FINCHforum

I have had two Rosy Bourke hens sitting on eggs now for what feels like months.... finally one hen Pinky has one chick and my other hen Ruby just hatched three chicks. Ruby is the hen that lost her 4 chicks and I am keeping my fingers crossed all goes well this time . I won't be taking any photo's until they fledge playing it safe this time...

Good luck and congratulations!

Best of luck with the new baby bourkes. Thinking towards the future and possibly breeding mine, I'm paying close attention and taking notes. Bob

Congratulations Sherry and best of luck

That's great! I hope all goes well this time.

Hi sherry

I purchased a pair lately , the previous owner say's they reared a clutch and also that a clutch failed to hatch earlier this year
I am wondering why your bird's lost their 4 chick's
I thought they were very steady birds to breed , guess that's the ups and downs of breeding birds .
Im delighted to finally have a pair with a view to breeding some chick's , trying to ensure I have them set up proper for that
I do hope your's rear well and fledge in time , good luck with that
Out of curiosity does your cock rosa have any blue feathering to his crown , my fella does not , initially thought I was sold 2 hen's ?
Regards , Mick .

Mick M. wrote: Out of curiosity does your cock rosa have any blue feathering to his crown , my fella does not , initially thought I was sold 2 hen's ?
Regards , Mick .

That's normal. You can not identify gender in Rosies by their coloring. You would either need to do a DNA test, or wait until you can tell by their behavior.

Good luck to both of you. I have read that Bourke's are easy to breed, but so far mine have been difficult. There could be a lot of different reasons, so for now I am just continuing to tweak how I manage them in hopes that I will eventually hit on the right combination to make them happy enough.

Mick congratulations on your new pair of Bourkes.... My male Rosy does not have any blue on his head but my normal male Bourke does.

Couldn't tell you why my rosy hen lost all 4 chicks but she was not feeding them and sitting outside the nest waiting for them to fledge. They were big enough... She has 3 new hatchlings now and taking good care of them

ranchnanny wrote: Mick congratulations on your new pair of Bourkes.... My male Rosy does not have any blue on his head but my normal male Bourke does.

Couldn't tell you why my rosy hen lost all 4 chicks but she was not feeding them and sitting outside the nest waiting for them to fledge. They were big enough... She has 3 new hatchlings now and taking good care of them

Thanks sherry ,
Its very reassuring to know I do have a pair , the cock bird's plumage is more vibrant , the hen a bit duller .
Thought I had been codded when there was no blue feathering on his head
Strange that she stopped feeding the chick's , was it her first clutch ?

Regards , Mick .

If she stops feeding again at that stage, she may think it's not part of her job description. You might be able to save them if you hand feed them.

When they get to almost that age, you can start keeping millet and seed and oats in the box. The chicks might peck around and learn to eat on their own. And keep an eye out for their crops starting to be not filled.

You can try to supplement feed them with formula while they are in the box, but if that isn't working, you may have to take them completely away and finish feeding them out yourself. Hopefully the Bourke's breeders on here who have done this themselves can give you some tips.

Finally got to take a photo of the new hatchlings you can't see it in the photo but one has lots of yellow on wings. They are getting big and mom is doing a great job of feeding them.

So happy to hear your hen is being a good momma. Fingers crossed these babies grow up to be healthy, happy birds

They look great, hope they continue to do well for you!!!

They do look great and are going to be a very pretty color when they feather out. Keep the pics coming. Bob

Oh they sure do look good!
best of luck