DOC (Twizel) has been to collect our first clutch of black stilt /kakī eggs. Dobby and Ash were a bit slow to start breeding this year but they finally started nesting and were incubating their 3 eggs for almost a week, before surrendering them for hand raising.
Dobby and Ash will consequently lay their next clutch 9 days after their original eggs were removed. Removing eggs for hand-rearing stimulates the parents to lay more eggs, subsequently increasing the number of chicks produced per season per pair.
Normally black stilt will lay 4 eggs in a clutch, so we are hopeful that Dobby and Ash can get to that 4th egg on their next round. These eggs have now been transferred to the DOC Twizel black stilt / kakī facility to be artificially incubated, hatched and raised there. If we are lucky, we might see these little guys back here in the New Year when the juveniles arrive at ICWT for hardening.
