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Kakariki as pet 

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Matching to their high activity level, they eat like piglets. Then they scatter food to the cage bottom and scavenge as if they had never seen it before. They climb cage bars up and down without using their beaks. Roof walking upside down in a bat manner is another way of exercise. Anything they can reach from their cages with their long legs would be pulled in and examined. Once they reach adolescence, hens show a strong urge to chew, and cocks protect their territories - cages- fearlessly. This period will pass sooner or later, but their territorial nature, to some extents, remains. Once outside, they never sit still on your shoulder nor on a playgym neither. There is always something to discover and something to investigate in the house: under furniture, inside fridge!, in larder cupboards, or on shelves. They scamper around the house with a pit pat sound which is rather loud for their size. Forget about a relaxing time with a cup of tea while they are out. They will fly to your cup and try the tea even before you have a sip.

A prominent aviculturist, Rosemary Low thinks that Kakarikis are very active and should not be closely confined, and that hand reared Kakarikis as well as Australian parakeets like Rosellas are not suitable for pets because they become aggressive with maturity ( 1999  The loving Care of Pet Parrots ). It is absolutely right to say that they should not be confined in a small cage; a cockatiel cage is too small for a Kakariki, and it is cruel to keep such an active bird in such a small space. In fact, any cages are too small for them without regular flying time outside. Regarding aggressiveness, it is predictable and also controllable, but it can get out of hand with inexperienced keepers. They, especially males, dislike physical contact such as being petted and stroked, although they love to be all over people. I understand that this is their nature since my three Kakarikis don't cramp on perches nor allopreen each other, neither. I also have never seen Kakariki in bird gardens snuggle up to each other.

Although they are not for everyone, they are definitely for us. We absolutely enjoy our life with them: they are quiet, intelligent, non-destructive, beautiful and absolutely comical. Males can also talk very clearly, which we found a bonus. It is like a life with hyper cartoon characters. They brighten up our life by their constant antics and energetic personalities. It is difficult to be depressed when they are around. But their real charm is their trusting nature. Kiwi often flies onto guests' heads and scratches their hair after a short introduction. They are not very reserved and seem to enjoy their life to the full.
 
 

Cage
They need regular flying time, spacious cages, toys and somewhere they can scratch to satisfy their instinct. Among them, my priority goes to cages. Kiwi's cage is W 85 x D 55 x H 90 cm - approximately W 3 x D 2 x H 3 feet (internal dimension), and Tovi's first cage was slightly bigger. I would think that Kiwi's cage is the minimum size for a pet Kakariki who is allowed to come out everyday. Kiwi has been very happy in it. At about five months old they become adolescent; they become more adventurous and more independent. I feel this is a good time to give them a bigger cage, unless you have done so earlier. Too small a cage could make them irritable and more aggressive.
 

Before Tovi moved to a new cage (W 105 x D 60 x H 130-150cm - 3.5 x 2 x up to 5 feet, picture right) in summer 1999, he wouldn't go back to the cage unless tempted with food. But now he goes back to it anytime when I ask him to. In fact, anyone including strangers, can return him. His cage is stove baked enamel finish. The wires seem to be thinner than 16g which is fine for Kakarikis. Inside the cage, he flutters twice to fly from one end to another, and three times from the bottom to the top perch. Kakarikis forage on the ground in wild, so he also happily spends time on the cage bottom. All parts of the cage are well used. I recommend this type of cage for them. One mistake we made was, however, that we chose the solid roof model; the roof is over hanging too much and the corners are dangerous to the eyes. It also can't go through doors due to the roof unless it is dismantled. There is a model with a flat wire roof. We would have chosen one of them if we had seen them beforehand. I also found the shallow tray impractical. This particular one is Tereziani's.  Washing the cage was not very easy until I bought a steam cleaner - Vaporetto eco 3000. Now, without detergent, it can be cleaned more quickly and more thoroughly.

