Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:50 am Post subject: Hi
Hi I am new to kakarikis and my daughter is looking to add a pair or two to our collection, so I want to do my home work first. I am wondering what age would I best be looking to obtain, do kakarikis make much dust ( I used to keep budgies and I found the dust too much), and any advice we will take on board. we do keep other birds so not complete novices thank you.
to the community!
there are some members from the UK, maybe you could arrange a visit to one of them to see the bird in person.
About dirtiness... I'm not sure right now if kakariki have powder down (like cockatiels, cockatoos and african greys), but they do get stuff dirty for a couple of reasons. First is that they scratch the feeders and like to throw food all over the place, so you must take some measures to reduce this (big, deep feeders and cut veggies in bite sizes), second is that they love to take a bath, and they don't dry themselves with a towel, so they keep on playing while they are still drenched and they can be a bit messy. Besides, when they take a bath they love to splash water and make a big "water-party" so once again, you must place the water-dish carefully to reduce the dirtiness.
I think the main problem is that they are very active. I don't think cockatiels are less messy than them, but tiels spend most of the day perching and preening while kakariki are always on the run.
Advice, take a look at the "diet" threads, very informative, and lots of nice info as well on the "breeding" subforum. Many times I use the forum as a book, I go to a section and read it when I have some time off. Lots of nice tips and stuff, sometimes you realize small details the 2nd or 3rd time you go through an old thread.
If interested in something specific use the search function (quick search box is available in the left menu)
Kakariki do not put a layer of fine white power thru thr house, like sulphurcrested and other large parrots.
If you get thenm to identfy the cage as home strong enough parrots will go back to the cage, or even stand in the doorway to poo.
More info on how to do this in older posts...run a search for poo and taming _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
yes, they have the oil gland (uropygial gland) like any other parrot, but I guess the type of oil is slightly different to other species or maybe the way they preen etc...
very nice to get a pair!
just remember to check they are not hybrids of red x yellow fronted, buy them pure.
yes I was meaning not to buy an hybrid of red fronted x yellow fronted, I don't have anything against mutations
in fact I breed pieds and goldchecks myself
I'm very much in the same boat as you (but in Spain).
1st there are not many breeders, and the few that do, keep maybe 1-2 pairs.
Just out of interest, there's a gentleman that wrote several books about kakariki, I.S. Dyer.
I think he's English, maybe you ccould find info. from him. I used google, etc... couldn't find anything. All I know is about his books in Amazon.
If you are still not lucky, consider a road or train trip to Belgium or Netherlands to visit a specialist breeder and buy 2-3 decent pairs from them. It will be probably even cheaper than 2-3 pairs from a pet-shop in U.K.
You get to travel, meet nice people, you see how they keep the birds, etc... I think it's good value for money.
Another option is to be patient and visit different bird shows and auctions. Ocasionally you find good specimens, but it's like playing the lottery, but indeed it's thrilling and fun!
Let's se if the UK guys see this post and you get lucky, but I think most of them bought the birds from pet shops.
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to the community!
very nice to get a pair!
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