Shirley Morgan's Bourke's Parakeets

No longer breeding

2010-06-06T11:41:00.002-04:00

Hello -- we are no longer breeding Bourke's. Please visit the following site for posting questions and getting answers:
http://www.thebirdforums.com -- Bourke's are discussed in the Miscellaneous Medley Forum. I am an admin on that site, and there are a few Bourke's breeders there. :)

* Crystal has found her new home *

2009-04-03T15:16:00.003-04:00

Crystal is a beautiful Pink female, not a Rosy. She has red eyes when the light shines on them, rather than the usual black eyes of a Rosy. She is about 3 years old and has found her new home!

Baby #25 is now in his new home!

2009-01-31T23:20:00.010-05:00

Photos below were taken 1/16/09

Baby #25 was photographed on 1/16/09 - tame, unsexed, and ready for a home. If you wish to have him/her DNA-sexed, that is an additional $20, and results take about 7 days. $75 for this gorgeous baby!

**NOTE: He went home on 3/29/09. His new mama had him DNA-sexed, and he's a BOY!

New Photos of the Babies!

2009-01-03T21:00:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year! These photos were just taken, and these are the two looking for homes. One is finished weaning - #25 is eating well and refusing handfeedings. #28 is a few days younger and still being handfed small amounts 3-4 times a day, plus is exploring food and eating some pellets, millet, and seed. #28 started flying yesterday! #25 is a pro with flight now. These two babies are $75 ea. I've no idea what sex they are, and DNA sexing is available for an additional $20.00. #26 (Jesse) was DNA-sexed, and is a female. She'll go home the end of next week, most likely.

We also have an adult female, pink (not Rosy aka Opaline) w/dark red eyes, and she is not finger-tame, but has raised babies in the past. She's about 3 yrs old and is for sale - $100.00.

We are offering Ginny-gin for sale to an approved pet home - she is extremely tame, wonderful flight skills - and super friendly with everyone. She does not, however, "play well with others" in the cage. So, she's in a cage of her own and needs to be an "only bird" in the cage. She is a terrific mother and gets along well with a mate - and Bourke's do not bond to one mate for life. She is a daughter of Kilroy and Papa Rosy. She has enjoyed visiting early elementary classrooms, flying from head to head, hanging out on the kids' shoulders. She turned 4 last June 2008. She is $150.00.

Visit my Bourke's site http://shirleymorgan.com/bourkes for information on these delightful companions, and email me for information and to make an appt. halstatt@gmail.com

Thank you!
~ Shirley Morgan - Noblesville, IN

Baby #26 has a name! And you know what that means...

2008-12-14T18:35:00.005-05:00

He's been adopted! She named him Jesse, and he will go home in January. His new momma is having him DNA-sexed so she knows one way or the other if he's a little boy or a little girl.

And... she got to see him take his first couple of short flights today while visiting him! I think he flew about 3 or 4 ft.

Bowl-o-Bourke's!

2008-12-13T20:50:00.004-05:00

It's dinner time! Eager to eat, and a couple are about to fly!
12-13-08

First Portraits! Photos taken Dec. 11, 2008

2008-12-11T21:44:00.005-05:00

Holiday Special!

2008-12-07T14:40:00.013-05:00

All five babies are growing well! Handfeeding begins today. Deposits made prior to December 31 receive a discount! *$65 each instead of $75! You may choose your baby in order of deposits received, and detailed photos will be posted once they begin flying, approximately 2 weeks from today. Babies go home around January 10, 2009.

*Discounts do not apply to babies being shipped, as they cannot be shipped prior to 12 weeks of age.

All Five Babies have Hatched!

2008-11-26T18:16:00.006-05:00

Here they are, all five - photo taken today. The youngest hatched on the 23rd.

Babies are Hatching!

2008-11-20T20:04:00.004-05:00

Three of the five eggs have hatched - sooner than we expected!
One of these hatched today, and the other two hatched on the 17th and 18th.
They will be ready to move into new homes in about 8 weeks - and a deposit of $50.00 holds your baby.

Baby Bourke's Coming Soon!

2008-11-08T17:23:00.007-05:00

Lily has laid eggs! We should have hand-raised babies ready to go around January 10th, 2009. A deposit of $50 holds your baby. DNA sexing is available for $20. Babies will sell for $75.

Lily is paired with Spencer, so all the babies will be Rosy (Opaline) Bourke's. You'll find photos of Spencer in the February 24, 2007 post here.

Send email to bourkesparakeets@gmail.com for information.

Understand that while we've shipped to a few distant states, it is expensive - $75 RT travel to the Indianapolis airport, approximately $125-165 one way climate-controlled cargo ticket, $30 modified crate for bird/s. Two birds can be shipped together. Some locations require vet exam of $30.00 prior to accepting shipping. Birds must be 3 mos old before shipping.

Visit www.shirleymorgan.com/bourkes/ for information about the Australian Bourke's Grass Parakeet.

