Introducing Bonnie & Clyde - New Rosy Bourkes!

Well, the inevitable happened and MBS, also known as "multiple bird syndrome" caught up with me. I knew it would happen, but didn't think I would give in quite as quickly as it did! I really loved everything I had read about Bourke parakeets, and when I saw an ad for them semi-locally, I just had to jump on it! So after a drive one state away, I came home with a young unrelated pair of "Rainbow" Rosy Bourkes!

From what I understand, rainbow is just a term for extra colorful Rosy. Mine having a ton of extra yellow, that the typical Rosy would not have. They also both have a 50% chance of carrying fallow, which basically means if in fact they both are carriers, they could produce fallow babies. My pair was parent raised and not hand fed, so they are not tame. I am ok with this though since I am hoping to breed them and hand-feed the babies.

So far my experience with them has been limited since they are new but here are some things I have read which I took into account when setting up their cage (a HQ Flight Cage).

• Bourke Parakeets do not climb like some other parakeets by using their beak. They fly from place to place. This means they should not have a clutered cage, but lots of flying room. An absolute minimum cage should be 30"x18"x18". I decided on much bigger for mine. Their wings should also never be clipped for this reason.
• Bourkes are not heavy chewers, and are not huge on playing with toys. They do however appreciate swings, preening toys, easy to shred toys, and some like bells. Softer materials like paper rope, cork, and smaller pieces of balsa wood may also be appreciated.
• Bourkes are prone to night frights so are more comfortable without a cover, or being partially covered, and provided with a night light. 

Bourkes are Grass Parakeets which means they like to be on the ground for foraging, therefore their wire should either be removed, or covered with paper so that they don't hurt their feet on the cage floor. The paper should also be cleaned daily since they come in direct contact with it.

So far, I have been mainly just been trying to give Bonnie & Clyde their space, and let them settle in. They are very shy and flighty due to being parent raised. They do seem to like when I sit by the cage and talk to them, and have even started to chirp and sing with me in the room. Their voices are soooo sweet and melodic! So much more pleasant in my opinion than Budgies even! I am so glad to have added them to our flock and can't wait to get to know them better! 

PS- Sorry the pictures are not very good. I took them with my cell phone when the room was dimmer so that they wouldn't be too spooked. I will try to get better ones soon! 

Welcome to Biddy Birdies! Picking a species for me.

I grew up with all sorts of animals, including parrots. After about 10 years of being "birdless" I decided enough was enough and I needed another feathered friend in my life.  My favorite bird ever was a Sun Conure named Mango. He was a gift for my 10th birthday and it was love at first sight for both of us. I loved him sooooo much, but since my life is very different at this point, I decided I wanted (and needed) a bird that would fit my lifestyle and the wants/needs of our home.

So began the breed research. I wanted something smaller, and quieter, but that still had the big parrot personality. There are so many "Bitty Birdies" (little guys) that are gorgeous and have such amazing traits. Below are a few that I considered...

Rosy Bourkes - Beautiful little pink parakeets. They are very quiet, can be hand tamed, although typically are more of a shoulder/finger bird, and are not known to be biters. They typically do not like to be touched or cuddled though, and do not climb around much preferring to fly. Other than not using their beaks to climb, they are not big on playing with toys or chewing. They are definitely a bird I would LOVE to have in the future, maybe even a little flock in an aviary, but right now I wanted something that would be more playful, and hands on.

Lineolated Parakeets - An adorable little parakeet, more commonly referred to as "Linnies".  They come in a gorgeous array of colors, stay small, and can be very sweet especially if they are hand-fed. Some seem to become hand shy after a certain age, and they also can be a tad bit shy in general which in such a busy house, I feared they may not thrive.  I would however love to have some someday, just maybe not while our home is quite so hectic!

English Budgies - Bigger and "pouffier" than their American counterparts, English Budgies are a very fun little bird. They love to live in little flocks and are very active and amusing. They can be hand tamed, but like the Bourkes, they typically do not enjoy cuddling. They are very vocal, and while not necessarily loud, they do like to chatter all day long, and some can even learn to speak. In my area, they are very hard to find though, especially hand-fed ones.

Cockatiels - Cockatiels were never really a species that caught my attention, but while browsing around the local bird stores, I could not deny that they were very sweet birds! I can totally see why they are such a popular choice. They are not typically bitey, their crests are adorable, and their faces when they puff up are just too cute. For me however the dust they produce was a turn off, and they can also be pretty loud when they want to...especially the males. The females on the other hand, have been known to be very prolific, wanting to lay eggs and the fear of an egg bound hen would scare me.

Lovebirds - While I am very drawn to the look of Lovebirds, they can be quite noisy and shrill. Also, in my area it is very hard to find hand-fed babies. Unfortunately, many of the stores around here still insist Lovebirds must be sold in pairs (although they do not have them DNA sexed), and my search for local breeders was unsuccessful. They do however come in beautiful mutations, and in my opinion, the wild forms are even more beautiful than the mutation colors.

Green-Cheeked Conures - GCCs are a smaller quieter Conure. They come in some beautiful mutations, are known to be very sweet and affectionate. They are not as voracious with chewing as some Conures can be either, and are known to make good apartment birds. These charming little guys definitely made my short list, and in the future I would love to have one (especially a Pineapple)!

AND THE WINNER....

Pacific Parrotlets!!!! Parrotlets are teeny tiny parrots (not parakeets) with a BIG personality! They are just the perfect fit for me. They are coined "Miniature Amazons", and for a good reason. They are super outgoing (even to a fault) and thrive on activity. For such a tiny bird they love a huge cage, with lots of toys, and a lot of attention. They are very quiet, and some can even learn to speak. I have always loved Parrotlets, but was never able to have them in the past in fear of the bigger birds being able to put an end to a pushy little Parrotlet in one crunch of the beak, but now I finally will be able to have one, and THAT is the reason for starting this blog!

So from now on, this blog will be dedicated to the "Bitty Birdies", the adorable little species of parakeets and parrots who steal our hearts. I will be writing about my future bird(s) and life with them. I would also love to share stories of other Bitty Birdies, so please feel free to share about your Bitty Birdies with me!