Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject: Howdy! and Question
Hi everyone,
Ny name is Ronnie and I live in Austin, Texas. I bought a Kakariki two days ago. It's my first bird, except I had a few finches when I was a child. They won't let me take it home till it's weaned. When I go visit (everyday so far) it already jumps up on my hand immediately and I literally have to pry it off to put it down after about an hour of visiting. Can anyone tell if this is a male or female? And about how many weeks old? His/her name is Kokoko.
Cool!!! glad to hear that...Finaly another responsable breeder.
you notice the red band above the break has not yet devaloped, and the iris in the eye has no red ring...
The iris devalopes about 2 weeks after the chick comes out of the nest... The chick is still looked after by the male till the chick learns basic independenant skills, like flying and eating.
The male often feeds and looks after chicks beyond this, but when the iris appears then one is reasonably safe to wean.
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about how many weeks old?
time in the nest varies between individuals so the best way to age is like this...
at a gess, about a week to 10 days off leaving the nest...they have the small feathers over the beak.
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His/her name is Kokoko.
May I suggest changing the name slighty....Kökako
Pronounced Ko - car - ko
Another very rare NZ native bird...a Maori name
http://www.mtbruce.org.nz/kokakoinfo.htm
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Can anyone tell if this is a male or female?
Male.
Althu it is a not a pure wild, but a mutation....it is a hybrid between a red crown kakariki and a yellow crown species, somewhere back in its parentage....notice the small yellow feathers in the red crown, these should be pure red to crimson....
Something breeders tend to frown upon....forced crossings between the species, many yrs ago where experimented on to get different mutations, but basically all it does is mess up the crown of each species, without introducing any new body mutations.
In saying that, and considering such small breeding stocks in many parts of the world, it is now imposible to get pure red or yellow crowned species.
Hence why the practice of crossing the 2 species was orginally a mistake.
Oh and to our community...
Cheers
Steps _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Sounds like you have found a good breeder letting you visit daily and not releasing the bird to early. What does the breeder say, from what you have told us I would accept what they say. Haven’t had much experience with these guys but it looks happy. Good luck. Funny the feeling I get when I see a native NZ bird over sea’s it's like they are still part of us/NZ (family over sea's), hard to put into words but please that there is a site like this to help people with their parrots. Will done to those that started and keep this site running.
Funny the feeling I get when I see a native NZ bird over sea’s it's like they are still part of us/NZ (family over sea's), hard to put into words
Yeah and the sad part is one can count on ones fingers and toes the number of kakariki breeders in NZ....
And I would be confident enough to say there are more kakariki off shore from NZ than there are in all of NZ...wild and capitive...
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please that there is a site like this to help people with their parrots. Will done to those that started and keep this site running
It happened by mistake....
I needed to learn Apache, php stuff a few yrs ago, and needed a subject.
I tossed up between roses, gardens, camaros, jowett cars.
It was only a achedemic excersise.
Then with in a couple hrs of publishing, ppl joined!!!, a week and an active comunity devaloped!!! one thing lead to another, search engines quickly put in the top 5 around the world, and now we (communty) are stuck with it .
So all the blame for the continued existance of the site has to be squarely placed on the members.
Cheers
Steps _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Thanks for the replies! It's impossible to find information. Even the best Psittacid books over here don't even mention Kakarikis. This sight is one of the VERY few with any information.
Kökako (the change is made, many thanks) is actually at a pet store. The owner said his mom was pulling his feathers out. He looks much better now, but two days ago his nape and mantle were very ragged. So the breeder, someone local is all I know, had to pull him a week or so ago.
The folks at the pet store are feeding him with a syringe. I got to watch today. They fill the syringe and pump it into him. He ate a few seed yesterday, but would not today, until after they gave him the formula. Then he jumped on a spray and nibbled. They tell me he will nibble on cooked rice, corn, and peas. Yesterday, as far as I know, he made his first short flight. He lept off my shoulder three times and glided 2 or 3 meters.
At first they told me it was not possible to sex these birds, so I ordered a DNA test (I'll get the results by Friday). Today, she told me the breeder was 90% sure it was a female. But I was already convinced it was a male. Because he seemed so curious and ready to jump at anything. Maybe that's not a good way to tell.
I'm distressed that this is a hybrid, and VERY distressed that you say it is impossible to get pure bred either yellow- or red-crowned. Is this true in your region as well?
Thanks again for the responses and I will certainly be returning to this wonderful site.
Step if you ever in CHCH PM me and you can have a look at what I've got. Also may be able to tie a visit to the orange fronts up as well.
Anyone visiting from over sea I'm sure will get a warm from the members and if you in CHCH I might even be able to show you some wild Kea's after a bit of a drive.
Hybrid is just what happens when you get breeders who like "colours" or are short of breeding stock. Macaws are Hybrid in NZ as there’s no other breeding stock for say Military Macaws. I don't like the idea of hybrid animals but I'm sure if I had one it would be loved. The only thing that matters is that you don't breed from it, or may be if Steptoe is right it doesn't matter as the standing stock is mixed any way. There are some Hybrid birds in NZ but we still have true birds as well, even to the extent that of South and North Island difference's.
All the best and you look after that follow KIWI.
I'm distressed that this is a hybrid, and VERY distressed that you say it is impossible to get pure bred either yellow- or red-crowned.
I would not be distresed, bottom line I doubt if there are any pure breeds left in the States.
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Is this true in your region as well
Yes... there are still many hybrids in captity thu as mentioned there are not many NZ breeders ...because of beuacratic deskjockies in our Dept of Conservation (DoC)...with the reduction of breeders, this stock is becoming smaller and new breeders are sourcing good stock.
