MY NEW FAMILY MEMBERS

[meandem]

As promised here are two photos of my newest family members. Mr & Mrs Kak. They are just the friendliest little creatures around. They crawl all over my feet when I get in the aviary to feed them. We put them in the aviary yesterday and they seem to have settled in very well.

[Laraine]

They are lovely, I'd like to get a pair. Are they compatible with other birds in a communial aviary?

[meandem]

My aviaries are set up in flights. So they have their own section. They are next to Ringnecks and Rosellas, and there doesn't seem to be too much squabbling going on. The rosellas had a bit of a chitter chatter when they were first introduced, but they soon settled down. I would imagine in a big aviary that they would get along with most birds, they seem to be so friendly and they weren't even hand-raised.

[pinkdevil]

Lovely!

It is cool they are so quiet without being handraised.

[silvercloud]

Kaks are awesome lil birds. Karen (bird crazy) has kept kaks so she'd be the one to answer about compatibility.

[meandem]

That is good to know, I will probably be looking for some good advice. I did have them about three years ago, but it was only for a very short time. That was when I had to move here and I had to get rid of most of my birds before the move because I had nowhere to house them all. It has taken me three years to get back to where I was. Actually I think I am a bit better off now, I have more space than ever before, and have a few more birds than I did before.

[vankarhi]

They look lovely ;D

[Karen]

When they aren't breeding they will get along with other birds but will usually want to be the boss. When I had mine I didn't have rosella's so I honestly can't help with that as we all know how bossy rosella's get!
At one time in a 3m x 1.5m by 1.8m high aviary I had kaks, a ringneck, green cheeks, red rumps, bourkes and budgies. They were all okay with only the occasional kak foot on another kaks back that says "I am boss here".
I tried breeding 2 pairs of kaks in the same aviary once. The dominant pair bred but the subordinate pair didn't, they acted like an aunt and uncle to the bubs but didn't interfere.
You'll need to get these their own species' mate (you probably already know this sorry) - the Red crown and Yellow crowns are 2 separate species of kakariki. While they will breed it is considered bad form.
Been awhile since I've sexed them but I'll guess the Red Crown is the male and the Yellow Crown is the hen?
They are gorgeous birds though! I tried to get a pair at the ipswich bird show but there was only 1 hen left so I didn't bother.

[Jane]

Very cute ;D

[Laraine]

I'm surprised the kaks are bossier than the red rumps. I've 3 pairs of red rumps together and boy do they fight!!! I was wondering whether I could put a pair of kaks in with my red rumps? I've a few cockatiels in as well, but they don't cause any trouble.

[avinet]

I wouldn't recommend Kakis and Red-rumps sharing an aviary. While Kakarikis can be bossy they are not that aggressive normally, while Red-rumps can be killers. I've housed breeding kakarikis with cockatiels, and Zebra Finches without problems, but wouldn't dream of housing a pair of breeding Red-rumps with any other birds, including other Red-rumps.

When I had Zebras sharing with a pair of Kakarikis there was a beautiful scene one morning - when I didn't have a camera handy! Two baby Zebras had just left the nest and were perched next to a male Kaki which had extended his wing to almost cover them. Would have been an amazing photo.

The main problems I had when breeding Kakariukis was firstly calcium deficiencies with the babies - I had to give calcium supplements to the breeding pairs when they were getting ready to lay. However the major problem was hot weather. They often lay quite late in the spring and since the babies have a very thick down covering - obviously designed for New Zealand weather - a hot day could be fatal for babies. I once had a nest of around 6 babies and an unexpected hot day with temps in the mid 30's resulted in all dying before I could get home to check.

After that if the weather threatened to be too warm I would take the nest box down and place it on the floor of the aviary, and leave the top off the box. It never worried the parents and even with the top off they would still go in and out of the box through their normal hole. I always found them to be excellent parents.

Oh, and they are a fun bird to hand feed, one of the enjoyable ones.

cheers,

Mike

[Karen]

LOL my first clutch of bubs the mother plucked the bubs, I'd been told this was a possibility with kaks when they want to breed another round.
One of the best scene's I've been able to snap a picture of is of a female red rump sharing a nest box with a female bourke on eggs. The female would lay next to the bourke when I was cleaning her box and would leave when I put the box back. It was sooo cute! She didn't have an aggro bone in her little body that red rump!

