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Kakariki, Care, Breeding, Ecology, and Conservation :: View topic - Trying to breed for the first time, need help
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Trying to breed for the first time, need help
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elisa
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:58 am    Post subject: Trying to breed for the first time, need help

Thanks for all the help everyone has given me so far.

I am really struggling with my Kaks, my hen has laid 6 eggs over roughly 10 days and spends most of her time in the nesting box with them. Problem is I don't know if they are fertilised. She does not appear to have any contact with the cock unless she is chasing him around the cage. Admittedly we are out for about 9 hours a day and asleep for another 8.

Before we put the cock in there she was alone for about 18 months (she was about 8 weeks when we got her). In this time she laid the odd egg now and again but paid no attention to it afterwards and we just removed them.

To make things slightly more complicated it appears that she thinks that I am her mate as she performs a mating call quite often if I am near the cage. We have tried using the candling technique but still unsure as we are new to this.

How likely is it that she would be nesting with un-fertilised eggs? Should I have more than one nesting box in the cage? Anything I can do to encourage the birds to mate?

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and thanks to everyone for your help.
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elisa
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:33 am    Post subject:

i have spent several hours looking through the threads and using the search box and have been unable to find answers that directly relate to the information I need.

I would really appreciate any help.
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:49 am    Post subject:

ypu can candle the eggs with a good penlite torch ot just leave her to it and wait till they hatvh or she abandons them
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elisa
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:07 am    Post subject:

Steptoe wrote:
ypu can candle the eggs with a good penlite torch ot just leave her to it and wait till they hatvh or she abandons them


Yeah thats what we have already decided to do although i thought there maybe something we could be doing to encourage them eg adding another nesting box.
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:17 am    Post subject:

Youi should have 2 nesting boxes anyway.
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manders
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:59 am    Post subject:

Hi elisa,

Yet another NW uk member, maybe we should start a sub- forum w3c Weve just been keeping kaks for over a year so still learning much as yourself. I also have never seen ours mate but we have had several fertile batches so they must be doing it sometime or other, maybe around dawn when im not awake Anxious .
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bruce
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:48 am    Post subject:

hi
i have just had a pair do exactly the same and she abandoned the eggs after about 4 week .... they were all infertile.
after this i put them in a flight with another pair and the cock attitude changed like a switch.. i.e confident, cocky and territorial.
within 3 days he had paired up with the hen he'd been with all along so it wasn't the a lack of choice thing .. he just needed a kick up the arse and the other pair being present was just the trick.
the other pair i put them with still havent hit it off yet tho but 1 out of 2 pairs is good for me.
i have one more pair on 7 eggs which are due to hatch any day now and these pair are inseparable ... he is constantly feeding her up and to me thats what i look for in a good pair... i know this pair have fertile eggs as she abandoned last time but i managed to save 1 thru incubation... i wont breed with this one as he's my dude and is the family mascot!

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thanks brucie.....
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manders
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:25 am    Post subject:

Our pair abandoned a batch over winter, and ate the eggs, however i think it was because the nest box was too small, the next batch they laid, in a deeper box, worked out fine.
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 6:58 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
and ate the eggs,

We have had ppl meantion this a couple times over the yrs...
yet it is not something than anyone I know hga had happen, and nor have we...
Where eggs have 'disappeared' I have found way down under all the crap when cleaning out the nesting box, and others have had mice or rats, not obvious at 1st, but discovered some time later
Even an instance of kakariki and a mouce nesting in the same box!!!

Rodents can not be elimimated unless baiting has been a perminant practice for many months 100% of the time.....And I mean baiting, not PC correct live traps or even srring traps....baiting is the only way to go.

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manders
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:03 pm    Post subject:

Thats a good point Steps, ill have a good check around. We do have bait traps around the aviaries. We have a hen sitting again now, so good tiime to triple check for any signs of pests.
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:29 am    Post subject:

I do not believe baiting just around avairies is enough...but rather wider afeild...we bait to the property boundries....
And to tell if anything is around, baits are disturbed.
Also we cut a bait block into 8, goes further, and less goes back to be stored as winter food in a dead nest.

Morwe than once I have 'known' we are free of mice, and had one turn up...if there is one there are another 10 unseen.

A good way to judge if mice/rats are around, is elimate and get used to how much seed you go thru in a week in each avairy, 1 mouse eats a lot of seed, in partiular, sunflower.

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squirt9707
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 4:00 pm    Post subject:

hi elisa,
i have found that the more boxes you put in the cage the more they enjoy it! you should have a box per bird, but i have three and i found that my kaks love to explore so they tend to bond more then. it is a good choice to just wait and see what happens with these eggs... if nothing hatches, the hen will abandon them eventually.
have fun!
squirt9707
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elisa
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:35 am    Post subject:

Hi thanks for all the advice, my hen layed 7 eggs in all and which turned out to all be infertile. Crying or Very sad . i have seperated to female from the male and allowed the male to have the cage with the nesting box in it as i think my female was very territorial and the male showed no interest in her except for trying to escape her chasing him! . I feel that if there is a change in position the male will feel more confident and have more chance with the female. I am new to this so this is all experimentation i'am unsure of how long to keep them apart but the male seems to be getting more confident everyday. If you have any advice on this i would be grateful.
Thanx
Elisa
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Steptoe
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:16 pm    Post subject:

Lets re hash a little
Quote:
To make things slightly more complicated it appears that she thinks that I am her mate as she performs a mating call quite often if I am near the cage.

you have a nesting box, she has become 'mated' to you rather than the male...this will produce infertile eggs.
The female chooses the male..
Quote:
i think my female was very territorial and the male showed no interest in her except for trying to escape her chasing him!

This basically confirms the above.....If she had accepted him, she would be fine with him around, near or in the nesting box.

Also this is a forced pair...ie a male female thrown in a cage and nesting box and expected to breed like little robots....no it doesnt work like that with us or with most parrots...that is why most of us breeders put a a doz kakariki in a large flight with nesting boxes and let them choose their partners....

OK where to go from here?
Since its the female who accepts the partner....and she has partnered with you...and you are a constant... and shew has already rejected the male, I would consider you are wasting your time trying to pair them up.
Solns
1/ get a new female, avairy breed, and introduce to the male....most likey to be successful...and keep the females as a pet. 70/30
2/Isolate the female for a month or so, from you as much as possible, and introduce here to a new male in a new cage with nesting boxes, and leave them to it....reasonable chance of working 40/60
3/ get a flight about 1.5mx 2.5m x 1,8 H... 3 nesting boxes, as far away from each other as possble, introduce new male , new female and the current 2 all at once...let them sort out...and if (likely) terrority issues, remove that pair and the nesting box to another cage/ flight chance 90/10 will have 1 pair and about 50/50 chance to have 2nd pair off.

Un fortunately u boned with the female early on....If it was the male, it would not have been quite as critical.

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elisa
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:24 am    Post subject:

thank step toe thats really good advice , i have taken it all on board as i just want to do right by me birds . Manders we should definately think about starting a sub forum. But what would we call it? signlol Wink
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