BNZ Operation Nest Egg™

Kiwi eggs and chicks are removed from the wild and hatched and/or raised in captivity until big enough to fend for themselves – usually around one kilogram. They are then returned to the wild.

A BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ bird has a 65% chance of surviving to adulthood – compared to just 5% for wild born and raised chicks.

The beginning

The idea for this tool was hatched in 1994 when researchers noticed that older, heavier chicks were better able to defend themselves against deadly stoats.

With funding from BNZ, a pilot was run that adapted an existing Department of Conservation ‘operation nest egg’ technique specifically to kiwi. It worked, and BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ was born.

Since 1995, every breeding season the tool is used in the most vulnerable populations, buying researchers the time to find solutions to the problems facing kiwi. The holy grail is to develop long-term sustainable ways to keep large areas of forest free of predators but until then, BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ is a vital tool.

Team effort

BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ owes its success to the commitment of hundreds of people.  The combined efforts of Department of Conservation staff, volunteer community groups, iwi, researchers and the staff of captive rearing facilities raise more than 150 chicks each year.

Six captive-rearing facilities support BNZ Operation Nest Egg™: Auckland Zoo, Kiwi Encounter at Rainbow Springs in Rotorua, the Whangarei Native Bird Rescue Centre, Napier's Westshore Wildlife Reserve, Otorohanga Kiwi House, and Willowbank Wildlife reserve in Christchurch - in partnership with the Department of Conservation.

Most chicks are hatched at Kiwi Encounter (more than 100 eggs a year) and Auckland Zoo (up to 20 eggs each year). Willowbank Wildlife Reserve focuses mainly on New Zealand’s two most endangered kiwi – Okarito’s rowi and the Haast tokoeka.

Kiwi crèches are the second vital part of BNZ Operation Nest Egg™.  Hatched and healthy young birds are sent to these predator-proof sanctuaries until big enough to safely return to the wild. Many crèches are managed by community-led kiwi groups, with support from their communities and BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust.

Alongside these efforts, BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ would not succeed without the ongoing generous financial support of New Zealanders.

A conservation success story

There are four main reasons that BNZ Operation Nest Egg™ is such a powerful kiwi conservation tool

It has passed many milestones since 1995.