New Photos! - Outdoor Aviary and Babies

2008-04-24T21:40:00.003-04:00

Baby #13 above - Soon going to live with Ellen K. Cook, DVM.

Above is Papa Blue, our wild color male. He is 7 - 8 yrs old.

Baby #12 above and below - she will be going to Boston, MA to live.

Above, L to R: baby #12, Papa Blue, and Kilroy
Below, Baby #12

Baby #13

The outdoor Aviary - Groups of birds who get along together spend a few hours at a time here.

This is the outside aviary with 8 Bourke's inside... Usually Skyler, our Rose-breasted (Galah) Cockatoo is in there with them as well. You can barely see Tucker 'tiel on the far right. The little white cage is the carrier from house to aviary and back.

Babies 12 and 13 are DNA-sexed females. I believe #14 is also a female - same petite head, same coloring around her neck. She will be living with a family in Central Indiana.

Kilroy has 3 tiny babies, 1 of which is reserved. These babies' mom, Lily, is sitting on a clutch of 5 eggs now.

Lily's first-born -

2008-04-10T17:48:00.003-04:00

#12 is being DNA-sexed and might be leaving in June to live a life of luxury in the Boston/Brookline area of Massachusetts! We think he's a boy...

All of today's photos were shot with my Olympus C-5050, not my Nikon SLR... so the color is "accurate" but not quite the depth as it really is, (compare to portraits taken earlier) and the flash is not bounced, so there's more "white" than there really is.

Baby #13 - the "Middle Child"!

2008-04-10T17:44:00.004-04:00

The 2nd to hatch, photographed today. This one is being DNA-sexed - if she's a girl, she's going to Dr. Ellen K. Cook's to live where she'll be spoiled and free-flighted all her life - Dr. Cook has a female already from Kilroy, and does not want any babies! :)

Lily's babies, youngest to oldest #14

2008-04-10T17:36:00.003-04:00

Here's her last to hatch, #14, taken today, April 10, 2008. The color is different in the center shot due to lighting and flash - they weren't taken in the same location. She's somewhere in between those colors of rose. We don't know if she's a she, of course.

Kilroy's Babies!

2008-04-10T17:29:00.002-04:00

Here's all three -- They hatched on April 2nd and April 5th. These photos were taken today, April 10. Papa Rosy is unique in that he spends a lot of time in the nestbox with Kilroy once his babies hatch, and he helps Kilroy feed them.

April 5: Kilroy's 3rd egg hatched!

2008-04-05T22:06:00.001-04:00

Kilroy's 3rd egg hatched this evening! She has three fluffly little babies - I'll post pics as they grow. Papa Rosy is their father. :)

Kilroy and Papa Rosy's Eggs Hatch!

2008-04-04T14:36:00.002-04:00

April 2: Kilroy and Papa Rosy hatched two eggs! They have one egg left to hatch, and one was clear. These photos were taken today - two days old.

April 4 Photo Update

2008-04-04T14:09:00.005-04:00

Shirley's Bourke's Parakeets

All three babies are flying about now - and just delightful! They are caged in our bedroom, eating on their own, plus being fed formula.

#12 is the oldest, and #14 is the youngest.

They are eating Zupreem Natural parakeet size pellets, Harrison's Adult Lifetime Mash, Higgins Parakeet seed mixed with Higgins Fruit 'n' Veggie, and a bowl of water. They also get millet and fresh minced veggies. (peas, carrots, corn, squash, etc). Their formula is Zupreem Embrace Plus.

Babies' First Portraits!

2008-03-31T00:35:00.014-04:00

Two are flying - and #12, the first-hatched, LOVES to fly all over the bedroom! #14 isn't ready to fledge yet, and hatched later than the others. He runs about on the bed instead. #12 is in the center in the group photo.

First Flight!

2008-03-29T00:21:00.002-04:00

3/28/08 - Today the oldest baby flew across the dining room like a little butterfly!

When they fledge at this age, they don't have the speed to "crash" dangerously into windows, so when he gently bumped into the window, he just fluttered to the floor, and then he lifted off again into the air!

Our babies won't be clipped (if they are clipped at all) until they are accomplished fliers. This saves them from becoming flighted for the first time later in life when they tend to take off full speed and crash hard into things while learning how to control their speed, negotiate turns, make decisions at the last moment, and so on. A baby bird who is allowed to fledge, fly a few times, and then is clipped has not learned "how to fly" and has not gained the physical skills of flight or the decisions-making skills for safe flight. It is best if a bird is allowed to fly in large spaces for a few weeks before being clipped, if he must in fact be clipped. They don't forget how to fly once they learn, and they learn better when they first fledge than they do later in life.

3-24-08 Photo Composite

2008-03-26T22:32:00.003-04:00

Here they are at 3 weeks - remember, they hatched a few days apart. The oldest is stretching his wings, but not out of the nestbox yet. That will likely happen in another day or two. They already weigh 40-44 grams! These babies are big! (The numbers reflect their band numbers.)

