after 2 seasons now my bourkes have laid eggs, the eggs hatched but every time the female lets the young die after a couple of days . this time 5 eggs were laid, 4 hatched and 1 egg swapped with a newly laid budgie egg to try to save that youngster and the budgie egg is to see if the female is sitting too tight.

i'm at the stage that if the last young die then i want to sell them but i dont want to as i do like the bourkes.

she did this in a aviary on their own as well as in the budgie aviary.

Not likely many here would be able to answer your question Timbo, might be best to ask on a general parrot forum

Hey timbo, this is our policy about other species of birds it is stated above "Topics regarding health and support etc. of other animals besides budgies will be removed. However, feel free to post about your other pets with images etc."

 

I bet if you do a google for bourkes forums you can find forums that support this species. Good luck.

Do you have a good budgie hen mother?

I would give the eggs to the budgie.

Earlier this year I had to put a week old Red Rump chick in with a pair of budgies. They looked after her until she was 4 wks old but she was ill which I gather was why her Red Rump parents abandoned her.

Budgies are good fosters, as long as the eggs are with them for awhile it's fine. I even put a quail egg in with a budgie hen once as an experiment - she hatched it and the chick was perfect! Very funny watching a quail chick run around a nest box with the budgie hen trying to pull it under her.

 

Unfortunately that's the only advice I can offer, all my Bourke hens have been good mothers.