OPERATION NEST EGG
BNZ Operation Nest Egg™
In Whakatane, the kiwi eggs are removed from the wild and artificially incubated and hatched at Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua. The chicks are raised in captivity until they weigh at least 1kg. This weight means they are better able to fend off the main kiwi chick predator – the stoat. After a health check and a period of quarantine the chicks come back to Whakatane.
Operation Nest Egg™ started in Ohope Scenic Reserve in 2000
A kiwi egg is collected from the wild and will be incubated and hatched at Kiwi Encounter
Chicks raised through the BNZ Operation Nest EggTM programme have a 65 percent chance of surviving to adulthood and in Whakatane where intensive predator control occurs this has increased to almost 90%. Chicks born in the wild have only a 5 percent chance of reaching adulthood.
Operation Nest Egg 
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Weighing time for one young Kiwi
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