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Tell me about bourkes

AkasyaEllric

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I am all well and good with the amount of birds we have now, but my husband fell in love with a little bourke at the bird fair today. I held my ground in saying no since I know who most of the care will fall on but just in the off chance he decides hey, I'm going to buy one anyways, what is stuff I need to know about them. Attached is a pic of the cutie.

IMG_20180722_121357_100.jpg
 

expressmailtome

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Featheredfuffs

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Bourkies are awesome, gentle little birds. I almost decided on one instead of a CWP... it was a hard choice between the two. They are gentle to the point of able to be housed with finches, so I’d be very careful with any larger birds as they can easily be pushed around. They really love flying, and shouldn’t have their wings clipped because of that... they don’t really climb like other species and would love a flight cage. They love to run around the floor as well :)

If you can make sure that the other birds don’t pick on her, I’d say go for it. They really are great, but sometimes too sweet for their own good. You can’t even house them in the same cage of a similar sized budgie, as the budgie could seriously injure the little guys.
 

AkasyaEllric

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Bourkies are awesome, gentle little birds. I almost decided on one instead of a CWP... it was a hard choice between the two. They are gentle to the point of able to be housed with finches, so I’d be very careful with any larger birds as they can easily be pushed around. They really love flying, and shouldn’t have their wings clipped because of that... they don’t really climb like other species and would love a flight cage. They love to run around the floor as well :)

If you can make sure that the other birds don’t pick on her, I’d say go for it. They really are great, but sometimes too sweet for their own good. You can’t even house them in the same cage of a similar sized budgie, as the budgie could seriously injure the little guys.
I was thinking if he gets one that Diggle may finally have a friend. He wants a friend so badly but I won't have anyone around Slade just because of the size difference and Ollie loves to bite at his feet and make him run. Diggle just wants someone to hang out with. The breeder at the show told me they don't eat pellets either, just seed, chop, and dried mealworms. If he got one though I would probably crush up some of the roudybush and mix it in with the seed.
 

sunnysmom

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I saw him yesterday! I was at the bird fair also as was @BirdGuy21. We both help with PEARL rescue (they were on the first floor), although I was bad and was just shopping and not volunteering at the table. @BirdGuy21 was good and working the PEARL table. If you're not familiar with PEARL you should check out the website and come to one of the events. Even if you're not looking for a rescue bird, they have great classes, etc.

Anyway, I have always been told that Bourkes are pretty laid back birds. Similar in temperament to cockatiels. However, they're not known to by snuggly, hands-on birds, but each bird, of course, is different.
 

AkasyaEllric

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I saw him yesterday! I was at the bird fair also as was @BirdGuy21. We both help with PEARL rescue (they were on the first floor), although I was bad and was just shopping and not volunteering at the table. @BirdGuy21 was good and working the PEARL table. If you're not familiar with PEARL you should check out the website and come to one of the events. Even if you're not looking for a rescue bird, they have great classes, etc.

Anyway, I have always been told that Bourkes are pretty laid back birds. Similar in temperament to cockatiels. However, they're not known to by snuggly, hands-on birds, but each bird, of course, is different.
I can't drive is the problem so I can't get to a lot of things. I want to go to some of their classes and volunteer though. I keep forgetting there are people who are around here as well on AA! It was such a busy fair yesterday too. Do you know Kim from Paws, Beaks & Claws?
 

sunnysmom

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I don't know her but I've heard of her place. In North Huntingdon? If you're interested in volunteering you should email the rescue. They always need help and there are probably things you can do from home too. Hopefully we can meet sometime. :)
 

AkasyaEllric

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I don't know her but I've heard of her place. In North Huntingdon? If you're interested in volunteering you should email the rescue. They always need help and there are probably things you can do from home too. Hopefully we can meet sometime. :)
She's the one who does the grooming at the show. She's who I adopted Slade from is why I asked haha. She's in Huntingdon, so it's a few hours away, basically towards Bedford. I might do that, I just never contacted them since I don't usually have a way to get anywhere. And that would be nice! I got to all the OHPA fairs at least here, haven't tried to go to the Medina one yet.
 

sunnysmom

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She's the one who does the grooming at the show. She's who I adopted Slade from is why I asked haha. She's in Huntingdon, so it's a few hours away, basically towards Bedford. I might do that, I just never contacted them since I don't usually have a way to get anywhere. And that would be nice! I got to all the OHPA fairs at least here, haven't tried to go to the Medina one yet.
Definitely contact them. I think there's a volunteer form on the website. And there may be members near you too, etc.
 

BirdGuy21

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We probably walked right each other several times. I don't know much about Bourke's and I know we don't get them in to the rescue too often, but you never know when one will be surrendered. Highly encourage you to come check out our classes and events if you are able to, and like Michelle said we are always looking for volunteers! Check us out on Facebook as well, we post a lot of events and info on there. If you go to the Rescue section of the forum we have a page there with our info :).

And don't give me too much credit Michelle, I was shopping a lot too haha!
 

AkasyaEllric

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We probably walked right each other several times. I don't know much about Bourke's and I know we don't get them in to the rescue too often, but you never know when one will be surrendered. Highly encourage you to come check out our classes and events if you are able to, and like Michelle said we are always looking for volunteers! Check us out on Facebook as well, we post a lot of events and info on there. If you go to the Rescue section of the forum we have a page there with our info :).

And don't give me too much credit Michelle, I was shopping a lot too haha!
Haha probably. I had my pink bird purse with me and a mint colored shirt with a bunch of parrots on it. There were sooo many people there though. I'd love to volunteer honestly, so I'm definitely going to look into it more, I think I already follow the page on facebook too.
 

BirdGuy21

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Haha probably. I had my pink bird purse with me and a mint colored shirt with a bunch of parrots on it. There were sooo many people there though. I'd love to volunteer honestly, so I'm definitely going to look into it more, I think I already follow the page on facebook too.
I may vaguely remember seeing you then, there was a lot of people so it’s hard to say. Definitely check us out! And we are always looking for fosters for the little birds :).
 

Monica

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Bourkes.... I liken them to some cross between a finch and a cockatiel.... very flighty birds (agreed, don't clip!) with very calming chirps and tweets but they do tend to be more bark than bite. They are *mostly* non-confrontational, but push comes to shove, they're really good at 'growling' at other birds to make them get out of the way! ;) Don't expect something cuddly and very hands on (they might enjoy scritches, they might not... not really a species that does much allopreening from what I've seen...) but they are such unique and fun little birds in their own right!


And more can be read about them here! ;)
Aussie Grass Parrots Lane | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
 

Feathered up

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I don’t have bourke but I do have a POW. There is quite a size difference but similar temperament. True that the grasskeets types are not big in to alopreening and as a consequence, when another bird tries to preen them it either frightens them or makes them angry as they tend to view it as an act of aggression. My POW avoids close contact with my flock as will most of the ground hugging ausie species and therefore really don’t make perfect companions for the hookbills that display more typical parrot behavior.

My POW shows affection in a different way and is real Velcro birdie with me. I love Remy and have never regretted the addition. Interaction with the grasskeets is a different and enjoyable experience but after two years Remy is still odd bird out and I doubt will ever integrate into the flock the way other species do.
 
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