Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:27 am Post subject: eddie and lulu mating @8months old
hi all
just got a mate for my red/green kike called eddie.i brought lulu home on thursday 30/6/05 she is roughly the same age as our eddie,but she is red/yellow ,i thought as they were young about 8 months old i thought they would be to young to breed from.but from all the natural signs they are so happy together and i think shortly i will have to get a nest box for them .how long does it take for the hen to start to lay eggs ? and does the hen lay an egg every other day ? if so the nest box i will get in the next few days. does any one recommend idenity banding for the chicks if so where can i purchase the bands from? thanks gypsie
they were young about 8 months old i thought they would be to young to breed
We have kikes at 6 months breeding...accidently, they broke their way into a nesting box. They are still doing fine,
I believe if conditions are right in the wild they will breed NPs
In captivity, they rely on us to supply with the varied diet. In most cases Kikes don't get this. Kikes diet is rather unique to in their natural feeding compared to other parrots. The ratio of good veggies/ fruit and protein from meat is much higher. See "kakariki Care" section...feeding.
I believe a pair, with the right supply of balanced natural diet, there are no problems.
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how long does it take for the hen to start to lay eggs ?
That entirely over to them...how well they get on and if the choose to do so.
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and does the hen lay an egg every other day ?
They may lay one egg, appear to abandon, then lay a few more over a week or so. Often the 1st batch could be infertile. It just a matter of watching, waiting and seeing.
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if so the nest box i will get in the next few days
Read thru the forums, become familiar with the breeding routine of Kikes. Kikes need space, 2 nesting boxes. AND be prepared to be able to house the offspring. We had another member running into problems breeding in a small cage inside.
This thread http://www.kakariki.net/ftopic-115-days0-orderasc-0.html
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does any one recommend identity banding for the chicks if so where can i purchase the bands from? thanks gypsie
We have very little experience as to banding. We have had Birds, caught up with bands. Banding is often used by large breeders who have several genetic blood lines, and easier to keep track of over the yrs. Unless you have very good reason to band, I would suggest not to.
Bands can be purchased from local Bird/Parrot Societies. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
I have read that female kakariki can start breeding at 4 months and males at 6 months. I did a bit of reading about this when I had a 5 month old female lay 6 eggs and raise 5 chicks to independence. This was an accident, the nest box was supposed to be to sleep in, not for anything else.
The accepted wisdom is that one should wait until your kakariki are 12 months old before allowing the to breed.
We work on the general rule of thumb not to let our Birds breed till the following season aprox 12 months.
I Believe combination early breeding and limitted/synthetic diet would cause both parants to get run down very quickly
Same goes for continuos breeding.....Our main breeding pair are on their 6th clutch since last Oct (9 months) and looking as heathy as when they started. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
eddie and lulu are fine but no sign of any eggs yet ? misty & leicester my breeding budgies look to getting nearer to egg laying than my kikes. eddie and lulu are doing all the normal things and getting their box ready but they have been doing that for a while now. is there anything else they need are is it a matter of just waiting ? gypsie
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:49 pm Post subject: update on eddie &lulu
hi evey one
a long awaited update on eddie&lulu . finally managed to get a large sized nestbox. she is in the nest box most of the time know no sign of eggs yet.
she's getting a varied diet and eddie has been feeding her aswell so keeping fingers crossed? when she is in the nest box i check on her about twice a day,i tap on the box and tell her i am just checking to see if she is ok and the noise of protest,but she does calm done quite quickly.
Make sure u open the box slowly, so there is a gentle change in going from dark to light, otherwise she will be blinded and not be aware of what is happening....like us going from a dark room into bright sunlight. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
thanks steps
lulu has pulled out some of her tummy feathers the nest box is now full of them,do you think it will be soon for her to start egg laying? gypsie
I was just discussing this with another breeder (ex kakariki, disheartened with Gov policy re kakariki in NZ) who now breeds exotic parrots.
I have not come across it in any of our birds and neither has he with his, thu I think it was mentioned here some time back.
Personally I don't believe it should happen. We had a hen who laid every 8 weeks last season for around 7 months, not a feather loss.
Both the other breeder and I have seen it with other breeders, we both believe it is a diet/ mineral/vitamin thing.
Hens go thru a lot of minerals in particular calcium upto and during nesting.
AND Parrots (other than grass parrots) will pile thru berries/fruit/veggies/sprouts at 2:1 or more ratio with seed!!! PLUS a good sprinkle of mineral/vitamin powder supplement each day.
Its an old wives tale, getting a bag of seed for your parrot....take a walk thru the veg and fruit section of your supermarket instead.
In them mean time give .
It doesn't sound as if she in very serious lack of these at the moment so her a boost of vitamin/mineral supplement over the next few days then continue with a lower recommended dose...AND fruit veggies
See the section on diet. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
thanks steps
lulu seems fine i give veggies and fruit,pomigranites are in season in our shops in england at the minute and both of the kikes love it .its gone within minutes .i do vary everything.i waiting to get some egg food to come in at our petshop also they have just started to get in some vitakraft foods that you can add to their seed mix. i have got some for the african grey its foods that he would naturally get if he was back in africa,they also do some for the amazon parrots/conures etc which i will be trying with my 2 black capped conures,and then they do an aussie one i am hoping this will be suitable for the kikes.i will let you know, they also carry the vitamins /minerals etc. if i think lulu shows signs of not being well i will take her to my local avian vet,better still id probably get better advice from and the forum. gypsie
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 8:57 pm Post subject: vitakraft seed mix aussie
merry christmas every one.
eddie and lulu are both fine.still no eggs as yet?
vitakraft aussie they seem to like it along with fresh veggies/fruit and their other seed mix.
i think we have cracked the moulting thing of kikes,my local petshop staff and i keep our kikes indoors with central heating so as our climate changes here the kikes moult.eds and lulu have just gone through this now so hope fully the she will start laying eggs.gypsie.
I still believe that heavy moulting during breeding goes beyind diet. My birds get a very well balanced diet, lots of greens, fruit, vegatables, supplements, some seeds as well as pellets specifically for parrots. The also bath frequently. None of my other parrot species lose any feathers when breeding.
It could be that the original stock ex NZ was pre-disposed to this or the stock has been weekened by in breeding. Perhaps it has something to do with high temperatures or lack of humidity. I am not convinced that poor diet is the sole reason for this but poor diet could make the problem worse.
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