[meandem]

Thanks Mike, that was interesting reading. The temperature thing is good to know about, because it can get quite warm here in the summer months. So the nest on the ground hey? No lid? MMMMMMMMMMM....will have to change the aviary around again. I have them both in one of the walkways at the moment, because they are so friendly. I might need to move them into one of the other sections. I am just a bit worried about disturbing them, if the nest is on the ground (when I walk in). And also I was told they are a pair. Looks like I have been diddled again! I might see if I can chase up different mates for them.

[avinet]

Kakarikis are not a species to worry about changes - always too curious and excited about anything new to worry. I would be very worried about having them in a walkway - I lost a kaki once that had landed onmy back and I didn't realise and walked outside with it still there. At least if you have them in a flight you have a better chance of realising in the walkway before going out.

I couldn't be sure from the photos what sex they were - and in any case as Bird Crazy has mentioned they are two different subspecies and are best bred pure to the subspecies. My best guess would be that the red-fronted is a male and the yellow fronted is a female.

cheers,

Mike

[summit]

Meandem I also breed Kakariki (yellow crowned). Personally I would never try to breed them housed with any other bird. I have heard it done, but I have also seen a male Kaka get so territorial that he actually beat up a male rosella. When not in breeding mode they are extremely docile and inquisitive.

A fully front on pic of the yellow crown will help to see if it is a hen, from that angle I can't be 100% sure. With that pic I can also tell you how close to pure she is.

Good luck trying to find a compatible species for the yellow crowned, lol. It took me 9 months to find what I considered a decent hen. (I am a little picky though). However, I do have a nest about to hatch any day now.


Just for your reference, that is a pure Yellow Crowned Kakariki cock.

I totally agree with Mike, saved me alot of typing lol. (thanks Mike)

2 Days after this post started, just at a guess I'd say that seed hopper is either empty or darn close to it. One of the kaka's traits is to "scratch" for food, much like a chook. They will dig through 6 inches of seed, just because they can lol.

[meandem]

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. It sounds like I am going to have my hands full. Well, it is decided, I am moving everyone around today when I finish work. I don't want any arguments happening on my shift!!!! Most of my birds get along, but they all have some bad days. The seed hopper is still full, they don't seem to eat alot, and they haven't scratched it all out - they may still be a bit shy? There is a draw underneath it anyway, so it will catch anything that they do decided to scratch out.
Looking at the photo, well I would say that mine is maybe a hen, because she only has a little yellow. I will take some more photos when I get home from work today and post them so you can have a good look. I better go, thanks for all the advice.

[meandem]

Also, just a quick question about the calcium. I have never had a problem with my birds breeding, but I am curious as to what Calcium to give them (the Kaks). Do you just mean the water supplement or is there another way?

[summit]

As for calcium for the Kakas. I use a combination of avical in the water, and a cuttle bone. The only downside of the water supplement is that Kaks love to bathe, so they fling water everywhere, therefore wasting the additive, but this is minimal.

The most important thing to remember with kakariki is that they love, and need. a lot of fresh veggies, greens in particular. This is most important when they have young in the nest.

With cross breeding, 99% of breeders will strongly advise against it. Ultimately it is your choice and without some sort of hybridization there would be no color mutations. Having said that, I only keep the yellow crown kaks and pride myself on having them pure.

They are your birds, and your decision.

[meandem]

OK, so I already give my birds cuttlebone, maybe that is why I haven't had any issues. So would you suggest I get some Avical? And yes, I found out about the water, the male loves to bathe in the water. They are so funny to watch. All my birds love their fruit and veges, I must admit though, some are fussier than others. Some will only eat certain types. My ringnecks would have to be the best - they eat everything.

[summit]

Avical is the brand I use, only because I have not had any trouble with it.

They are all pretty much the same. It is just a water soluble Ca solution with a slight citrus scent (and NO I won't try it to see what it really tastes like).

Kaks need a lot of water, or at least checked often as you know. I saw a few of my birds bathing at 7:30 am, not unusual ............ but it was 4 deg C!

Kakariki really are characters, if you watch them you will see they don't need their beak to climb wire.

Every one of my birds has something they won't eat that others do. You have to chuckle and say it's their personality ......... or you'd cry trying to figure out why. lol