Thu DoC has made huge cock ups over the yrs because of their refusal to reconise the experiance and support from private breeders.
From endangering the orange species in capitivity by destorying all stock, and not listening to private breeders it was a separate species...
To, releasing capitive hybrid stock, known to private breeders at the time to be hybrid!!!!
Tiri Tiri martangi consevation project.
See the DoC section in the forums.
Not only DoC refuse to reconise the expertise of private breeders but the expertese and advise of their own highly quailfied and experiance grass roots staff. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Step if you ever in CHCH PM me and you can have a look at what I've got.
Yeah for sure m8...we did the same when in Aussie last yr, and have had many breeders around the country here...including one flying in to Auckland this Sunday...
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Also may be able to tie a visit to the orange fronts up as well
yep, sent a dozen kakariki down there last yr for use as sarogate parents for the orange program...would like to catch up on how that has gone. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Kökako (the change is made, many thanks) is actually at a pet store. The owner said his mom was pulling his feathers out. He looks much better now, but two days ago his nape and mantle were very ragged.
The DNA test came back and my bird is a female. According to the shop owner, the breeder says it's got nothing to do with the beak or head shape, but the males have more blue in the wing.
Now, this is all very different from what I've read here and at other places, so it's all confusing.
Anyway, it's a girl, and I'm settling on the final name, Koki. I should be bringing her home in a week or two.
The DNA test came back and my bird is a female. According to the shop owner, the breeder says it's got nothing to do with the beak or head shape, but the males have more blue in the wing.
Not only is your kakarki a mutation, but is is alsao a hybrid...how the hang they can tell from feather colouring, sure neats me...
Mutations, thu I am not familar with them, have alsorts of feather colouring, even from identical parents
And as far as pure wilds go, there is no way one can tell gender from feather colouring ....more blue on the wing? After breeding wilds for many yrs, have avairies full of them....thats rubbish
We have had kakariki here, where it has been a toss of a coin identifying from beak size....generally if in doubt, they have been female...
Also mentioned in old posts, by breeders familar with mutations, they do on occassions get females with larger beaks
Add to that, being a hybrid between Red and yellow, the 2 species do vary in beak and overall size...considering the amount of yellow in the crown, and basing on a yellow crown, the beak is more in line with a male yellow rather than a red Crown female.
The red crown female in most cases is considerably smaller in size
This is a male (left) female (right) Yellow crown
And Red crown, Female(left) Male (right)
_________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
It makes sense that bill size would be variable in all birds, especially hybrids. And there should be some overlap. I don't know what kind of mutatation Koki has, but maybe it's sex linked on the wings or something. Again, I don't know, this is my first bird.
Anyway, she is adorable. I can't wait to take her home. She runs up and down my arm, shoulder, and head. Lays down on her back in my hand. Eats from my palm or from my fingertips. Steps right up or down. Yesterday she tried to tear my ear lobe off, but she was just playing a little rough. I just pushed her back gently and she didn't try it again.
Her cage arrived night before last. I bought the biggest I could find with 1/2" wire spacing. It is huge for indoors. 5'4" long, 2' deep, and 3' tall. Sorry, us Texicans are still on the old measuring system
Nps here...althu NZ changed back in the 70s, I still work in both confortbly, execpt for mpg stuff...never had reason to get my head around this km/100l or what ever it is...
My main cars are still in miles...
A 69 Camaro and a Jowett Bradford van
Althu the American gallon is smaller...
Oh I still prefer to work in 1000s of inch on the lathe etc _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
OK, gotta tell you guys this. Don't know what you think about bill to mouth hygeine, but;
Koki is getting close to being fully weaned. Yesterday at the pet shop she was sitting on my finger and eating from a small piece of millet spray I was holding in my other hand.
I did a little kissy-kissy lip smack and I saw the gears turn in hear head. She looked strait at me as if she just had an empihany, then she grabbed a seed a put it between my lips.
This cuti-pie feeds me!!! I can't wait to get her home.
She seems to be very happy even after her wings were clipped. They weren't clipped too long and they're getting a little longer. Her tail wen't from about 1" to about 1 3/4" overnight. She is able to glide fairly well (safely) again. But I havn't seen any level flight.
Don't know what you think about bill to mouth hygeine, but;
Interesting.....
Well Im old school, I was raised, from a young age with access to mud, as lids do..worm castings. And later while in the bush, thu careful, hygiene was not that of the home litchen or an operating room in the hospital.
The last time I took a antiboitic was 1972 and again in about 1999.
What one would call a natural resistance build up I suppose??
Worms would be the main concern...but the odd cup of tea, and a worm table for the family every so often looks after that...anyway worms are not a big deal...if general maintaince is carried out in the family, something that should be done if have animals anyway...
The modern weatern society has been realy sucked into the chemical company propogana (marketing) in regards to disifectants for everything and every occassion, creating a generation of ppl with no resistance to anything....Because it makes a profit for the shareholders...
Our 3 Children, now young adults, on a ave yr at school, total for all of them, the number of days off school for a whole yr, could be counted on ones fingers...and when they did get sick, was minor.
A 'trick' we have with some of our pet parrots, is to place a seed on the tongue, then roll the tongue as far back as possible into the back of the mouth...the parrot then hast to almost climb inside ones mouth to get it.
To enjoy, relate to a pet, be it a dog, cat or a parrot, relate to them on their terms....step down to their level cause they cant step up to the human level...if they could, then the patants office would ahave inventions from our parrots
Go for it m8 _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
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