New Bird Owner

Hi there. I recently acquired a Bourke's Parakeet and I'm still new to the whole owning a bird deal. I just have a few questions, if you would be so kind as to help me out. To start off, a little about the bird, I don't know the sex as Lutino Bourke's are near impossible to sex visually. We'll just call it a he for now. I named him Sherbet. The shop said he was between 6 months and a year. His wings are clipped. (It was the recommendation by the shop in order to help with taming. I'm still split on the idea.) No idea whether he was hand-fed/tamed or not, but he's not super flighty or trying to get away when I put my hand in. (But as far as I can tell he does not know "Step Up" even though he doesn't seem to have an issue stepping on my finger when I encourage him to move) I did all my research before purchasing, but I still find my knowledge lacking in some areas. In terms off food, he was being fed nothing but Kaylor of Colorado Sweet Harvest Parakeet food. I'm trying to implement some fruits and veggies into his diet, but he doesn't seem too interested. Anyone have any tips? (It's my understanding that a diet of nothing but the parakeet food if not great for their health) Also, when should I be feeding him? Should it be separate meals? Or do I leave the parakeet food in all day? (I always make sure to take out the fruits/veggies about an hour after they've been in his cage to prevent bacteria) In terms of training, what has worked best for all of you? I know Bourke's aren't the most cuddly of birds, but I would still like for him to want to be near me. Sorry, for all the questions. Hope someone can help me out.

Hello, and welcome!
You'll get lots of help here.
For the moment, I'll take a shot at the diet question. Here's what I do...

Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff. My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day.

P.S. GORGEOUS BIRD!

So it's been about a week since my initial post and by golly, what a week. Still trying to get Sherbert to try new foods. He still seems to be a seed addict. However, I have been able to get him to eat small amounts of fresh veggies, mainly if there's seed mixed in. He still seems to despise pellets in spite of my efforts. I usually find at least 1/4 of the pellets on the floor of his cage. Fun fact: Sherbet seems to be going through a molt and this has caused a whole new list of headaches. He lost most of his tail feathers and broke one of the few remaining feathers he had left on his tail. It also appears that he may have broken a blood feather on his wing. The bleeding stopped and it doesn't seem to bother him, but he's much too flighty for me to take a closer look and I don't want to just grab him for fear of losing all the trust I've been trying to build with him. I want to take him to the vet just to make sure he's alright, but the first appointment I was able to get wasn't until June 5th. That's a long ways away for a scared bird owner. While observing him I noticed he had a small amount of poop stuck to the feathers around his vent/on his tail feathers. Almost everywhere I've read says that this is something to be concerned about. He seems to be happy and active, but I worry so much about my precious bird. I would love some tips or even just reassurances while I wait it out.

Congratulations! He's beautiful! That mutation is hard to find

I have a rosey bourke and she is also a seed junkie. However, she readily took to Zupreem Fruit pellets when I offered them to her the first time. I buy the canary size.

You may want to consider letting her grow her flights back in. If bourkes get on the ground, they can run almost as fast as they can fly. My bourke was also clipped when I got her, and she always ended up on the floor. After almost stepping on a her a couple of times, I kept her caged for 3 months until most of her flight feathers were grown back in. She eventually re-learned how to fly, and now stays off the floor.

Welcome, I love those little tikes!

Update

Well, today is a good day. I have been making a mix of fruits and veggies and it seems like Sherbert has taken to it well. He seems to enjoy the majority of the salad. (Diced lettuce, diced kale, diced apples, shredded carrots, and small pieces of blackberries). He even seems to be eating his pellets. He's currently munching on some as I type this. Overall, I think he's transitioning nicely to his new life here. A larger cage is on the way so he can get some better flying in once those flight feathers grow nice and strong. I decided I'm no longer going to clip him. I want him to be able to fly(as most bird naturally do). I may have been (happily) mistaken about him breaking a blood feather. It may have been the start of a blood feather. That spot is now a beautiful gorgeous long blood feather. Of course, it's one of the primary flight feathers, so I'm always nervous something is going to happen. Anyways... I think I'll finish up by saying how much I love my little guy. He definitely puts a smile on my face with his happy twitters.

I'm glad he's taking to the fruits and veggies - it's so much healthier than a seed only diet! He's beautiful and it's lovely to hear that he's settling in so well

Welcome to the forums, thanks for joining! Sherbert is an apt name for a stunningly beautiful bird!!

Converting to a healthy diet is always an exercise in creativity and patience, but well worth the effort for better health and hopefully longevity. Check out a few threads that may offer support!

