Bourkes

[laurab]

Both my hen and cock Bourkes have been nest sitting, and today I checked the nest and saw 2 chicks :-P

[Wez Kozlowski]

Congrats on the Baby Bourkes they are a charming species to keep especially in a mixed collection.
If you are not already doing it may I suggest that you provide plenty of uncontaminated seeding grasses as I recall when I had this species the used to go crazy with the bundles I used to put inthe flight spending hours picking through the stalk heads.
I recall breeding them myself many years ago the parents were very attentive the only fault I could find with them with regard to my own collection was that they became very active at dusk which unfortunatly was the time that all the other residents of the aviary were settling down for the night. Though the other birds in the aviary soon got used to this routine I found it very difficult to introduce new birds to the aviary when trying to make pairs up. In the end the Bourkes were moved to anviary all on their own which brought piece and quite to the first aviary.
All the best Wez

[laurab]

Hi Wez,

I do allow some grass to grow wild in my garden just for my birds ;-)

You are right, they are more active at night, but it doesn't seem to bother the other residents in the aviary.

Apreciate the advice, thank you.

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura,

Congratulations on the two chicks mate,:-D I bet you thought it was never going to happen?:lol:

Also great advice Wez, despite their name of Grass Parrakeet, I doubt many breeders think to provide Grasses for them even if it is an occasional treat?:-D

Paul.:wink:

[kenny]

hi laura
thats reallg great laura. chicks of any breed are welcome but isuppose the bourkes will be more welcome than others .as you have waited long enough


ken8)

[laurab]

Upon further inspection of the nest, there were 3 chicks but one died.

I had another peep yesterday and the larger of the two chicks had its wing around the other........they looked so cute.:smile:

[Wez Kozlowski]

Yet again,
Well done.
I'm sorry to hark on about it, but you may find the feeding of seeding grasses an essential part of the breeding and rearing of Bourkes.
I found looking through my records that soaked seed, bundles of grasses at least 3 times per week plus the occaisonal mealworm seemed to stimulate the breeding imperitive and the bigger the variety of foods available encouraged the parents to sample almost everything as well as offering said variety to the chicks.
The result in my case was that when the chicks started to feed themselves they would try almost anything I offered them.
This proved to be quite handy if I ever ran out of the basic foods that I fed them on.
Hope the advice helps.
Wez.

[laurab]

Hi Wez

as always, all advice gratefully received :wink:

[kenny]

hi laura/wez
i wish there were more places where you could pick up wild plants to feed your birds without running the risk of poisoning your stock

ken8)

[Waxbillman]

plenty near me Ken, there 15 acres next to me own my the compant i work for, all hasn't been farmed for 3 years since we got taken over, in fact just yesterday, i went round with a frien to dig a load of long grass out for his aviary.

Matthew

[kenny]

hi matt
well this is progress for ya i used to go on the edge of the school feild as i knew the council would not spray on the kids play areas but now there are 2 drop in centres built on there so they go round with the spray guns.even on the road edge benches you can see the dried up remains of wild plants i would have to travel to beverley westwood to get any decent stuff that the cows havent eaten or crapped on.i used to get plantains and dock seeds a foot long when the feilds were left ,but east riding council are mad on spraying near us as i live on the main beverley cottingham ring road so all the visiting dignitaries pass by us so it has to look tidy for mr prescott when he comes home to sutton


ken

[Waxbillman]

oh right, its not just your council all of them do it.

Matthew

[kenny]

hi matt
there is nowhere i can go,to get any stuff that i can be assurred hasn`t been sprayed

ken

[Waxbillman]

thats a shame

that for the e-card by the way, saved me doing it

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura and Ken,

Laura,

I'm sorry that you lost one of the Bourkes chicks,:-( how are the two remaining chicks doing now?

Ken,

A friend of mine in Surrey has a great source of greenfood for his British Finches to the point that the Farmer who owns the land will phone him to ask if it OK to plow the fields, if Martin tells him he still has a clutch or two still in the nest, then the farmer will put off plowing the field.:lol:
Shortly before moving to Dorset I went with Martin to collect some greenfood for my birds, I came home with a dustbin liner full of various Grasses and seeding weedplants, but the bonus was the fact that the bag was also teeming with livefood that my birds enjoyed far more than the greenfood.:D

Are there any Farms near you that you could strike a deal with as my mate Martin has done?

Paul.

[Rogerb]

:-D yep me I got 400 acres of shooting just a mile away IM pretty confident that ifI Owen the owner and explained what I wanted it for he would be OK with it I will run it by him see what he says :)

[kenny]

hi paul
i am surrounded by farms mate,i am only 5 minutes away from the country in any direction and we are surrounded by rape feilds ....i have never bothered to ask really so it might be worth a try to just pick some stuff from the hedge rows inside the feilds as long as they are not sprayed



ken 8-)

[kenny]

hi matt
no probs with the e-card mate,by the way i think you were trying to talk to my son earlier on as he came home at 6 and went on to e-bay and i was in the bird shed he told me the hotmail address and i guessed it was you....sorry i missed you mate but thats why i put the message up about him being on as most of the time he just ignores the messages i have told him all he has to do is fetch me or reply and tell whoever that i am not online but he is frightened i take the pc over again,,,,,,kids!well he is 27


ken:shock:

[Waxbillman]

nar problem Ken

why don't you set the status to apprea offline everytime you sign in then if it is your son we cannot contact him

Matthew

[kenny]

hi matt
the thing that annoys me is he didnt tell me until he was going out to play football at 8pm yet he expects me to inform him of every message that comes through for him about e-bay items......the swine!



ken:p

[Waxbillman]

hello Ken

at 27 i think you should kick him out now.

