Splendid, Scarlet-Chested Parakeets New to Our Flock

A new pair of Splendid Parakeets have joined our flock! 

Ruby Rubino Bourke's Parakeet Newly Hatched Clutch and Many, Many More

Our current babies that are available starting August 15, 2021. We will probably have tame, young birds available throughout the rest of the year. Currently we have 15 hand fed young Bourke's Parakeets with others coming on. Contact us for more information at:  rosie.birds@gmail.com 

Cleaning Nest Boxes. See Bourke Babies & Eggs in Multiple Clutches.

Our beautiful parents have many, many offspring this year! 

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)

Bourke's Parakeets Nestlings and Youngsters

Our latest babies. 

Bourke's Parakeets Nearly Weaned and Ready for New Homes. Our 2nd Clutch...

Check us out! 

Bourke Parakeet 2nd Clutch Babies Being Hand Fed

For information write to us at: rosie.birds@gmail.com

Sweethearts!

Bourke Parakeet's first clutches are fledged and weaned. More are coming, however. Babies in the nest boxes will be fledging late next month.

Lovely Splendid Parakeets, also called Scarlet-Chested Parakeets

Additions to our Flock ... Splendids! 

Bourke Parakeet Hens Blossom and Peaches Begin 2nd Clutches

Love our beautiful Bourke's! 

12 Baby Bourke's Parakeets from newly hatched to four weeks of age.

Our Birds

Baby Bourke's Parakeet Update at Windy Ridge Rosies

Our Wonderful Bourke's Hens are Mothers Again.

OUR BABY BOURKE PARAKEETS ARE HATCHING!

Eight babies in two nests so far and hopefully more to come! 

We Have Eggs! Bourke's Parakeets on Nests, and Feeding Fresh Kale

Nest Boxes - Getting Ready for Bourke's Parakeet Clutches

Windy Ridge Rosies in BOURKE-VILLE - (and other Grasskeets)

Come visit us on YouTube. 

SLOW TO FEATHER -- AN UNUSUAL BOURKE'S PARAKEET BABY

SPLENDID PARAKEETS SINGING AND BATHING

Comparing Bourke's Parakeets to Splendid Parakeets - Their Differences

Baby Bourke Parakeet's Eye Issue Treated & Cured

Forgive my following rant: I put this video together and entered You Tube to launch it at 9 p.m. on Friday night. For whatever reason, it didn't go up overnight even though I checked it 3 times during the night. It would show 78% then back down to 65%. By morning it showed 92%. Great! Finally. Then it backed down to 78%, doing this all day long. Long story, but at 2:30 p.m. the next day, Saturday, it finally loaded and was up. Also had this kind of trouble with the video before this one too.

Don't know what is wrong. My new computer? Using Windows 10 now? Is it the new wi-fi carrier that bought out Frontier? Is Microsoft sabotaging it since I'm still using Google, and not Bing, and not using their newest version of video editing?  I don't know, but it's getting more difficult to put up videos. Wish I had an answer and could fix it. Sad. Especially sad that it was easier on the OLD computer, and $700 later, things are worse than before. The new set-up was supposed to make everything faster and easier ... wrong.

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!

Bourke's Parakeet 3rd Clutch Youngsters Ready to Leave Us.

Been a while since I've uploaded a video.  Finally got to do one.  Have many more that need to go up.  Peace and Blessings!

BOURKE'S PARAKEET BABIES FLEDGING -- 14 OF MANY COLORS

How Bourke's Parakeet Parents Feed Their Young

Blossom and Songster's current clutch.

BOURKE'S PARAKEETS, NEWLY HATCHED AND AT 2 WEEKS OF AGE.

Hatchlings from mother birds Blossom, Peaches, Starfire and Rosie shortly after their hatch and again two weeks later.