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/49831-chop-day-recipe.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/65841-poppy-s-jolly-jungle-bread.html

(any of the recipes can be modified to reflect the need for smaller portions)

Photo Update

So I can't for the life of me figure out how to get my photos to stay right side up (please help ), but here's an update photo. So, a little bit of google research and it appears the dark mark on his wing feather is a stress mark? You can also see he broke one his tail feathers just a little bit more. This is the same feather he broke a week or so ago and I ended up cutting off the majority of the feather. Should I leave it this time? I think the last time I cut it he lost a bit of trust in me. He seems more fearful of my hand now, and getting him to trust it again is not the easiest. He seems happy and healthy, but I won't truly know until he gets his first check-up with the vet on June 5th. I'm hoping it was honestly the stress of moving to a new place and having his diet switched up. Other than the mark, the feather seems to be properly developed(developing). The joys of having a lighter colored bird... everything sticks out like a sore thumb.

Thought I'd post an update since its been a few days. Sherbert's new flight cage (we went with the HQ Flight Cage) came in yesterday and was put together/set up today. Wow at the amount of room he as now. I will post pictures later as I'm a bit frazzled right now. The amount of room Sherbert now has, came with the idea that he's able to fly. He's not. He decided to make a heroic leap from one perch to the next and failed horridly. He came crashing down from about a foot off the cage bottom. He broke BOTH of his new primary flight feather which were still blood feathers at this point. Each of those feathers were plucked with little effort and the bleeding stopped. Though I'm sure Sherbert wasn't too thrilled about it. He's currently resting under close supervision after he ate some fresh fruits and veggies to get some fresh minerals into his body. Wish him luck and good vibes. We'll both need it.

Aw - positive vibes being sent your way (to both of you). Injuries to any of my birds are always stressful for me! I'm sure his new cage is lovely - looking forward to seeing pictures of it. Now that you know he is not a flier, new traffic flow will be developed in his cage so that he can navigate better . I'd just focus on building trust between you and continuing with the diet changes at a pace that is comfortable for you both. I hope you'll continue sharing updates as you get to know each other....

Sherbert has me worried. I don't know if he's sick or just plain upset with me. He's spent a decent part of the of the morning on a lower perch(by no means the lowest) with his back to me. I also noticed him stretch his neck with his beck opened. It looked like he was trying to vomit. He did this about 6 or 7 times. When I put my hand in his cage to check on him, he sort of softly screeched at me, but it was a harsher sound than he usually makes. He makes a similar sound, but louder and more angry sounding when he's flapping vigorously like he's trying to get lift. I decided it best to leave him alone after that. He eventually moved up higher to get some food and water and seemed to perk up after I put on some Disney songs. He seems to like them. Luckily, we have our CAV appointment tomorrow. It's a general wellness check up, some sort of smear of his beak and vent area, and a DNA test to find out if he is actually a he. I honestly didn't know what I was getting myself into when I got him. I love him more and more every day, but I never knew birds could cause so much headache and worry for an owner. He's currently trying to destroy his block toy tearing the soft wood off, which still confuses me since everywhere I've read has said Bourke's are generally non-destructive and don't eat or destroy foliage or wood in an aviary. Is this because he's mostly a cage bird, despite it being quite a large cage?

Oh what a sweet bird! I love the name. Sounds like all is going well and life is crazy as usual with a bird. Welcome!

Vet Visit Update

So, Sherbert had their vet appointment today and it made me feel a quite better. Turns out, the doctor and one of the vet tech's also own Bourkies. I tend to believe she knows what she's talking about. As for the results of the vet visit: Sherbert is almost the epitome of bird health. Reacted the way she expected with getting the nails trim, wasn't freaking out during the car ride or in the vet office. Sherbert even ate some pellets while he was waiting for them to do the gram stain. Nothing abnormal showed up on it. So that's a plus. Weighed 47grams, so spot on for the weight and the vet commended me on the diet Sherbert now eats. I say "almost the epitome of bird health" because of the wings. Apparently, the pet shop "butchered" the clip job. Cut off all the flight feathers and even some of the landing feathers on one side and ALL of the flight AND landing feathers from the other side. The vet plucked A LOT of those feathers so they can grow in properly within the next month. (Side note: The pet shop is definitely going to be receiving either a phone call or a direct visit from myself. I haven't decided yet) The biggest news of the vet visit.... it's a GIRL! We didn't do the DNA testing, but the vet was almost 100% certain based on the width of the pelvic bones. If anyone knows Bourke's and wants to offer an opinion as well, the bones were approximately a pinky's width apart.

Congratulations on a successful vet visit - good to hear that Sherbert is in good health (aside from feathers - but they will grow back)!

Now you can relax and your bird will be able to tell so he will be at ease also.