Conservation Projects > Kiwi Breeding - Nest Egg Program

Kiwi Breeding - Nest Egg Program

Our Nest Egg Program starts with New Zealand Department of Conservation staff collecting eggs and newly hatched chicks from the forest.

This can involve arduous tramping through forest following a transmitter signal to locate the kiwi burrow. Once they have located the burrow they must assess whether they can get to the egg before being able to remove it. As it is very important that the egg is kept at the correct constant temperature, too hot and the egg might cook – too cold and the kiwi embryo might die, DoC staff carefully pack the egg into a small heated chilly bin for the tramp out of the forest.

Once out of the forest the egg is transported by vehicle or sometimes by plane to our facilities at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve.

We follow the procedure which all of our kiwi eggs go through – view photos of the kiwi hatching.

Once an Nest Egg chick is feeding well by itself and healthy it has another journey to undertake. Each chick is fitted with a radio transmitter and they are then transported to ‘nursery islands’.

These islands are predator free – the Okarito chicks travel to Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds and the Haast Tokoeka chicks go to an island in Lake Te Anau. Their stay on the nursery island is to give the young kiwi chick the chance to grow to the ‘magic’ weight (approximately 1200 grams) which means it is big enough to defend itself against predators especially stoats.

Once the chicks have reached this weight they are then transported back to the forest their egg came from and released. These chicks are monitored regularly to track where they are and whether they are still alive.

(Some photos courtesy of New Zealand Department of Conservation)


© New Zealand Conservation Trust 2006 - 2010, 60 Hussey Rd, Harewood, Christchurch Phone: +64 3 359 6226, Fax: +64 3 359 6212, Email: info@nzconservationtrust.org.nz		Privacy \| Disclaimer \| Site Map website by digitise