Kiwi's Vienna cage (right, the small blob is him) is intended for a bigger parrot such as an African Grey. Its bars are, therefore, thicker and the bar space is wider - 2 cm - than Tovi's. Thinner Kakarikis, especially hens, would be able to put their heads through between bars. We put an acrylic sheet on each end due to the wide gaps between the bars and the frame at the top, as Kiwi would push his head through otherwise. It is brass coloured finish. It looked nicer than chrome, but it didn't last long. Acid from fruits, detergent and salt from hands and regurgitated food discoloured it quickly. It is designed to feed from outside, so I can feed him without hassle even when he is very hormonal. Its legs were 20 cm longer before we cut them due to his aggression. There are no dangerous corners which might poke your eyes. There are, however, a couple of occasions when Kiwi's long nail was caught in the holes in the cage frame when he was outside on top of the cage.  I can easily reach everywhere from the door, so washing is not problem. The holes on the frame should be plugged before you use soapy water. Again it is much easier and quicker to clean it with a steam cleaner.

It is a good idea to make a large cage for them by yourself to suit your space, if you are capable. Stainless steel is the best material. Unlike most parrots, they can't damage metal, so you don't have to use heavy gage. Light gauge stainless steel is surprisingly inexpensive.

Perches

We use four or five different types of perches: rope, branch, dowel and cement. They prefer branches. We use apple, amelanchier (warning: some species of Amelanchier have toxic barks and leaves) , birch and passion flowers for a long term and willow for disposal ones which need changing twice a week. One of their branches is always placed in a steep angle on a spot where they often go. This helps to keep their nails short. I position dowels near to feeders since they are the easiest to wash. Our Red fronted, Kiwi needs bigger perches than similar sized birds because of his long toes. His Polly's Pastel is medium size, otherwise it doesn't do any good to his nails. Tovi, Yellow fronted,  has shorter toes than Kiwi's, and his is small size. You don't always have to use full length branches or dowels. A Jackson suggests a wonderful idea to provide sufficient perches without losing flight space in cages (Parrot magazine p41: 12, 1996). You can make a branch version of a Polly's Pastel very easily by using a threaded steel rod cut into short lengths, wing nuts and metal washers. The secret for success is to use a slightly smaller drill for the rod. Now we use birch and passion flowers branches this way. They are our Kakarikis' favourite. See links below for safe wood for perches.

The picture above shows a large Eucalyptus branch in Tovi's cage. A storm in 2000 blew down a 6 meter high Eucalyptus tree, so we experimented with them. Tovi loves it and it is also very good to help trim his nails.

Caution: Rope perches should be examined often, and if they are frayed, trim them to avoid birds' feet getting entangled.

Flying time
In our house, there are four flying times a day; 5 - 10 minutes before breakfast, a half an hour each in the morning and afternoon and about one hour after dinner. When I have time they have extra. In average, they are out for three hours a day. They particularly enjoy staircase which gives them an opportunity to fly up about four meter height. After 30 minutes of flying, they become eager to go back to their cages to rest, feed and preen. They seem to prefer several short outings rather than a long one each day. Whilst outside, they spend lots of time on the floor doing Kangaroo 'bongo bongo' hopping, pit-a-pat walking, resting and searching for food besides flying around. They also seem to enjoy hopping up and down the staircase step by step, rather reminiscent of puppies.  During winter time they enjoy watching birds feeding in the garden from the window sill. Interestingly, they talk and sing to them. They are very skilled fliers even in a confined space. Sweeping over our heads, flying through Mike's and a chair's legs. Amazing and amusing. We love watching them flying and they love showing off too. Tovi deliberately sweeps over our heads over and over again, as if saying  'Look at me, I am good at this!', and lands on our heads to be carried when he gets tired.

I personally think that trimming wings is, in general circumstances, not fair to Kakarikis, or any birds, in fact. Thanks to their non-destructive nature, minor rearrangements in your houses can provide them with a fairly safe environment. They are said to live for 12 years plus, then your effort to adjust part of your house for them should be justified. Those who can't do this for whatever reason, may consider building an aviary for them. There are several books and websites giving information on this at the bottom of this page. In my opinion, they would not become less tame even after they are kept in aviaries.

Safety
There are several lists of general household dangers on the internet, so here I only discuss those that are particularly dangerous to pet Kakarikis
 

House plants - Keeping house-plants away from their busy beaks is impossible, so I move all plants and cut flowers to a different room before they come out. They are very persistent. If they are interested in something, they will come back from right, left, top, under until they get to it. They use their intelligence to the maximum.  Avoid stepping on them - While they are out, we leave all internal doors as they are, whether open or closed, to avoid squashing them behind or on the top of doors. We made a habit that we never move before checking where they are to avoid stepping on them. Kakarikis may hop to where you are going to place a foot on, so I try not to lift feet high when I walk around them. All guests are warned not to step backward or move chairs.

