Bourke parakeet... potty training etc.

Can bourke parakeet be potty trained?
Once established in the house, when let out to fly, will they ever come back?

Let's say i handle an adult as an owner and he wants to go, will he hold it or poop in my shoulder?![emoji848][emoji1787]

Love the fact they are hardy, relatively quite!

Btw, i don't have any birds yet.

Well, if you want to have bourkes as pets, you need buy hand raised/tamed because they are hard to any training but that is possible. My bourkes aren't tamed and are afraid us, they started coming back to the cage without cathing them after few weeks (I let them out the first time the second evning because they wanted to fly and the cage was too small)

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miserkris1 said:

Can bourke parakeet be potty trained?
Once established in the house, when let out to fly, will they ever come back?

Let's say i handle an adult as an owner and he wants to go, will he hold it or poop in my shoulder?![emoji848][emoji1787]

Love the fact they are hardy, relatively quite!

Btw, i don't have any birds yet.

Click to expand...

"Potty trained"? No. As far as I know, only the larger parrots can be trained to poop before they leave their cage to play, for example.
Bourke's are grass parrots, and are smaller than Budgies. they poop all over; wherever they want

Bourke's are also notoriously shy of humans. If they aren't hand raised, they aren't going to want to come anywhere near you. Even if they are hand raised and might sit on your shoulder, they would definitely poop on it.

Because they are shy, they are not easy to get back in their cages. Mine were not hand raised, and so they would freak out and get scared if I tried to get near them. So it definitely takes patience to wait it out, until they feel like returning to their cage. Mine usually just naturally retire to their cages midday when they want to sleep, or when night falls. But not all the time. Sometimes they like to hang out and perch on top of the drapes in my window for hours.

They are on the quiet side, as far as parrots go, I guess; although they can certainly call loudly to the birds outside, in the mornings. Loud, sharp calls.

I wouldn't call them "hardy." They're tiny birds and they are less 'tame' and playful than Budgies, for example.

Because they can be extremely shy of human contact, they are prone to getting spooked, which isn't good for their heart.

They are also prone to night frights. That's where they freak out at night and fly around crashing into the sides of their cage. They need a nightlight at night. I think they especially need to see the bottom of their cage.

Also, being "grass parakeets (body type)," they will walk on the floor. So they can't be around cats or dogs, or anything that can grab them. And of course you have to constantly watch where they are at all times, so you dont step on them or open a door on them, etc.

They also don't climb, like other parrots do. And they need to fly. And they fly fast. I do not believe their wings should be clipped, because of this.

They also do not fly upward. They fly horizontally. If you aren't there to let them fly most of the day, then they need a huge flight cage. Like at least 5 or 6 feet long, so they can glide across. A regular bird cage will not do.
Because of this, they are usually considered aviary birds. Although, because of their gentle nature, they are not meant to be kept with other types of birds, who would bully them or kill them.


Because of all of these things, they don't make the best human companions, and should be kept with at least one other Bourke's , for companionship.

They have a lifespan of up to 25 years.

It's good that you're asking questions before you commit to getting a bird
Look around the forum, read about the different types of birds and bird care, and ask questions. Then you can figure out what type of bird would best suit you