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Post by battybirdie on May 6, 2006 19:33:16 GMT
Hello I'm new to the site and was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers with my Kakarikis. I have a yellow male (Kenny) and cinnamon female (Kiri) who appear to have hatched their first eggs yesterday (judging from the tiny tweeting noises coming from the nest box!). I am a first time 'grandma' and am slightly anxious to make sure that both me & the birds are doing all the right things!! They have plenty of seed, sunflower, dandelions, egg mix (with avimix), apples, melons etc. Is there anything else I should be giving them at this stage (they don't like meal-worms). Also I'm not sure what normal nesting behaviour is with Kakarikis - every so often my male will go into the nest box and stay there for about 10 minutes while the female comes out and sits on a perch - is this normal?? He does call her out from time to time to feed her, but she is only ever out for a few minutes at a time when this happens. He did temporarily 'lose the plot' while they were breeding and became very aggressive, so I had no choice but to take him out of the cage for a few days as my female looked exhausted. I kept him in a cage next to their main cage and re-introduced him after 4 days. Since then he has been sweetness and light, but I'm just worried in case he goes off the rails again. Does anyone have any advice that might help to stop this happening?? All advice very gratefully received. Many thanks Ellen, Kiri and Kenny (aka Mr & Mrs Riki!)  PS, think I may have posted this twice (oops!) |
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Post by lin on May 7, 2006 0:16:37 GMT
I've deleted your other post. #cheesy# #cheesy# #cheesy#
Hi and welcome! We love pics, so can you post some, especially of the babies #heart#
Wish I could help you with your query - unfortuantely I can't find a kak to buy anywhere #cry# . Sal or Jon will be on later, they are experienced kak breeders, so they will be able to help you out.
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Post by Scully on May 7, 2006 5:31:44 GMT
Hiya and welcome to Birdcrazy. Im waiting for my first Kak cheeps too.  As far as im aware you are doing fine My male has calmed down a bit since the hen has been sitting on the eggs. Although hes missing her not being around so much. Keep us informed how things are going, and look forward to some pics if you can |
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Post by Admin on May 7, 2006 11:09:53 GMT
Hi Battybirdie welcome to the forum the nesting behaviour that you have described is perfectly normal they both do some feeding, once the chicks get to about 4/5 weeks the hen will ignore them atogether and the cock will take over the feeding. this is because she will already be working on her next lot of babies so it is wise to have a second next box ready or she will try in the same box and babies/eggs can be trampled by the older ones. feeding wise you seem to be doing the right already, they need lots of soft foods while they are feeding young so cut down on the seed a little and bulk up on the fruits, veg and egg food also some calcium and vitamin supplements can be added to their water to help them out a little. You will notice that as the chicks get bigger the amount of food they get through will treble so as long as you keep the supplies coming thick and fast they (and you as a proud gandma) will be fine ive never come accross aggresive behaviour with my kaks (except mum when you put your hand in nest box) but they seem to have settled now so just keep an eye on them. i wouldnt have thought it would be likely to happen again as they seem to have settled now in their partnership. oh and by the way, ours dont like meal worms either lol they run away from them! hope this helps, if you think of anything else you need to know give us a shout |
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Post by battybirdie on May 7, 2006 21:12:53 GMT
Hello Everyone - many thanks for the responses (especially Sal), it's much appreciated. Kiri and Kenny were so determined to breed that I'm just worried that something will go wrong with their little ones, as I know they would be heartbroken! To be honest I'm not sure what on earth I'm going to do with them if they do manage to rear them successfully! I think I may have to live in the car and let the birdies have the house - lol! One more question that I do have at the moment - at what point is it safe for me to peek into the nest box?! I'm dyng of curiosity to see how many babies there are, but don't want to do anything to upset the equilibrium at the moment (especially as Kenny was so hyper during breeding). Would I be best to continue to be patient or do you think it would be safe to sneak a peek in the near future?? Thanks again Ellen & the 'Riki Family!'  |
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Post by lin on May 7, 2006 22:02:25 GMT
I would be looking at least once daily, so that you can make sure the babies are being fed properly. If not, you may have to pull them to hand rear, or supplement feed. But, wait for Sal's advice
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Post by Admin on May 8, 2006 10:19:09 GMT
I agree with lin, you do need to look just to make sure all is well with the little family. Be warned though, you will get screamed at so might be best to wait till mum comes out for a quick feed/bath and look then. if you pick the babies up and they look fat and full then all is going well, if they're crop looks empty other measures might need to be taken but we can get to that if and when needed. You need to keep their feet as clean as possible, also keep an eye on nesting material getting caught around the toes, we had a bird that had to have her toe aputated for that reason (she is fine now ) i think i covered everything #cool# but if there is anything else that we can help with just ask |
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Post by Berserka on May 8, 2006 11:51:05 GMT
Hi battybirdie! Welcome!
Are you able to post a pic of your birds?
I'm trying to get my Kaks to breed, I have a Red Crown male interested in a Yellow Crown hen but of course can't let the different species breed! So I am trying to get him 'interested' in one of his own species of Kak as I don't want hybrids!
I've got another aviary so I should be able to split the different species of Kaks up when it's ready (very soon!).
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Post by battybirdie on May 8, 2006 19:51:39 GMT
Can someone tell me how to load pics?! I'm truely useless when faced with technology! lol!  |
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Jo
Fledgling
Here comes trouble!
Posts: 170
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Post by Jo on May 8, 2006 19:55:32 GMT
Welcome Battybirdie. You are in safe hands with Sal, her and Jon are currently hand rearing babies from Kiwi & Kiki for me and Ginge. Hope that everything goes well with your babies, have a peek and let us know how many have hatched and how many she is sitting on.
All the best!!!
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Post by Admin on May 8, 2006 21:18:09 GMT
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Post by battybirdie on May 9, 2006 16:30:31 GMT
Hi Guys As promised (or at least I hope they come out!) - here are some pictures of Kiri and Kenny and their little balls of fluff! Gettin to Know You! Mr & Mrs Riki!  I'm sooooooooooo not moving!!  My little balls of fluff!  Hope you like them - the baby pic was taken yesterday evening. When I looked this morning I think there might be 3! Not too sure though so will keep you posted........ |
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Post by lin on May 9, 2006 23:24:57 GMT
Those babies are just little fluff balls, how adorable #heart#
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Post by silvercloud on May 11, 2006 5:18:38 GMT
They are gorgeous. Hi and welcome Battybirdie. #cheesy#
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Post by Scully on May 13, 2006 5:55:33 GMT
How many chicks have you got now Battybirdie?
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