FEATURE
If he is split 50% of his sons will also be split Cinnamon but only by test pairings will I be able to identify these birds. I am not too happy ringing Kakariki because they are so active they can easily be caught by their ring in a small snag of wire and lose a leg if the accident is not spotted quickly. The young from the two previous rounds totalling 7 young are still in the aviary with their parents, I am not sure if they are helping with the feeding of the current brood but I would not be surprised if they were, it is good practice for them when they have their own young. When parakeets hatch they are fed by the hen on seed that the cock has originally stored in his crop and softened somewhat, he regurgitates it when he feeds the hen and after a period in her crop when it becomes even softer she then feeds the babies. As the young grow they can take seed that is not so soft and at this stage the cock can regurgitate the seed and feed the babies directly himself. This makes life a little easier for the hen. The nest box used for the adult breeding pair is made of 3/4” plywood and is 10 1/2” high and has a base area 8” x 9 1/2”, the hole is 2” in diameter with wood chips 3/4” deep in the bottom. It has a hinged top, which during hot weather and with well feathered young inside I open
during the day to prevent dehydration due to excessive heat in the box. With the entrance hole near the top of the box you would have assumed that any excess heat would escape through this opening but that is not so, it just circulates within the box. If you are concerned that the well feathered young may leave the nest box too early you can place some wire mesh where the top normally rests. The nest box is
located under a glass fibre roof to keep it dry, this roof covers 65%
of the top of the outside aviary the remaining 35% is open to allow access to the rain which is well received by the inhabitants this uncovered area is of suspended design with a wire bottom. The aviary is 10’ long and
BIRD SCENE 49
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