Matthew

[kenny]

hi matt
you must be joking he knows where is bread is buttered.he earns a small fortune drivws a sports car has a really good job with n power (renewable energy resources) and he has his mam to run after him why would he want to leave home! we keep hinting but i think he is here to stay,he wont get married he hates kids and loves money:lol: :lol: :lol:


ken:roll:

[Waxbillman]

lol, well if he is there to stay, you should be charging for it

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Roger and Ken,

Roger,

I'm certain from what you have told me before about this place that the greenfood and all of the free livefood in it would help your birds breeding in a huge way and not just Laura's Bourkes, this could be just what Laura's Weavers, Cape Sparrows, Kikiyu/Broad Ringed Zosterops, your Whydahs etc need to kick them into breeding mode.:D Please keep your mate in mind though wont ya, one dustbin liner a week should be enough for me.:lol:

Ken,

Go for it mate and ask the Farmer if he wouldn't mind you taking some greenfood for your birds, his reply to your question might just be the one you are hoping for?:lol:

Paul.;-)

[kenny]

hi matt
dont worry he doesn`t stay in this hotel for free mate.....:-D

paul
i think i will go round the lanes on sunday and see if there is a kind farmer out there

ken:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

Good luck chappie, I hope you find yourself a good Summer long source of greenfood and the bonus of livefood for your birds too.

Paul.;-)

[laurab]

My baby Bourke left it's nest yesterday, it looks just like it's Mum :-P

[kenny]

hi laura
so it looks a lot like you then eh!;-) :lol: :lol: :lol:
how ya coping with the kids on holiday.....


ken

[laurab]

Of course she does:razz:

Bournemouth Council run a play scheme for the under 12's, it last for 5 weeks mornings only and costs only £26! and Elsa loves it!

As Krissie is now 17 nearly 18 she has got herself a job to cover the summer holidays:razz:

[laurab]

Hi All

My Bourkes are rearing 3 chicks this time :-D

[kenny]

hi laura
well done there,how many rounds has that been this year


ken

[laurab]

Hi Kenny

just the two. :razz:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura,

Good one mate,;) I hope they all fledge, it sounds as though the pair are getting the hang of it now, next year the clutches should be larger with the adults rearing a higher percentage, still four this year is a great start for their first season.:D

Paul.:D

[laurab]

My last young Bourke has left the nest today :p

[laurab]

Sadly I discovered my adult hen dead yesterday :( There were no obvious signs of harm, it looked like she died whilst in her sleep as her head was turned and tucked into her feathers. We have had some real chilly nights but the night she died was very mild.

I am now left with the adult cock and four youngsters - I think I will sell them :roll:

[kenny]

hi laura
thats a real shame for you, we have had some real bad nights up here also really cold ones




ken

[laurab]

How do you sex Rosa Bourkes???

__________________________________________________ _______________________

One of my young Bourkes becomes very 'animated' when I am nearby. It makes a whistling sound like it is trying to say "pretty birdie" and if I bob my head up and down it copies. (Paul doesn't believe me) Is there any chance this bird could be taught to speak???

[Waxbillman]

i have never kept bourkes so i'm sure your more informed than me as to sexing them.

as far as them talking i would certainly say they are capable of talking.... after all far less likely birds have been able to talk, the bullfinch for example

Matthew

[laurab]

BULLFINCH!!! :shock:

[Waxbillman]

yep, i still have the newspaper article somewhere if i remember rightly its was featured in 1998, so the poor bugger may well be pushing daisies

[kenny]

hi laura
i would beleive it is possible as budgies can and they are very similar they ahv that very thick tongue business....all you have to do is whistle back at it a few times and say a few phrases to it....if this makes you feel any better i was reading a very old defunct bird mag in the library the other week and someone in somerset had a talking canary....yeah right!:D

ken

[laurab]

I've discovered a baby Bourke in the aviary this morning! :p

[cooltom28]

wow dont you just love suprises how old is it?

[laurab]

If I say it flew the nest today will that give you some idea? Here are a couple of photo's taken with my Sony Ericsson. The bird is very tame!

[kenny]

hi laura
really nice pictures

ken

[laurab]

Thanks Kenny, I am very impressed with the phone's capability and it is only 2mpixels!

[cooltom28]

fine looking chap be even better after the moult

[PAUL HEARN]

Nice one Laura,

So I guess the Rosa Bourkes will be around for some time after all then.:-D

Paul.;-)