Just tasting - Tovi

Windows and doors - In summer, we use home made window screens - a simple frame with tough thick plastic mesh for gardening use stapled on it. If you have birds with more powerful beaks, you should only use wire mesh. The windows and doors are locked before we let anyone out except for screened windows.

Rubbish bins and drains -  You probably don't have to worry about any of these if you have only other species of parrots. Before you let your Kakarikis fly free in your house, please check them. All our rubbish bins except for paper bins have lids. They are so inquisitive that one day they will go to bins to explore. This could be very dangerous. Of course, it is better to keep birds away from kitchen. Even with an open plan house like ours, you can hang a curtain strategically to prohibit access to certain areas of the house, without major renovation.

Drawers and boxes - Female kakarikis have tendency to burrow under or in furniture. Once Aurora went missing during flying time, and she was found inside a dust pan with a lid. An owner in US reported her hen repeatedly went into a drawer from the back of a kitchen cabinet. Hide and seek usually ends with a laughter, but there is a real risk of accidents.

In our house, the lids of toilets are always closed. Be careful to cover cooking hobs or irons which are still hot when they come out. We put a towel on the top of other birds' cage while they are out in order to avoid their feet get nipped when they land. Luckily we haven't had any accidents during flying time yet, but we have had several near misses. You can never be too careful with Kakarikis. See also Toy section. See links for other general household dangers.

Rest
Although it is more often overlooked than any areas in bird cares, I think a good sleep is almost as important as nutrition. We make sure to give them 12 hours' undisturbed sleeping time in a separate room; one hour less at the height of summer and one hour more at the depth of winter. We use a blackout blind which eliminates most light from their window. They seem to be little irritated next day when there is disturbance during night. They also usually take about 20 to 30 minutes' naps together twice a day; late morning and mid afternoon. But this is not always as quiet as at night.

Nutrition
All our Kakarikis are a pet parrot owner's dream in terms of diet. They eat almost anything, if not everything. Their shiny plumage, quick moult and high activity level assure me of their balanced diet. I established my feeding based upon some articles on the internet - See Links.  My principles are; 'as raw, organic, fresh and various as possible'. I believe in variety. I aim at 20 different kinds of food a day to feed, that's what we were told to eat at school. Besides this, they nibble a half tea spoonful of Harrison's Organic Bird Food - High potency Fine, which we hope to use instead of some vegetables during our day out. Interestingly the ingredients of Harrison's Organic Bird Food are more or less the same as what I offer to our Kakarikis. See Harrison's ingredients.
 

An example of my basic feeding (summer)
(All food are human grade except for canary seeds and millets)

8:30	Cooked bean mix (soya, chick peas, azduki) and peas
11:00	Four different kind of organic vegetables (carrots, peppers, cucumbers or whatever available), organic fruits (orange, apple etc.) and sprouted organic mung beans or lentils with Nekton MSA sprinkled over.
14:00	A half teaspoon of small seeds (canary seed, white and red millets, lin seeds, and groats), 4 organic sunflower kernels, 3 dried organic currants, a piece of dried organic papaya, a small piece of nuts and a piece of dry pasta.
17:30	Three different kinds of organic vegetables and organic fruits, and cooked organic grains (brown rice, buckwheat, and wheat)
19:00	A part of our dinner, such as cooked pastas, sesame bread, fruits etc.

• Everything is in a small portion, so that birds don't eat too much of one thing.
• My feeding changes according to season. For example, wild berries when they are available.  In autumn, organic nuts come into menu. In winter, the amounts of grains and seeds are increased.
• Treats like a slice of sweet corn, crumbs of tea biscuits and melon seeds are given after they eat their regular food.
• Nekton MSA is used for supplement of vitamin D3, calcium and other minerals ( birds those don't have access to UV need vitamin D3 supplement ). There is also a Manu perch available.

They are messy for their size. 90 percent of food I feed them is wet food; vegetables, sprouted seeds, beans, fruits, cooked beans and grains. They drag them onto higher perches to eat, but they somehow manage to drop lots of them outside the cage on the way. As a consequence, food is scattered everywhere on the floor and walls at quite some distance. It is necessary to clean around the cage frequently, otherwise old food might cause infection to inquisitive Kakarikis.

