parakeet.

A DNA from Health Gene in Canada says she is female. 

All her colors are soft and muted: Pink, yellow, blue and gray.

She won't darken as much as a male would, but her
colors will become more pronounced as she matures. 

Bird in front is Sunset, the father of the Pastel Cream
in the back. He is also a fallow Bourke. 

Because he is male, Sunset's colors are very bright.
Pastel Cream fallow Bourke in center with her sister,
a Rubino Bourke in back. 

Pastel Cream Fallow Bourke in front of her sister,
a Rubino Bourke from an earlier clutch. Their mother
is a Lutino Bourke named Starfire.

Our Mystery Bird is weaned and ready to take off to her new home. She was DNA'd as a hen.

Baby Bourke Parakeet Update -- November, 2019

Mystery Bourke Parakeet -- Part Two

He or she looks more yellow here than actually is. The striking blues don't show up in the video as well as they should. These colors will darken and change after a first molt ... so, our little one remains a mystery yet to come...

Mystery Bourke Parakeet & Sibling -- Part One

This is only Part One ... Part Two coming soon. Then, a final Part Three later, after a molt. He is a sweet bird and pretty amazing!

3 Lutino Bourke Parakeet Comparisons & Giving Rice Cereal Treats

Photo is of Rosebud, one of three Lutino's in this video. There are many other colors in it too. All are youngsters hatched this year and for sale.

A SPLENDID HEN SINGING! (Also called a Scarlet-chested Parakeet)

OUR SPLENDID PARAKEET MATED PAIR. These two parented one baby before coming to live with us. However, Splendids do not go right back to the nest like Bourke Parakeets do. I doubt we will see any babies from them until next year, possibly in the Spring. Meanwhile, they are very enjoyable members of our household.

KALE PREP For BOURKE PARAKEETS - BABIES EATING KALE

Husband Ed's Helpful Handy Work. 

Bourke Parakeets Enjoy Bathing –These are Youngsters

Bourke Parakeet Youngsters: Cream, Lutino, Rubino, Rosy, Normal & Pink O...

Our current sweethearts ,,, 

Splendid Visit with Scarlet-chested Parakeets

It's been several years since we raised Splendids. This new pair is exciting. We look forward to baby Scarlet-chested Parakeets in our future. The Bourke Parakeets are still our favorites, but a little variety is fun, and these birds are lovely.

Bourke Parakeet Procreation - Sunset & Starfire Mate & Begin a Family

How to start a bird family -- Sunset and Starfire mating and their resulting offspring.

20 Baby Bourke Parakeets on Aug. 27, 2019

Don't miss seeing our adorable beauties.

Splay Legged Bourke Parakeet Treatment

Into every endeavor some rain must fall ... Sunny in the end, however.

Questions?

If you have questions about your own Bourkes, or ours... Please send us an email so we see it the same day. Between this Blog, Facebook, Producing You Tube Videos, and Hand Feeding Baby Birds, we stay very busy and don't check everything as frequently as we otherwise might. But, we do see our daily email at: 

rosie.birds@gmail.com

Peace and Blessings.

Bourkes and Other Birds

When I perused the Spam Comments, some relevant questions weren't answered. People asked if Bourke Parakeets can breed with Linnies, Lovebirds or Splendids. The answer to all is NO!  

Songster & Blossom,
a male Opaline Fallow Rosy and a Lutino hen.

Those in the know tell us that a Bourke Parakeet, genus Neopsephotus bourkii, is only able to reproduce with its own kind and no other variety of bird. The same is true of Budgerigar Parakeets, genus Melopsittacus. 

Our male Splendid Parakeet.

A few varieties of small birds can interbreed with another. Turquoisine Parakeets can interbreed with Splendid Parakeets (also called Scarlet-chested Parakeets). 

Canaries can interbreed with Green Singing finches. There is even a repost on this blog of photos of an offspring from a Cockatiel and a Galah (also called a Rose Breasted Cockatoo). They call it a Galatiel. 

Many Macaws will interbreed if put together, as will Conures or certain varieties of large parrots. However, interbreeding among different species is not desirable. Offspring are often mules (unable to reproduce) and you are watering down a healthy, natural species. 

Bourke's Parakeets already come in some lovely colors, while still remaining Bourkes.  

A young Normal (wild color) Bourke.

A young Lutino Bourke hen. 

A Normal on swing, a blue-edged Cream in front above
the Rosy with a Lutino in back.

Front of Clyde, mate of Bonnie.

Back of Clyde, mate of Bonnie.

Pink Opaline Fallow Rosy Bourkes with red eyes.
These three are all sisters.

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!