NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

New kiwi chick will soon return home to Waikanae's Ngā Manu

Rosalie Willis
By Rosalie Willis
Multimedia journalist·Kapiti News·
18 Sep, 2020 01:11 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Ngā Manu Nature Reserve's newest little kiwi has hatched out of his shell at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre.
Ngā Manu Nature Reserve's newest little kiwi has hatched out of his shell at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre.

Ngā Manu Nature Reserve's newest little kiwi has hatched out of his shell at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre.

This time last year Ngā Manu Nature Reserve were celebrating the news that Ātaahua and Puha, their North Island brown kiwi couple were cohabiting, now their first baby chick has hatched.

It was a long journey after being genetically screened and matched together by the Kiwi Recovery Group and Ngā Manu staff.

With love slowly blossoming, Ātaahua and Puha started breeding last year, producing four eggs, none of which were fertile.

With the kiwis still being young, the staff at Ngā Manu were not worried despite their efforts in pairing them together and moving them from the nocturnal house to an outdoor enclosure to be more comfortable.

Ngā Manu's new little chick is at the curious cheeky stage where everything has to be sniffed.
Ngā Manu's new little chick is at the curious cheeky stage where everything has to be sniffed.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"All the same, we had our fingers crossed when Ātaahua laid her first egg on June 13," Ngā Manu manager Matu Booth said.

"She laid her second egg about a month later on July 8 but unfortunately the shell was damaged and the egg was destroyed the night it was laid."

The first egg proved to be fertile, and after being at Ngā Manu for 50 days was transferred to Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre.

"We removed the fertile egg and transferred it to Pūkaha when the egg was about 50 days of age as there are better odds of a successful incubation and hatch under the controlled environment of an artificial incubator."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Being the couple's first successful fertile egg, the artificial incubator machine mimics natural incubation and carefully controls the temperature and humidity allowing for successful development and hatching.

Ngā Manu's kiwi chick at its day five check.
Ngā Manu's kiwi chick at its day five check.

"Most incubators have a turning function to mimic the parents' rolling of the egg to ensure even incubation.

"Artificially incubated eggs have the advantage of being monitored closely during the hatching period so we can intervene when something goes wrong."

Over two days last week, the chick started to break through the shell, "however it broke through the end of the egg with its feet too early and as a result of that didn't have any shell to push to continue the hatch process".

Discover more

New Zealand

Litter monitoring programme helps inspire action for a litter-free New Zealand

01 Sep 11:57 PM
New Zealand

Kiwi chicks: Two leave, one arrives and one egg laid at Ngā Manu

04 Jul 10:00 PM

"The Pūkaha staff taped the outside of the shell back together which enabled the chick to continue pushing to hatch unassisted."

Coming into the world at last Thursday at 12.20pm, weighing just 282g, the first chick of Ātaahua and Puha is doing well.

At its five day health check the chick passed with flying colours, with Pūkaha saying it has a "Perfect little navel, walking beautifully and is in that curious cheeky stage where everything has to be sniffed.

"It's just making quiet little noises for now, but no doubt in a few days will be just as chatty as Pūkaha's other resident chick," Pūkaha said.

The next step is the chick returning to Ngā Manu when it has regained its hatching weight which should be in the next week or so.

Ngā Manu will then be able to name it but will have to wait until the gender is confirmed either by morphological measurements or DNA testing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ātaahua and Puha have now laid another egg, the first egg of their second clutch of the breeding season.

Matu said this time the process will stay at Ngā Manu.

"It is our hope that Puha (the male kiwi) will soon take up incubation duties of this egg and if it is fertile we hope for this egg to be incubated naturally by the parents here at Ngā Manu.

"It's important the pair experience the entire process of incubation and hatch, as they will eventually be released into the wild."

You can observe Ātaahua and Puha at Ngā Manu Kiwi Night Encounters on Friday and Saturday evenings although the chick will not be on display until it is settled.

Subscribe to Premium
Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Politics

‘Alarming’: Peters on 'careless' immigration, and his ‘friend’ Farage

Premium
OpinionShane Te Pou

Shane Te Pou: Tāmaki Makaurau byelection a chance to test out campaign machine

New Zealand
|Updated

Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament
Hawkes Bay Today

Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament

Pastures Past: Before the vet was just a call away
The Country

Pastures Past: Before the vet was just a call away

Juvenile filly shines like diamond in season’s last black-type race
Racing

Juvenile filly shines like diamond in season’s last black-type race

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables
The Country

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables

'I broke the rule of my grandfather': All Blacks' brother on 75 hours lost at sea
Kahu

'I broke the rule of my grandfather': All Blacks' brother on 75 hours lost at sea

Facing challenges: Kauri Museum seeks sponsors to secure future
Northern Advocate

Facing challenges: Kauri Museum seeks sponsors to secure future



Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Premium
‘Alarming’: Peters on 'careless' immigration, and his ‘friend’ Farage
Politics

‘Alarming’: Peters on 'careless' immigration, and his ‘friend’ Farage

Winston Peters tells the Herald why Kiwis should vote NZ First over National and Act.

26 Jul 06:29 PM
Premium
Premium
Shane Te Pou: Tāmaki Makaurau byelection a chance to test out campaign machine
Shane Te Pou
OpinionShane Te Pou

Shane Te Pou: Tāmaki Makaurau byelection a chance to test out campaign machine

26 Jul 06:00 PM
Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament
New Zealand
|Updated

Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament

26 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search