Washing and Cleaning - I used to wash their cages with anti-bacterial detergent once a week, but now I use a steam cleaner without any chemical to clean cages, perches, toys and playgyms. Perches are usually changed once a week, and twice a week during summer. We have three sets of extra perches for each bird. Cage liner, newspapers, is changed four times a day. This is necessary because of fresh food I feed them. They spoil very quickly. Since Tovi had a bacterial infection in 1998 partly from stress and probably partly from old crumbs at the corner of the cage, I make sure that every crumb is cleared from their cages. We use a clean feeder for each feeding except for dry seed. So each bird uses three feeders a day. Once they are enough to load a dishwasher, they are washed in a dishwasher. We use water bottles, and they are washed every day with anti-bacterial detergent. Note: please make sure that inside of spouts are clear of any debris. If not, it could cause bacteria infection.

Sprouting - Hygiene is the one of the most significant factors in my successful sprouting. I use a three layer plastic sprouter with very thin slits which can't be properly cleaned by hand wash or dishwasher. Since I started disinfecting it after use, I have no worries about sprouts getting bad. Nevertheless, I prefer glass ramekins for bigger seeds because they are easier to clean. I have been very successful with sprouting; only failures I have experienced are those that dried out. My method is very similar to Carolyn Swicegood - See link 'Sprouting for aviculturist' at the bottom. Seeds are organic human grades. I only sprout seeds and beans that take less than two days to germinate: Mung beans, azduki beans, lentils, millets, buckwheat, wheat, alfalfa and mustards. I ruthlessly reject any damaged, chipped, cracked, and discoloured seeds. I rinse them five or six times a day anytime I go to kitchen, and when it's hotter than 20 Celsius I keep them in the fridge overnight. They are a good source of nutrition and enzymes, and all my birds love them. It's worth all the effort.

Bathing Kakarikis love bathing. I give them a bath every other day all year around. They often become really soaked. Their bath is a large plastic plant pot saucer (diameter 38 cm)  placed on the basin. When they think it's getting late for bath time, they sit on the rim of basin and look at me. Kiwi usually takes a bath, then flies to the shower rail over the bath tub, rests there for 30 seconds or so, and dips again. He repeats this three times. Tovi takes his bath more leisurely. Aurora doesn't seem to know when to stop, so when she finishes, she can hardly fly with wet feathers. It takes amazingly long time to dry all of the downy feathers underneath even though the surface looks dry. When it is sunny, they fly to the window sill and enjoy sunbathing afterwards.  More Pictures of Kiwi's bathing More Pictures of Tovi's bathing

Anting
Anting seems to be a part of their daily life. Our trio do anting with berries, certain branches with barks and grape stalks. They spread their legs, hold the object in one foot, bite off a piece of the object and rub it in their bodies. When there are berries (amelanchier, hawthorn, pyracantha, raspberry etc.) available, we collect them for them. They get very excited. We also give them willow branches⁽¹⁾ to chew three days a week. They spend lots of time chewing and use them for anting too.

^{(1)  Willow branches are scrubbed and disinfected in diluted bleach solution.}

Nail care
I haven't trimmed their nails for more than two years. Tovi and Aurora take care of themselves, and Kiwi uses them so often to scratch food under the grate that they don't need to be trimmed. Polly's pastel, strategically placed angled branches and a scratch box certainly help, too. Since they hate to be held, we are not keen to catch them, especially Tovi. He takes longer time to regain his trust in us, while Kiwi quickly recovers from such an ordeal.

Although Kakarikis are forgiving in a long term, it is much better to start with a positive relationship. If you always have to chase your kakariki, you are probably not doing well. Make him to come to you on his own. Sitting on the floor or even lying if you like, make them to feel relaxed if he is a bit shy. Hold something interesting, it might not take too long for him to come to investigate it.

Toys

My male Kakarikis don't play with toys bought in pet shops.  Those made for budgies are too small and others are too big for them. I have, therefore, made various toys for them. Successful ones are Cardboard peeking toy made from kitchen towel tubes, Tovi's scratch box and a stuffed cactus with sunflower seeds. These are food toys and Kakarikis never get bored of them. We have offered different types of swings. A figure of eight rope swing has been Kiwi's favourite. Wooden balls sold as parts for parrots' toys and small plastic balls for cats give Kiwi some entertainment. The best toy, however, is natural branches. I hang or place them from hard-to-reach places. They spend hours chewing them. I remove all toys every night in case of injury since they sometimes thrash around the cages. Aurora is another story, however. She plays with any toys, bought or made, suitable for her small size. Toys should be examined whether it is safe to your bird before purchase. I keep a good eye on them when I introduce any new toys. When we go out, I remove all hanging toys just in case. During our holiday, I prepare only fresh branches and toys made of cardboard for them, whether we arrange a bird sitter staying at home or a bird carer who visits twice a day. Leg bands can be death trap, so please check anything which might catch the band.

