Nesting Box
My son makes these and some other boxes if interested in purchasing any contact Lea Shingler (admin) these are £8.00 each plus P&P. Mainland UK delivery only
Sexing Your Bird
Male on the left
Hen on the right
How can I tell my birds sex?
You can tell your birds sex by the size of the beak. Males usually have long wide beaks, Females usually have shorter narrower beaks. Sometimes you may also notice that females have a flatter head than males.
What size nest box do I use?
A cockatiel nest box is a suitable box these are usually around 12x8 in size.
What nesting material do I use?
A lot use many different material but most common is wood chippings or shavings and peat
What toys can I put in the cage?
You can put toys in the cage with a Kakariki but I would limit the amount don’t over fill the cage, ropes should be checked and replaced regular as Kakariki claws are long and can often snag, which if you’re not around could lead to broken legs etc. It might be best to have little to no toys in the cage and plenty outside for their adventures, that way the bird is safe. Please please don’t put snuggle huts in your cage these are extremely dangerous as the stitching and material can wrap itself around your birds legs and toes, necks and injure if not kill your bird. Look at getting either cardboard tubes or plastic piping like the one shown and attach carefully with cable ties they love to roost in the items.
Tubes
I do occasionally have these for sale so please ask if you would like any. Postage for them is £5.00 for up to 6 pieces anywhere in the UK and at the moment there a £1.00 each tube.
Newborn Kakarikis
Caring For Your Kakariki
Commonly asked questions:
What Size should the cage be?
The cage should be as big as you can afford or fit in your room a lot use parrot cages. Although these birds are small they are extremely active birds and even if you are around a lot of the day to allow the bird plenty of time out the cage there will always be times were this is just not possible so the bigger the cage the better. Budgie cages and Cockatiel cages are not suitable. Please be aware of bar spacing as these little buggers will stick their heads through if they can.
My bird looks like a plucked chicken what’s wrong with it?
The chances are there is nothing wrong with your bird, captive Kakariki for some unknown reason tend to have very heavy moults especially yellow or buttercups. They can lose an alarming amount of feathers at once giving the appearance of infection of mites or some dyer Illness, some have even mentioned French moult although to my knowledge this only appears in budgies and occasionally lovebirds, I’ve never heard any documented evidence of French moult in Kakariki. In captive Kakariki it’s a common problem and should be treated with vitamins I recommend Guardian Angel but it’s your choice if you know a good one I’m sure it will do the job and good diet these can last for quite some weeks if not months. I will also say that treating your bird for mites should be a regular practise so it would not hurt to treat for mites too just in case. Since writing this document I have found that they have a mite that’s virtually all their own and there for have made another document about them called Kakariki mites so is also worth a good read.
Can I breed a Red Crested (red cap) and Yellow Crested Kakariki (yellow cap)?
These will breed together, however it’s not something that’s recommended as they are different species of Kakariki. Again this is a very controversial subject that seems to upset a lot of people, while it’s not a practise I would do my self they are your birds and what you do is your choice I won’t allow any criticism or bullying on this site regarding it. You are more than welcome to post pics and sell birds on this site that have been cross breed, but try to be as upfront and honest as you can regarding its genes sometimes you may not even be aware you have crossed bird until they breed.
My male Kakariki has become aggressive and attacks me?
Again this seems to be quite common from the research I’ve done and my experience this is due to hormones which start to kick in at around 4 months of age not all turn but seems most do, not allot can be done about this other than telling the bird off and putting him away treat like a naughty child. I’ve found that introducing a female can also help calm him down but not guaranteed. It does pass but you could have a good few months of a stroppy teenage bird on your hands.
How do I tame my Kakariki he won’t come near me?
Patience is first and foremost try never to grab your bird to put him away train them with sticks and hands to go back to the cage if left out longer enough they will go back for food on their own but again try not to shut the cage each time they go in, as they will get to know you’re putting them away. Taming these birds is not the easiest task as there so active but their suckers for food so maybe try their favourite food next to you, then on you etc. until the bird is happy to come to you, it does work but takes patience. Remember though you have not bought a big parrot like a grey or a budgie or cockatiel that like to sit and look pretty on you hand, these birds will do just what they want and to get them to sit still and stroke and touch and talk to is not always going to happen.
How many eggs do they lay? How often? And when do they hatch?
They can lay up to 13 eggs although between 6 -9 is more common they lay them every other day and take 21 days to hatch, the hen normally won’t sit until at least the 3rd egg has been laid so count 21 days from the 3rd egg this means your first 3 eggs will hatch on roughly the same day. You can tell if eggs are viable by candling the eggs with a torch which in fertile eggs from about a week you should see veins. You can with experience see the difference in the colour of an egg fertile eggs will become a lovely gloss white in colour, infertile eggs stay a matt white almost see through, and dead in shell turn a grey black in colour.
Can I check the nest box? Will this disturb the hen off the eggs or chicks?
It is possible that you may disturb the hen off the chicks or eggs. However I believe that all boxes need regular inspection for a number of reasons: to clean out the box because of mites and poo also to insure the hen is not egg bound and to remove dead chicks. It’s a very controversial subject but I’ve had 30 years’ experience keeping budgies and kakariki’s and I’ve only ever had 1 hen that refused to return to them after inspection and that was a budgie. Take time to get to know your bird’s actions and reactions and this should not then be a problem.