Kiwi Breeding

Home Page

Kiwi Species

Recognising Kiwis

Kiwi Habitat

Kiwi Facts

Kiwi Conservation

History/Legends

About Us

E-Mail Us



Establishing a Territory
Before a male kiwi can get a mate, he must first find his own territory, which may lead to fighting another male for space, if he cannot find vacant land. Kiwi are very territorial birds. They fight to protect their land (which can be as much as 100 hectares) by calling, and will even attack other kiwi if they have to. Calling fights often happen on the land between territories, with kiwi speeding back into their own land before returning their neighbour's call. Kiwi sometimes kill each other fighting over land - their sharp claws and strong legs and feet can inflict fatal wounds.
Once bonded as a pair, a male and female kiwi usually live all their lives together. Their territory may be very large, up to 100 hectares for a pair of Okarito Brown Kiwi or Haast Tokoeka.
The kiwi breeding season goes from June to March., these months are when kiwis have a lot of food. Males can reach sexual maturity at age 18 months in captivity, but in the wild usually don't breed until much older. Females lay their first eggs at 3-5 years of age.

Mating
Unlike most male birds, which are able to get a mate with their colourful feathers, the male kiwi has drab brown feathers, and so has developed some interesting ways to try and get a female's attention.
The male follows the female about, grunting at her. If she pays no attention, she may run away from him, or even chase him away.
After mating the egg will take three weeks to be laid
In kiwis, both ovaries are functional (unlike most other birds where only the left ovary develops), and if more than one egg is laid in a breeding season, ovulation occurs alternately in each.

Difference between hen egg and kiwi egg

The Kiwi Egg
The female kiwi must consume three times as much food as usual to produce her huge egg, which is one of the largest, in ratios to her size, of any bird in the world. This egg is six times the size of a normal bird of her size would lay and contains the largest proportion of yolk. The kiwi egg has a smooth, thin, white or greenish-white shell and is about 120mm long and 80mm in diameter .One would expect the kiwi to have an egg about the size of a hen's, but. the egg is about the same size as the moa's, which makes people think that the kiwi was once a much bigger bird
The production of a large egg is a big effort for the female kiwi. A pregnant female's belly expands so much that it touches the ground. It makes up 15-20 percent of her bodyweight. A female will sometimes stand up to her belly in cold water when she is heavy with egg, to help relieve her of the weight she is carrying. Just before it is laid, the egg is so huge it almost fills the kiwi's whole body, leaving little room for food in her stomach. She cannot eat for 2 or 3 days before the egg is laid.

Kiwi skeleton showing size of egg

The huge egg is laid quickly. The female then leaves the burrow so that the male can take over the hatching of the egg. If the female is to lay another egg, it will have already begun developing inside her, and will be laid nearly one month after the first one. It is rare, but not unknown, for a third egg to be laid. The North Island Brown Kiwi will often lay 2-3 eggs each year.
The male sits on the eggs for two and a half months to hatch them. This is a long time but it is because the egg is so big and the Kiwis body temperature is lower than other birds, so it takes a lot longer to hatch. The male leaves the burrow to feed at night. In some types of kiwi, both the male and female sit on the egg.

The Kiwi Chick
It takes up to three days for the Kiwi chick to break out of the shell. When the egg hatches the chick can already stand and walk. The yolk sack will feed it for a week.
Because the Kiwi chick is so big when it hatches the chick only stays with the parents for 3 weeks before they kick it out of the nesting burrow, if it trys to return the parents use their powerful legs to litereally kick the chick away.


Back to top


Links to More Information
rainbownz
Kiwi Breeding
Kiwi recovery Organisation

Home | Kiwi Species | Recognising Kiwi | Kiwi Habitat | Kiwi Facts | Kiwi Conservation| History & Legends | About Us |