Eager Eaters from Lily or Me!

2008-03-21T14:02:00.004-04:00

Today I'm leaving them in their nestbox with mom and pop... As I peeked inside, they looked up eagerly at me, opened their beaks, and expected a meal! So I fixed them some breakfast, then took all three out, and fed them. They had already been fed by their parents, but they eagerly ate some more. Then I put them back with their parents. This is the best way for co-parenting - leave them with the parents where they learn to be birds, but have them out for socializing with humans and learning that good things come from people, too. I won't need to separate them to get them to eat from people - they are eating just fine from their parents and from me. Both parents are very tame, so they have no problem now with me taking them out. They were a bit protective when they were newly hatched, but that is a good thing! :)
Shirley Morgan's Bourke's

What a difference Five Days makes!

2008-03-20T23:40:00.005-04:00

Bourke's Site

I took these this evening, 3/20/08... they are just at and over 2 weeks old now. They are with mom and pop overnight and throughout the morning, then after lunch I put them in the incubator in my studio, and feed them a couple times during the day, then they go back with mom and pop for the night. I don't always feed them this way, but this clutch seems to be doing well with this plan. If I need to, I can leave them all day with mom and pop. They've certainly figured out what the syringe and baby food are all about! I will feed them with a bent spoon in a day or so. I'll post a pic of that.

I added a supplies page to my site - be sure to check it out! Lots of info and photos there to help you out.

3-15-08 Babies' Update

2008-03-15T22:28:00.002-04:00

These photos were taken today - 3-15-08. I have a friend visiting this weekend who's always enjoyed the birds, so Lily is visiting with my friend Rosie while she holds her babies.

Video of the Babies

2008-03-11T16:16:00.006-04:00

Here's a short Flash video of the babies, taken today.

Lily's Babies

New photos!

2008-03-11T16:12:00.003-04:00

Here are photos taken today... and it looks like the last egg is not going to hatch. I'll give it one more day just in case, but it's overdue now. I had one hatch in the past on the day I was going to give up on it - so I don't take chances.

2008-03-08T20:41:00.004-05:00

Shirley's Bourke's
Another baby hatched this morning! Very exciting - as I wasn't sure if the last two eggs were going to hatch after losing one in the shell. Here's a photo composite, taken around 9:00 this morning. And this evening, all babies are being well-fed by mom (Lily).

I helped her out for a couple days because she wasn't feeding baby #2 very much and I was afraid it would fail to thrive, so I handfed him Thursday, Friday, and this morning, but this morning he was fed by mom, and during the day she fed all three.

Spencer & Lily's babies are hatching!

2008-03-06T17:26:00.003-05:00

March 2nd, their first baby hatched! And today, March 6, their 2nd baby hatched!

An egg due to hatch two days ago did not complete its development and we lost it. There are two more eggs. I'll keep you posted on those. Here are the first two babies, quite different in size at this stage, but if they both thrive, they'll both be the same size once weaned in about 7 - 8 weeks.

Parents are eating Harrison's Adult Lifetime Mash and Zupreem Natural Pellets, along with fresh veggies - corn, grated carrots, peas, and grated squash, a little millet now and then, and some hard-boiled egg chopped with shell will be added once all are hatched and a few days old.
Shirley's Bourke's

Meet Spencer

2008-02-24T13:00:00.002-05:00

Spencer is paired with Lily and is Kilroy and Papa Blue's son. Papa Blue is a normal split for rosy, and Kilroy is a rosy with rosy parents. Spencer and Lily are hatching their first clutch!

Meet Lily

2008-02-24T12:08:00.003-05:00

This is Lily - She is not related to any of our Bourke's. She hatched in December of 2006 and is expecting her first clutch to hatch around March 9. Click the image to view it more clearly.

Lily and Spencer's first clutch!

2008-02-24T11:33:00.007-05:00

Lily has laid five eggs! They are due to hatch around March the 9th, and one is already reserved. Spencer is Kilroy and Papa Blue's son. Kilroy is from Rosy parents, and Papa Blue is a Normal split for Rosy. All their babies will be Rosies.

Welcome to my Blog

2008-02-21T21:31:00.007-05:00

Welcome to my blog! Feel free to visit this blog frequently as I will be posting some exciting events, such as photos of new babies as they hatch and develop. I'll also be posting photos of our adult pet Bourke's who enjoy being parents from time to time. In case you're wondering who the lovely Bourke's is in the header above, that is Kilroy, our first Bourke's. She is 6 yrs old in that photo, and was hatched in December of 2000. She is very tame, bonded to my husband, and loves being a mama. The youngster on the toy to the right is one of her offspring, and that photo was sent to me from her new family.
Visit Shirley's Bourke's and Companion Parrot Media