Kakariki's anyone?

[abnmojo]

I found a red-fronted kakariki in a pet store about three months ago. As this is my wife's all-time favorite bird, and she has been searching for one for 4 years, we bought it. Thank goodness it was not an expensive bird.

Anyway, this bird was a little older, about 2 years old, and had never been handled. When the bird was in a towel it would chew massive holes (hard to imagine with such a small beak) and cause rather painful bites. These things are the fastest, quickest birds I have ever seen as well. You can't catch it - the best you can hope for is to toss a t-shirt on it if it stops for a second to catch its breath.

After working with this bird for the last three months I have made major progress with it. I have found that when Kiwi gets her shower (I have a suction cup perch in my shower stall) she is as tame as a green cheek conure. She gives kisses (I suppose to drink the water off of you) and loves scratches all over. As tame as a bird gets - but only when wet and in a shower. As soon as she dries off, she is back to her same old self - very flighty and nervous.

I have managed to get her to step up (but only for a moment or two, she usually will hop to my head from my finger) and have been able to give her belly rubs if she refuses to step up. She will perch on my shoulder and arm, if I hold it out from my body and give her some 'space'. We often have conversations like this - Kiwi on my elbow 'talking' to me - I say something, she says kikikikiki or eeeeeeeerrrrch, and this can go on for several minutes, back and forth. I am the only person that can do this - my wife (who has not spent the time I have working with Kiwi) cannot do this with the bird. Oh, but my wife and son CAN pet her, and even get her to step up when the bird is taking a shower.

I was wondering if anyone else out there had red-fronted kakarikis, where you found them, and if they were more tame than this if you started when they were babies.

Any experience with this species at all would be appreciated - I love this little bird - and I encourage everyone who likes the grass parakeets to look into these guys. They are very interesting little birds. They're call is unlike anything you have ever heard - kikikikikiki - they are soft like a cockatoo and like to 'hop' arround the cage. Generally a VERY quiet bird as well - Kiwi lives in my bedroom and I still get to sleep in if I want to. I could go on and on. Very different from any other parrot I have seen. They could be extinct in the wild soon and more people need to start working with them to keep the species alive.

[The Boy With The Birds]

haha sounds like a real kakariki, as they say, crazy kiwi characters. I breed these little fellas, as you said, they are very fast an active, and also very inquisitive and playful by nature. I have never handraised one chick yet, but plan to next clutch. They d make great pets if handraised, but if not, can be quite nervous, and do pack a pinch!if keeping them as a pet, i recomend a very large cage, and plenty of toys and appl, your kakariki will love you for it! i only have one normal bird, and another pair consistig of a cinnumin hen, and a lightly pied cock. All the babies seem to turned out ring-necked, which isnt another mutation, its just that the pied marking is around the neck, like a ring. You should make shore it has a large bathing dish, as as they say, one bathing dish per kakariki. I feed mine on a basic diet of a good quality finch mix, then i add 1 cup of plain canary, and half a cup of striped and black sunflowers. Make shore they get plenty of fruit and veg, that is changed all the time, so they dont get bored of the same fruit. I find apple is a favourite, and when the babies come out, i start steaming the apple to make it nice and soft for both the chicks and parents to digest. I find they also relish pomegranate, carrot, strawberries and orange. I then provide greenfeed every day, which includes thistle and chickweed, i also provide grit and cuttle bone at all times, and of course 2 water dishes and 2 bathing dishes, hich are changed twice a day. Kakarikis are also extremely easy to breed, 2 clutches per season is normal.

As said, the kakariki is in grave danger of becoming extinct, more people should open their eyes to see what a wonderful little parrot they would be losing

Zac,

[terryl]

I've got a lutino redfront, and what an amazing bird it is. I got her/him at 16weeks old. Not tame but getting braver, absolutely loves to be out of the cage which he/she shares with 4 cockatiels and guess who is the boss?
when he first came home he was small enough to get under a small table that I have, now he's too big but still tries. It is so funny watching him trying the get under- his little legs go like mad.
Has had his scrapes getting stuck in small places, but now he will come if I call him. Love the way that they bathe- square water bowl that he can get right in- lovely wet little thing. In moult at present and has lost his tail (it is starting to regrow) but can still fly brilliantly.
Highly recommend them to anyone.

[huntress]

They ARE very hard to find here. Once a while ago I had someone offer me a breeder male that was WILD and I wasnt up for the challenge then. Now I wish I had, poor thing had looooong overgrown nails and was terrified. He would have been free too - he was a red front. The breeder was tired of trying to find it a mate. *sigh*

[Courtzrocks]

All the kakariki's i've seen have been really active and even the tame ones are still full on like they have to be moving and wont stay in one place long. They are extremely fast and use their feet alot too to move things or run around their cage (upside down too!!) They're very cute birds! They're fairly easy to come across over here in australia (as they're a new zealand bird, just a hop skip and a jump away) but not common at all in the wild.

[huntress]

Well, Courtney all we have to do is figure out how to get on a boat and meet in the middle I'll trade you two young perfectly matched, ready to breed in a year, Pairs or parrotlets for two pair same Kaks!!!!

[Courtzrocks]

Yeah then Ill smuggle the parrotlets back into australia (illegal here but who cares!) Do ya reckon you could maybe get me some linnies? they're legal here but $2500 each here...that way i can pretend i bought them hehehe, ill find some kakarikis for ya....swap ya a black cockatoo for a GW too!! Or a major mitchell...cheap cockatoos lol!

[huntress]

HEH HEH How much are African Greys there?? now that we successfully hijacked this thread,lol

[Courtzrocks]

About $5,000+ Green wing macaws are about $13,000 as are scarlets. OUCH, I know! I think I will get a B&G one day, but they're $7,500 at the moment but breeders think they will drop to $5,000 in a few years...holding out til then lol!

[Poohsbirds97]

Oh my goodness at those prices, and we think we have it bad here sometimes. I would still have a long want list if I lived there. I am so thankful for my babies, but if I had to pay those prices I am sure I would not have a B&G or Grey, and for surely not the GW.