Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:48 pm Post subject: Adding to the flock
Hello, there.
I currently have 2 kakariki - one male and one female.
They live in separate cages and are not a even close to a bonded pair (I've had her a year longer than him and she bonded strongly to me in that time. He seems to accept that we're a pair and does his own thing when they're out of their cages, while she sits on or near me and will even follow me to the loo).
I am now considering adding another two females to the flock as they're not being looked after where they are (they're in the type of cage commercially sold for budgies with one small water dish and one small food dish of only seed, no toys and two thin ribbed plastic perches. The yellow one is turning black with dirt and the cinnamon one looks like a feather plucker but I don't see enough of her to know for sure, though I do know she has been laying eggs).
The two females have been together all their lives (they're about a year old) and seem to have a good bond. I have an empty 3x2x2 foot cage here and I would love to take them on but I'm not sure how that would affect my male kakariki. I know it's bad to keep fewer hens but I can't find any information on keeping a higher number.
I also have a pair of lovebirds so my two are used to other birds. I don't know if this will help them accept the females but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
Any advice/ tips/ information would be greatly appreciated.
I just feel so bad for those two.
Thank you in advance to all who read and/ or reply to this.
Hello Cos,
think this procedure will cause heavy problems,
maybe you're in need of new pillow, u arn't ?
I'm not sure I understand your reply, especially the pillow comment.
I know there will be problems - there have been problems with every pet I've taken home (which in some cases is exactly why I took them on in the first place) and I do all I can to rectify them when they occur, whether that means moving the animal to a separate room or paying a fortune to fix them.
I want to know what sort of problems. Obviously, I run the risk of Blue bonding with one of them and chicks and then the potential that the other hen may become lonely. I know from Zeke, my female, that they can throw tantrums and get jealous. Perhaps that could be an issue? And if the cinnamon one is plucking, its a difficult thing to stop. I'd have no idea where to begin.
These are the sort of things I need to find out.
I'm not leaving the birds where they are. They were bought for breeding purposes but the cinnamon one was incorrectly sexed and now they're being neglected.
If the potential risks to my flock are too great, I'll keep them separate and if I can't cope, I know enough decent animal loving people to confidently say I can find them a good home.
I just want as much information as I can get so I know how best to go about it.
Introducing new birds into an environment where others already have their Territory sorted is covered many times in detail in older posts over the last 10yrs or so
then the other issue u have is u being part of that flock having a relationship with the female who is possessive of u...another subject covered many times
Add to the issue is the size of "cages" u are trying to do this in... kakariki are a very active bird... need to use a lot of energy = flight time.
It can be difficult enough in smaller aviaries or flights let alone cages.
Basically it is a matter of completely changing the environment , cages perches etc and introducing all birds into the new environment at the same time around dusk... same as backyard hens in a coop.
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