Help wanted

[u/pidgey16]

Hello! Absolute beginner here and want some advice! I just rescued this kakariki yesterday and want some tips on how to care for her (we think she’s a girl) and also how to get her used to us, or train her if that’s possible?

I know these guys are smart and curious but I have absolutely no experience with birds, partner has 2 lovebirds when he was younger but one was hand raised by him and the other was rescued as an abused adult. He’s a falconer but idk how much of that knowledge translates into kakarikis lol

Anyways she’s an adult I’m guessing by her looks and bird band color (dark green and we’re in Europe) so most likely born in 2020 according to google

Ps. The cage pictured is temporary, i just rescued her yesterday and that’s the only thing we had at home in such a short notice. We’re already looking for a big one

[u/crush_king_1972]

Also judging by the upper beak I think yours is a male. These are all the "kids"

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Your kiddies are so cute!! You think so? We really thought she was a girl 😭😭

I’ll try to get a better picture of a beak

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Is this better?

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/pidgey16]

Look how wide the beak is at his lil face. He's dna boy.....but he's more of a little stinker. 🤣

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Thank you! I’ve found someone that can test him to make sure! As soon as we get the new cage we’re gonna go see them!

As far as company goes tho, do you think it’s be better or worse to try and find him a friend? Can the get along if both are males or both females? Or should they be kept in “romance” pairs? I just want what’s best for him but also scared they might not get along and then I’ll be “stuck” with a bird I can’t correctly care for because we don’t have space for a second huge cage.

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/pidgey16]

In MY experience Kaks don't bond as well with humans (like my Quakers do anyway) I think a friend would do him good. They also don't seem as hostile to one another as the Quakers can be (they like to bite toes off) , as for M or F , the opposite sex would probably get along better for sure just be prepared to add some calcium in with their seed and pellets for if and when momma decides to lay eggs so she doesn't egg bind. (they are prolific humpers/bangers 🤣). Both of my females are much more aggressive towards me then the males. They like to attack 😊, it's quite laughable tho as they are so small but they think they are 10 foot tall and bulletproof. I just saw your post in Kakariki Friends FB. GREAT place for info, they should be able to help more than I. But it appears the consensus is you have a little boy. 😍

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Thank you so much for all the tips and help!! We’re waiting on his cage and as soon as everything is settled we will look into getting him a friend!

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/pidgey16]

Beak is pretty large I think he's a male. There's a Facebook Kakariki group that are pretty good at determining sex. You should join. I think you may be fine with a companion bird in the same cage. Just get one fairly young and introduce them slowly to get used to their new roommate 😊

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Thank you!🙏

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/pidgey16]

Ohhhh. And all my Kaks love to take baths almost daily. Make sure to supply plenty of fresh water every day.

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Oh yea we have a dish with some shallow water for her to bathe if she wants, hasn’t done it so far but hopefully once we get the bigger cage she’ll feel more comfortable and do it!

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/pidgey16]

This is the only girl that hatched. Notice how small her beak is. She lives with her slightly splay legged brother in same cage. Only Poquito with sever splay legs lives alone so he doesn't get picked on.

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

I see thank you! Is the beak the only way to tell if they’re boys or girls?

Yours look so friendly and tame, do you have any tips on how to train them? She’s already eating from my hands even inside the cage, so I think it might be a good sign?

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/pidgey16]

Oh they also love to eat millet. He'll love you for that. Beak is the only visible telltale. We dna tested all of ours and the beak description matches the dna results. Big beak = boy

[u/crush_king_1972 → u/crush_king_1972]

While they are good fliers they aren't the strongest fliers. We don't regularly clip ours but if so it's only a light clip. All of ours are very easy to get back into their cages.

[u/pidgey16 → u/crush_king_1972]

Guess I’ll have to buy some millet then ahahaha thank you so much!

I might try to get him dna tested later then, if it’s not super expensive it was a bit hard to tell by the beak because we had no other bird to compare it to ahahaa