Games
Kiwi used to attack stuffed toys and to chase a rope like a kitten while he was young. He still likes to pounce on stuffed toys when he is hormonal, but usually prefers playing games with his human friends. His favourite is 'Peeling finger game' (I hold treats in my fist and he peels fingers one by one with his foot to get them. If he uses his beak, fingers close again. Sometimes fingers close anyway.)  He even checks guests' hands just in case! He also mastered juggling with small loops. He can turn them several times, and insists doing with anything loop like. One catch with this is that he occasionally flips the loop over his head and has to wear a necklace for a while. His favourite is, however, football. He throws a small ball with a foot to all directions. The farther the better. When he thinks that the distance wasn't long enough, he runs to the ball, and throws it farther. This is his party trick which has never failed to entertain people. When they are deprived of toys or a game player, they invent their own games. They often indulge in 'Dung beetle game'. They roll the newspaper at the bottom of the cage from one edge. Once one starts, the other soon joins in. They seem to compare each other's progress. Another Kakariki owner, Susan, invented a smart game for her delightful but naughty female Red fronted Kakariki, PattyCake. She explains;

[She was named so] because when I don't hear feet patting I know I must go to see what trouble she has gotten into! I put interesting things, papers, sprouts, cereal on the counter or on the shelf.  When she flies there I scold her and shoo her off.  This is guaranteed to make her fly right back there and stay for a while, with a dragon face!'.

Sweet talks
They love being talked to and sung to softly. They fluff up feathers, half close eyes and start beak clucking.  Kiwi looks mesmerized.  I sometimes make up a story; ' Once upon a time, there is veeery  cuuute boy called Kiwi...'  He comes very close to me and literally positions the ear to the direction of my mouth to hear better. At bed time, I sing lullaby as light dims. They love it. Their feathers puff up, and a good shake, then beak clucking starts. They know that everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about until tomorrow.

Intelligence
I observe that their intelligence is most explicit in their adaptability. Flexible and quick thinking seems to be their strong point. However, their logic is simple. We noticed Kiwi's intelligence when he understood the function of a dimmer switch, and tried to turn the dimmer to put the light back on at sleeping time when we dimmed the light. He talks in context although his vocabulary is limited. He is also very good at getting food which I deliberately place in an almost impossible place to reach. He persistently tries in different ways until he succeeds. He also learns tricks very quickly; shake hands, juggling rings and ringing a bell. In no time at all. He seems to enjoy them. Once or twice, I imagine making a Kakariki circus. They have a good memory as well. Tovi hasn't impressed us by his brain power, however. He usually intensively watches what Kiwi does, then mimics it.

The arrival of Aurora opened up our eyes to a different level of Kakariki intelligence. We feel that she is smarter than our males. She is even more flexible than Kiwi.

We need to give them lots of challenges to entertain mentally and physically active Kakarikis. Don't give them food in food bowls all of the time, make them work to get them. Make them think what would be the best way to obtain treats hung from the roof of the cage. This way, you will enjoy watching their acrobatic antics and they will enjoy their achievements. Give them, at least, a chance a day to discover something nice or new. I use unbleached coffee filter paper or a small piece of cardboard to wrap their favourite - a tiny piece of nuts or fruits, or some treats and interesting goods in a half closed small box. When I bring them to their room, I can see their excitement:  what could be in it?  how to unwrap it? how tasty could it be? With a little bit of effort, you can make their day easily this way.

Those who have kept bigger parrots may not even consider that Kakarikis can bite. Well, they can break skin and draw blood. They can also bite in the air. The real problem here, however, is that lots of new owners of pet Kakarikis are often inexperienced. The situation could get worse even before they realize what is happening, or find out what they should do. I have heard of several sad stories of pet Kaks, usually male - losing homes because of their biting habit. This usually happens in the first year. More males seem to get into trouble than females. If you and your Kakariki get through the first year, you are past the worst. Subsequent years are a bit easier and more predictable.

