Tell me more about Bourke parakeets

[Vera]

I am looking for a quiet and easy going bird and was adviced about a bourke parakeet.
I have had a lovely parrotlet before, and i still mis her, but she was so vocal and screetching, that i don't want another parrotlet again because of the headache she gave me and my husband and the fact that she needed very much attention daily.

I do not know the bourke species and would love to hear your experiences with these birds.
- how noisy/loud are they
- how tame are they
- can they entertain themselves without hours of human interaction daily, and still maintain some tamenes when you just let them fly and give them a cuddle and let them step up daily?
- can you keep 2 together?
- what cage size is a minimum for 1 or 2 bourkes?
- what toys do they like?
- what diet do they need?
Trying to figure out if this would be a suitable bird for me.
I still love parrotlets and prefer them over any bird species, but i cannot take the risk of the new bird beeing that noisy and have to rehome it.

 

[April]

@Mizzely

 

[Caza66]

I have bourkes in an aviary so cannot comment on suitability in a house. But they have a sweet call, I have not heard anything loud. They are super flyers, fast and looping. Hope you find an answer

 

[Mizzely]

Mine will chirp and chatter but nothing like budgies. I'm really nose sensitive and he doesn't trigger me at all, even at his loudest.

Mine was raised by a breeder that does co-parenting. He is not hand tame though. She told me that many are not. So he doesn't step up for me, I'm not allowed to touch him with my hands, but he lands on my shoulder and head, cuddles with my chin, takes naps on me, preens my ears and face, etc.

Mine likes to be near people but the biggest thing is he LOVES to fly. He gets very antsy if left in a cage too long.

I currently only have 1 but he does have a Linnie friend for right now. I would really like another, but we will see. They are often considered aviary birds and kept in groups.

I have a 32x21 flight cage and wouldn't go smaller. They cannot climb with their beak like other parrots so they need space to hop and flit to other parts of the cage.

Quibble mostly likes soft things to nibble on like balsa, Sola, mahogany pods, grasses etc. He also likes noisy and shiny toys.

The diet, like all other parrots, depends on who you ask, but generally speaking they eat similar foods to budgies. Many sources agree that the main part of their diet should not be pellets. Mine is on a mix of Harrison's and Roudybush pellets, plus a mix of parakeet seeds, and fresh foods. He really likes broccoli I've recently learned! He will also try almost anything he can steal off my plate I would say I offer about 50% seeds, 25% veggies, and 25% pellets right now.

 

[Zilga]

I have four, three girls and a boy. They are in an indoor aviary with our cockatiels, and a big part of that is that 1) they love to fly (like, LOVE love - more than any bird I've had) and 2) they're not hand tame. They're sweet and interested in us; they'll fly over and sit right next to us and will sometimes eat food from our hands, but they are fairly timid birds so it's been a very slow process, though they are gradually getting more and more comfortable. That being said, we aren't super experienced because we've had all but one for under a year; we decided that our first girl needed a friend when she was so desperate for companionship she was trying to cuddle up to our girl pionus (who is incredibly sweet and tolerant, but the size difference is just too large), so we got a pair and then a fourth. We had one issue with bullying when we introduced one of our new ones, but we separated her within sight of the others for a longer while and gradually reintroduced and it hasn't recurred. I think they really like having a buddy, but introductions have to be done with some care like with all birds.

As far as cages, because of the flying I'd suggest the largest you can possibly get, especially something they can fly the length of, unless they're out much of the time, which ours aren't due to work schedules and other birds (the room with their aviary is in the process of becoming a more comfortable safe place for us to hang out with them so we will be able to hang out with them for longer soon). Food-wise, mine are tiny pigs and took to eating fresh chop really quickly, which surprised me; I figured they'd be like budgies, who have a difficult reputation for diet conversion, or my cockatiels, both of whom weren't easy to convert (and my girl was horrible about it). They like chop and pellets (we use tops and roudybush), and I make seed mix for them that is mostly grains to keep the fat down but with some millet, seeds, herbs, and other things. Unsurprisingly, they're millet fiends.

Mine like toys they can chew, and their beaks are tiny so that means softer woods like sola/balsa/cork. They love natural cork pieces, so we keep a lot of those around, and they also seem to enjoy woven toys, preening toys, and foraging. They particularly enjoy ground foraging, so spreading around the bio bird blend bouquets has been a huge hit. They also are a big fan of having tree stand branches and stable swings so they can fly back and forth.

I find them to be incredibly beautiful, charming little birds as long as your expectations are reasonable. They can be hard to tame and are never going to be cuddly, but they are interested in us, their singing is delightful and probably my favorite thing about them in comparison to other parrots, and I think they're timid but smarter than they get credit for (definitely smarter at figuring things out than the cockatiels are lol). I also enjoy the "congregation of Bourke's" that we see anytime we change anything or do anything new in their vicinity; they all have to get together and "discuss" whatever has happened, whether it's a new toy or an activity that they're not used to. It's frigging adorable.

 

[Zilga]

Oh, I also wanted to mention the Bourke's-specific thread that helped me when we first got Mochi: The good, the bad and the ugly about Bourke Parakeets as pets!


Also pic spam because I love them so much!

(an old pic of Mochi)

(pre-aviary Mochi, Ube, and Zuki)

 

[Emma&pico]

Oh, I also wanted to mention the Bourke's-specific thread that helped me when we first got Mochi: The good, the bad and the ugly about Bourke Parakeets as pets!


Also pic spam because I love them so much!

View attachment 459999 (an old pic of Mochi)

View attachment 460000 (pre-aviary Mochi, Ube, and Zuki)
View attachment 460001
View attachment 460002
View attachment 460003
View attachment 460004

They are such stunning little birds