Kakarikis destroyng nest

[Myzomela]

Kakas aren't ideal for being hopper-fed, for reasons you've already discovered- they dig.
I don't know about the age thing. This seems to be one species that consistently reaches sexual maturity and breeds at a very young age- as early as 5 months. After a few years they tend to burn out. How old are they?

Make sure thay aren't being disturbed at the nest by the other parrots or by mice. Maybe try them with a new log, or if you have the space a cage on their own.
Otherwise, as others have said, try them with plenty of good food- greens & vegies, calcium supplemets & if they still fail then I'd get another young pair.
Good luck!

[jusdeb]

12 months old , well and truly old enough , they get all the good food , nothing to indicate mice getting up to the nest box and no sign of other birds going near them .
All bases covered .

[thehammer]

3m x 3m is a good size and 12 months is an ideal age.

I know with mine that when I had 2 nest boxes in the aviary she wouldn’t select 1 box and ended up laying in both, so with 4 perhaps she isn’t settling properly. The only other thing is something disturbing them during the night?

Any idea what temp the aviary is during the day?

For feeding all you need is a large deep tray so they can’t scratch the food out. There is no other way.

[jusdeb]

Thanks for the tips folks , Ive fed them in a tray before changing to a hopper . I dont know why this is happening at all , she sits tight for a few weeks then goes silly .
Too many nest boxes is about the only thing that applies really , but that was a case of too many rather than squabbles over just the one .
Ive had an offer for them but will need to think it through some more .

[jusdeb]

Couldn't you just strangle them ? Ive taken all the bird waterers out for a soak and clean and replaced them with heavy bowls with worm mixture in them and what have the Kaks done ? Yep tipped out the 2 bowls I left in for their aviary .
Used the last of the worm out gel to get everyone done so now its of to the shops tomorrow to buy more .

[mr.fox]

Yes mine do the same thing. Lay normal sized clutch, sit and sit and sit, then just scatter the eggs. I keep Yellow crowns but used to have the Red crowned. Have had a bad run with kakarikis.. my original pairs bred like rabbits, but I lost the old male. Replaced him with his son and still bred like rabbits. Replaced the son with an unrelated cock and that was the end of that. She would not nest again. So replaced her with young hen,,same thing. Tried completely new UR pair..same thing . Different aviaries, nest boxes all to no avail. Could not obtain pure normal Red crowns again so got some Yellow crowns instead. Same problem. Just not interested in one another and when they decide to nest there is rarely any sign of mating, mutual feeding and the hen scatters here eggs, as mentioned. Nearly bought another pair on the weekend, but will give them a bit longer adn another chance. What's happened to the good old Kakariki????

[jusdeb]

I dont know what happened to them , maybe if a pair of pure normals were put in the aviary things would be different . They certainly have lost out with all the colour manipulating and hybridizing .

[jusdeb]

Ive been made an offer I can not refuse . Fingers crossed that the interested party keeps to his word and picks them up tomorrow . . After a big clean up of the aviary they were in Ill be looking for a pair of normal Princess Parrots YAY.

[bleeding green]

That's a shame deb, I remember how excited you were when you bought them not that long ago.
Oh well, if they are stressing you out then it's better to move them on as they'll become a burden.
I will have to make that decision with my suns at the end of the year. If I get another clutch of infertile eggs it will be time to move them. They might just not be happy with my husbandry or setup.

[jusdeb]

Thats how I see it B/G and the young fella buying them has a large aviary just for them so let him have some fun with them . I wouldnt let them go to a pet shop so this way works out great , he also has offered me good $$$$ for the conures which I am thinking seriously about , again they will have a huge aviary to themselves .

I have to consider his offer for the Conures after seeing them for $40 each at a pet shop ...and they didnt breed for me this year when they should have .

Is a tough call , I dont do this for $$$$ but sometimes common sense must prevail ( yes convincing myself here ) .

Good time to for a fresh start . Might go all Aussie now .