Among our three Kakarikis, only Kiwi had biting problem. Here is the lesson I had learned during his difficult time. I also examine some triggers to hormone rise that often causes aggressive behaviour.

Hormone rise
The most noticeable reason for their aggressiveness is a rise in hormone. Kakarikis are generally willing breeders, which means that given a chance, they are likely to be overcharged with hormone. Our Kakarikis' main breeding season is early spring. Like most birds in temperate regions, it usually comes around at the same time every year - probably responding to changes in day length and UV level.  During this period, they are more intense, active, and vocal. They also appear frustrated. Even so, they seldom bite out of the blue unless there is a trigger or two.

A trigger one - A potential nest site
In my observation, regardless of existence of a mate or not, a potential nest site is a main trigger to make my male Kakarikis aggressive. They become very protective over the site and defend from anyone.

A trigger two - Territory
Similar to the above, during this period, they are likely to become obsessive over their cages. They see us invading their territories when we put a hand inside the cage, cover the cage at night, or even change food dishes. They instinctively attack the intruders, that is our hands.

A trigger three - Fatty or too high protein food
An extra amount of nuts, meat and egg yolk make our Kakarikis get overcharged. I only give them a tiny amount of these food as treats. There has been no noticeable change in behaviours when I feed Harrison's Bird food - high potency.

What to do when your Kakariki is acting up?
Once Kiwi becomes very hormonal,  I don't handle him. I found that ignoring any aggressive behaviours systematically is the best way. He would stay in the cage if he refuses to come out. Don't worry, they are far too inquisitive to become cage bound. First in the morning is usually the worst time; cock birds of many species produce sperm over night. By late afternoon, male Kakarikis should be calmer. So wait until late afternoon to take him out. Even if he refuses to come out for the whole day, as far as he has a spacious cage ( I hope he does!),  there is no need to worry. Once out, giving him a drench bath helps to burn up his excess energy.

The following  account is a example of how Kiwi behaves when he is in breeding season;:

There are two phases in Kiwi's aggression. First, he stares at my hand and refuses UP command. I leave him in the cage, and let Tovi out. By late afternoon, Kiwi regrets his decision. So he obeys to UP beautifully. Second stage is that he steps up like lightning, then attacks the hand. I ignore him. Luckily Kakarikis can't tear our flesh off. Yes, it's painful, but all my fingers stay where they are. He usually gets upset by the lack of reaction and calms down. When he threatens my hand while he is outside the cage. I make a tight fist, and present it to his beak. Never pull it back until he retreats.

I found counteractive things to do are:

• pointing at him with a finger;
• waving an index finger in front of his face;
• shouting at him;
• punishing him, such as laddering and evil eye.

Reading their mood
How do I know whether they are in a bad mood? Luckily it is easy to read their mood. Their cute black round eyes become less round and mean when their hormone rises. Their heads become sleek and flatter, and they are lowered toward you or your hand. They pinpoint the eyes, and flash them like neon. This is the first warning. Between Kakarikis, a subordinate usually flies away at this point. Next, opening the beak toward you. This is the final warning before striking. Then finally lunging.

Sexual behaviours - regurgitation and mating
Both Kiwi and Tovi regurgitate to pointed objects once their hormone levels rise. They eat their own regurgitated food -Yuk! Regurgitation seems to be very strong urge because they both try to feed each other once a while, despite that they are not close friends ( See The Day Kiwi Fooled Tovi in Kiwi's Diary). To make cleaning easy, I give them short branches or disposable chopsticks for them to regurgitate to.

Kiwi also pounces on a small finger puppet or sometimes my hand to mate.  After lots of rough mock mating with a puppet, he seems to be able to releases tension. With my hand, he hasn't escalated too much, so I usually keep still. I have a relaxed attitude toward whatever they do instinctively. So far, this worked fine with them.

Although they are smart birds, Kakarikis are not humans. They are not capable of complicated thoughts. They seem to be able to have only one thought or feeling at the same time. For example, if your hand comes into his cage, he feels he has to defend the cage because his territory is intruded. He likes you, but that is put aside, besides, I'm not sure that he remembers that the hand belongs to you when he is angry. Once he calms down he remembers that he likes you. You see, there is no point to get angry at the little angry flat heads! Only thing to over-ride, in my observation, is fear, which is essential to survival. So relax and enjoy.

