tameing a kak

Jonny_Palmer · Member Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 14

I have a baby kakariki in an aviary, but dont have enough time too hand rear it. i have checked all the forums, but not much information. I would like to make this baby more freindly without hand rearing it plz reply

Thanks, Jonny <v>

Kaka-riki · Site Admin Joined: May 30, 2005 Posts: 363

Jonny,
Please dont take this post as a personal attack because it is not meant to offend you but I think there are several IMPORTANT facts that some of the other members may find useful as well. I am guessing that the young Kakariki you refer to is the one that is currently with your young pair of breeding birds. That being the case, consider the following.

1) This is (from your earlier post) the first clutch your young breeding birds have had. Consider the outcome for these birds should you decide to interfere and try and interact with their new fledgling. Whilst you may succeed in having a quiet young bird for the future, your actions now WILL set the tone for the breeding birds in future clutches. The more you intervene while they are raising the chick the greater the chance that they will abandon the chick. Worse still they may feel threatened by your continual presence around the chick and injure or kill the young bird as a defence against the threat.

2) Hand reared birds certainly make better pets. However, it takes quite a bit of practise and time to hand rear a Kakariki. At 10 days of age they still require feeds at approx 4 hr intervals. They need to be housed at a temperature of around 30 degrees celcius and there are only certain hand rearing mixes that work for Kakariki. So, in the short term I would suggest anyone interested in undertaking this option, gather as much information as possible from an experienced hand rearer before even thinking about taking this option seriously.

Young breeding pairs of Kakariki rely on their owners to set the trend for future success. How you handle the first clutch will determine the way the birds settle down. We have spent 6 long years working out the best way to have continued success. It is so easy to charge into the aviary and check the box every day. The chicks hatch and you think they should be checked at least twice a day. Then to your horror there are dead chicks in the box and the parents have no interest in raising young anymore. Worse still they lay a fresh round of eggs and dont bother sitting on them. A very well respected aviculturist once wrote in an article that the reason breeders go backward is due exclusively to their own interference. Having taken that information on board we can report that it is probably the most telling changes we have made. Our birds are now laying, hatching and rearing complete clutches, including a nest of 7 young birds at the moment. We did not check the box until ALL the eggs had hatched and mum was spending a lot of time out in the aviary.

My suggestion would be to make a decision and stick to it. If you want a hand reared pet then pull the chick and have an experienced person hand rear it for you. Dont be surprised if this leads to problems with the parent birds in future clutches if you take this direction. Having had their first baby removed from the nest they may decide next time to abadon the young after a few days. The other option is to leave the young with the parents and allow them to raise the young bird solo. It may not be as quiet as a hand reared bird once it has fledged but there is a good chance the parents will have a second clutch and you may decide to pull one of these babies to be hand reared. It is always a tough choice when you have that first chick in the nest but your decision now will have an effect on your future breeding success. I hope this helps you with making your decision.

Jonny_Palmer · Member Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 14

thank you for all the tips Laughing

very helpful. But i meant that when it is older and comes out the nest box and starts feeding for itself how could i make it so that it doesnt fly out every time i come in Think

thanks for the tips though, Jonny

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

As what Greg says above...we check nests once a week.
We find avaiey bred kakatiki tame down well..espec if in a flock.
Keep in mind tame Kakariki behave diff to other parrots...They are far more indedentant by nature, So they come down to u have a bit of attention, then off to the next thing of interest.
Assuming u have parents that are very causious. Start feeding peas, greens , fresh sweet corn, fruit before feeding time by holding a piece thru the netting, watch them..start be holding it and after a few minutes leave on the ledge. After a while they get closer and closer. then eventually take from the hand. The best time is when feeding is a few hrs later than normal

When u go in to clean floors water trays weekly, ignore them, always move slow motion and smooth. They will land on a branch, close, just look at them, dont show teeth, talk to them...they will answer, reply in similar number a sylibles
When replacing seed trays, hold it still, they will quickly come down and eat out of it.
Dont approch them, let them come to u...any movement towards them, watch their body language, at the 1st sign of nerviousness, back off. Back off enough so they remain where they are.

Once the chicks in the nest start getting feathers, they can be handled, not for long, just enough so they dont get upset and maybe twice a week...they have to learn that they will not get hurt. Open nestboxes slow, so there is no sudden light to blind them.
Taming is the wrong word...this sort of implies forcing or breaking in like a horse....It is a matter of gaining trust, the amount of trust is relative to how tame they get.
We have also found Kakariki out of the nest for several months, and moved to another flight from the parents tame down very fast...a week.
This is to the piont where they will jump on u, jump on your hand to feed.
After a month they can be scratched while feeding.
Also notice that Kakariki very rarely prune each other, unlike budgies, so scratching, doesnt come natural to them.

Jonny_Palmer · Member Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 14

Thanks Very much Steps All the info i need for now angel

Thanks Agen Jonny <v>

Carol · Snr Member Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 41

Hi guys
Just one question on hand rearing kaks, when can you remove the bubs from the nest , i have hand reared heaps of cockatiels and I take the bubs out of the nest a three weeks can you do this with kaks and will it upset the pair. I dont want to upset them.

On "Taming" Kaks Mia my girl I bought her inside to keep her away from my breading pair, she is a yellow crowned the other two are red crowned,Im waiting for the pet shop to get me another boy for her , once I got her in here I noticed It didnt take me long to be able to pat her In a week I was able to leave the cage open and she goes in and out all day, she will sit on your shoulder or head eat from your hand she will even give you a kiss, and this was done by just being gentle with her letting her come to me and talking softly to her whenever I was near the cage. They are great birds and I was amazed with how quick she warmed up to us.
Buy
Carol

Kaka-riki · Site Admin Joined: May 30, 2005 Posts: 363

Hi Carol,
Unless there is a reason to do so before, we remove any Kakariki that are to be hand reared just as their eyes are starting to open. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the young birds adapt to the spoon straight away and they dont seem to lose any weight during the transition period from parent rearing to hand rearing formulas. The other factor is the changes to the surroundings. When the chicks are in the nest box it is dark so the light is not harsh when their eyes are opening for the first time. By removing the young as the eyes open they seem to adjust very quickly to the lighting conditions of the brooders and room where they are reared. At this age the temperature settings on the brooder is not quite as critical either and can be lowered on a weekly basis as the pin feathers and eventual feathering start to appear. These may sound like small issues but every little bit counts when rearing birds to be fit healthy pets for future years.

Carol · Snr Member Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 41

Thanks Kaka-riki
Can you give me an idear in weeks, because I dont want to go near that box until I have to , I dont want anything to go wrong.
Thanks again
Carol[/img]