My Dream Bird!

[LadyGMom]

I am so excited! I just sent a deposit on a handfed baby Rosy Bourke. I have 3 painful weeks to wait to get the cutie but while I am waiting I am doing lots of shopping for the new baby. I have him/her a huge flight cage but I would like some pointers on any of you that currently have these awesome birds in your lives and what do you recommend a good quality seed? I will also be feeding lots of fresh veggies and fruits too and birdie bread. Recipes are a plus also if you have any that you recommend for a Bourke I am not sure if the baby is a male or female but it was the darkest pink out of the 3 in the clutch so I am hoping male. Do they have the ability to talk? Do they stay pretty tame if handled a lot? I am just captivated by their beauty.

[paul-inAZ]

A great bird. You should love it.

I don't do anything special for mine.
For basic diet I get a cockatiel mix at a farm store that carries a variety of bulk seeds. I periodically add partially smashed up freeze dried worms.
I have experimented with pelleted food. They do eat it but not with any vigor, mostly ignoring some of the colors. I think the multicolored pellets are not favorites and I'd go with plain ones if you want to try them.
When nesting with hatchlings I feed freeze dried worms and commercial egg food daily. They love that. I no longer bother making egg food.
Cuttle bone available always. Crushed eggshells +/- crushed oyster when nesting.
They are not gnawers or chewers so mine show little interest in chewing on the things that a budgie would enjoy eating. Once in a while they will pick at corn on the cob. Leafy or solid vegetables are trifled with unless cut up.

Talking: no
Hand taming is not easy. They are however the calmest birds you can imagine.

[lovezebs]

LadyGMom

I don't have any, but just saw several younglings a little over a week ago at our Feather Fest. They were very pretty pink babies, and it was oh so tempting, but I slapped my hands away, telling myself NO MORE HOOKBILLS ! and got my Gouldian girl instead.

From what I've heared from people who have them though, they only have good things to say. They are described as calm and really sweet natured birds, compared to all other parrot species.

Congratulations! Pictures are a MUST!


Elana

[Atbird]

Congratulations! I don't have bourkes , but linnies, which are very similar. They should stay tame, although a little flighty, but less flighty than a finch.

[LadyGMom]

Thank you!!! So even though being handfed the baby will still be flighty? I was wanting one of those Linnies I saw at a Birdfair one time but I told myself if I got that then no Bourke so I stopped myself. I was hoping to be able to hold and cuddle the baby when he/she arrives being that the breeder has pulled them from the nest and is handfeeding them I thought they might be calm and sit on my hand or even let me scratch it.

[paul-inAZ]

Calm -definitely. Mine are not flighty when I clean the cage or put food in.
Finger tame -possible but not always easy. Yours could have a good start on this.
Cuddling and stroking -you may be expecting a bit much.

[lovezebs]

LadyGMom

If this baby was pulled and hand fed, I would assume, that he/she, will come to you hand tamed. I know that when hookbill babies are pulled from the nest and hand-fed, they become hand tamed. This is the method used by breeders to tame babies.

If you are wondering about this, why not contact your breeder and ask?

Good luck with your baby. Have you marked the date off on your calendar with big X's ?

Elana

[debbie276]

Congratulations and best of luck!
When I had bourkes I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them. I'm sure you will absolutely love how calm and gentle they are. They are the only hookbill that I would even consider putting in with my finches.
Please post pictures when you can

[LadyGMom]

Thank you Elana and Debbie! I have marked the Calendar and I am more than ready for that sweet baby to come home to me I will post pictures as soon as he/she gets here!!

[finchandlovebird]

Congrats How exciting I have Scarlet Chest Grass Parakeets, with a baby to fledge any day now. They are similar to Bourkes.....calm, gentle, beautiful, non-destructive.
Don't forget millet spray & Romaine lettuce. Mine especially enjoy sprouts. I've not had success with pellets with them (Roudybush) so I ground the pellets up & add them to the egg food. They especially like Kaytee Parakeet Grassland Foraging Diet And have separate small cups with canary grass in one & hemp in the other. They LOVE hemp Also seeds from various grasses & weeds (from a non-chemical area).
You will have sooooooooooo much fun.

[Atbird]

Bourkes are sometimes kept with linnies, both have similar temperament and I housed my linnies with my canaries in a large flight cage for two years with no problems (I separated them when I got a new cage for the canaries and set up the linnies to breed...they are a little territorial at that time). If they were in an aviary, I probably would've let them stay together. When I mentioned "flighty" I mention relative to other, large hookbills. They are super calm compared to finches and budgies, etc.