Training
It is always important that your bird and you have a relationship based on trust. Don't do anything which might destroy it. We have employed a different approach to train Kakarikis from other bigger parrots although training is still based on affection, patience and positive reinforcement. Kakarikis have a short attention span. I believe that 'Step up' is a single most important command which all parrots should be trained to. There are lots of articles about it, so I would like to explain other commands I have been successful with: 'Step back' and 'Come here'.

Step back
This needs some explanation. I use 'Step back' when I feed Kiwi. His cage has slots for feeding; feeders are inserted from outside. I show him food, and say ' Step back'. He climbs down from cage bars where he is peeking at his lunch, and waits on the bottom perch near to the feeder slot until the feeder is inserted. No lunging or biting the hands which feed! This is the most useful when he is crabby. Training was easy. After showing him food, I gave the command, waited until he perched, then inserted the feeder. When he lunged at my hand before the feeder was fully inserted, I removed it. And I started from the beginning again. When he lunged at the hands after the feeder was placed, then again, I removed the feeder. When he was boiling over, I left the food where he could see, and left the room for 5 minutes or so, and started again. Never raise voice nor say any words like 'No' or 'Stop' neither. Just do it as matter of fact. When the bird behaves well, serve the food with a praise. Kiwi understands the cause and consequence. He is now well trained. This also helped to establish my senior position.
 

Come here This is obvious, but I use it for prevention against potential dangers. Instead of  'No' or 'Stop', I use 'Come here' to remove him from potentially dangerous places or occasions. For example, when Kiwi is on the kitchen counter, or when he is about to eat house plants which I forgot to remove beforehand, I call him with this command. This works 80% or more with him. At the beginning, I gave him a treat when he followed the command for a while, and afterward, once in a while. We can also pick him up with 'Up', but 'Come here' works better on occasions when you have to remove the bird from the top of high cabinets, or immediate dangers.

Come here! Come HERE!!

Red or Yellow ?
Yellow fronted are slightly smaller and more brightly coloured than Red fronted. We both think that Yellow fronted are more beautiful than Red fronted. Mike often calls Kiwi  'Mr Flat head' since his head became flatter once he became adult. Tovi still retains a cute round head. Regarding temperament, we can't simply compare them because Tovi was much older when we got him. But, he is more territorial and aggressive than Kiwi. Lexicon of Parrots (Arndt-Verlag) mentions that Yellow fronted are 'very aggressive to intruders' during the breeding season. This might be a clue to Tovi's behaviour. He also looks more comfortable on higher places than Kiwi. The same source as well as Parrots state that Yellow fronted are more arboreal than Red fronted that are generally more partial to forest edge and open areas.
 

Male or Female?
There are pros and cons in box sexes when you choose one as a companion bird. Males can talk clearly and they are probably more human oriented, but they can bite harder. Females look cuter, can't bite hard enough to hurt humans. We also found them more playful and aerobatic owing to lighter body weight. But they may become continuous egg layers who don't show much interest in other activities, once they become hormonal. They also need to chew a lot. Wallpaper is peeled and reduced to confetti. The edges of books are marked.

A guide to Australian Long & Broad-tailed Parrots and New Zealand Kakarikis (Kevin Wilson 1990 Australian Birdkeeper)
Very useful information on the management of aviary birds. Very helpful to understand Kakariki's characteristic behaviours although it is not written for pet bird owners. Lots of beautiful photos.

Parrots-A Guide to the Parrots of the World  (Juniper and Parr 1998 Pica)
A field guide for all known parrots. This is my favourite. It is a great reference with beautiful colour plates which show sub-species, as well as immature plumage. It covers identification, voice, distribution, status, ecology and description on each parrot. Written for conservation in mind. Very useful to identify unknown parrots as well as to learn parrots' behaviour in wild.

Kea, Bird of Paradox The evolution and Behaviour of a New Zealand Parrot (J Diamond and A Bond 1999 University of California)
Kea is one of my favourite parrots to watch. Although this is not about Kakariki, but the fieldwork was conducted in New Zealand where Kakarikis live. It gave me an insight into their behaviour.

The loving Care of Pet Parrots (Rosemary Low 1999 Hancock House)
An ideal book for those thinking to buy their first pet parrot. Also recommended for experienced keepers who always want to improve the quality of their parrots' life.