Pukeko

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cleggyboy, Feb 19, 3:53pm
They are not protected during the annual shooting season, a lot of farmers welcome you to shoot them due to a disease they carry (doesn't affect humans) and the damage they do to pasture.
piquant, Feb 19, 5:07pm
When I was a young thing, fresh out of school and pursuing a career in anything animal based - I worked for a time at a private wildlife park in the UK. Whilst my chosen and predominant duties were with mammals of wide and varied description, we also had a huge population of birds of all kinds from all around the world. One of those was a south american called a purple gallinule. At the time, I remember thinking what ratbags they were - bossy as hell and terrorising other more gentle species. The only thing that used to put them in their place was a guerilla (not gorilla!) called a Cereopsis goose. Man - were they the stroppiest things I had ever come across. From the wilds of the Cape Barren Islands they inhabit south Australia and Tasmania. Anyway - back to the purple gallinule - they are a close relative of our pukekos - so folks - they are taking over the world! and have been for some time. The family is very widespread even though the specie is we know is endemic to here. Another bit of relatively useless information that you probably aren't interested in!
princess4, Feb 19, 5:59pm
See if you can borrow a magpie trap or build one, there are instructions online. Bait it with some steak, drop a couple of bits on the cage floor and around the outside of the cage and sprinkle around some wheat. Place beside a water source. When caught drown them. Dad had a major problem with magpies and the trap cleaned up the pooks to.
kendall40, Feb 19, 9:09pm
I have to report that they are not mind readers. They were nesting. Now there are these cute blue bundles on sticks with huge feet. I cannot kill those! However, from their behaviour some of the other pukeko may ensure that they have a short life.
Thank you all for your advice. I will toughen up and do something about them eventually.
rainrain1, Feb 19, 11:09pm
Had them here forever too, and never had a problem with them in the garden or bothering the hens. They spook easy, chase them off with your broomsticks girls.
As a matter of fact, The FIL used to go round breaking the eggs in the nest to get rid of them, there was possibly a lot more round then though
kendall40, Mar 23, 8:06pm
An update on the pesky pukeko. I have been advised to either give them bread with whiskey - for some reason they go away for a month or so, or so I am told! Or raisins soaked in rum. Gives them a headache and they go away for a while!
This info came from someone that I don't think is taking the proverbial, but the mind boggles at why someone came up with this idea!
Have just provided the whiskey and bread and they certainly took it away, and am soaking the raisins.
Will let you know how it works. Probably just altered the resident population of pukeko to alcoholic pukekos!
cleggyboy, Mar 23, 8:11pm
x1
They will be falling over, easy peasy with a lump of wood over the nut.
kiwiscrapper1, Mar 23, 8:15pm
We had them on our block too but they didn't seem to bother with the chooks. 31 of the buggers one day i was wishing it was duck season, they are destructive!
kendall40, Mar 23, 8:33pm
I wish! It just made them walk a bit funny! Better effect on the mynahs and sparrows though! Very funny to watch.
The raisins are swelling nicely in the rum so will try those tomorrow.
piquant, Mar 23, 11:19pm
All I can say is "what a ruddy waste of good whisky! "
kendall40, Mar 23, 11:53pm
How right you are!
It might be a waste of rum too. It has been in the cupboard for about 30 years so it should be suitably alcoholic now!
merrilegs, Mar 25, 3:09am
Along with all the good advice above kendall, you could also go around with a shovel and look for their nests. Just bang the rounded side of the shovel down, bingo, squashed eggs. It's a fairly constant job but it makes a difference to the population in a year.
firemansgirl, Mar 25, 3:22am
A cock pot? lmao
speeedy1, Mar 25, 5:52am
Does this also work on sparrows? We have flocks of the aerial rats descending on the section and they need culling.
Barbecued sparrow kebabs?
cleggyboy, Mar 25, 1:25pm
My old dad reckons during the depression they ate sparrow pie. I think I would die of starvation, plucking and gutting enough for a feed.
kendall40, Mar 25, 3:00pm
Neither the whiskey nor the rum works on pukeko! I shall put the rest of the rum soaked raisins on icecream tonight!
The wheat that you can buy works on sparrows. Just make sure when you put them into a bag and into the freezer (they are not dead but paralysed) that you don't put too many in together to keep one another warm, as they fly out when you open the freezer door! Quite startling believe you me!
I have written to DOC for advice re pukeko but no reply yet.
kendall40, Mar 25, 3:05pm
I have been searching for the nests but I think they are cunning enough to be off my land with their eggs. They just come here with their tiny babies and they are too cute for me to dislike! I searched for hours the other day armed with a bodkin to put a hole in the egg and stop it hatching, but couldn't find any nests. I think that I will get someone to shoot a couple in season and hope that that will work.
venna2, Mar 25, 8:45pm
Maybe for roosters?
venna2, Mar 25, 9:01pm
I've noticed that a few others above say they have free range chooks which get on fine with the local pukekos. As long as you don't mind the possible risk, perhaps you could try? You could always have the chooks confined to a run for a while, so the pukekos get used to their presence, and also you could see if the pukekos do seem aggressive towards them.

I know I'd be reluctant to kill the pukekos too. I'm in Wellington and don't see them here, but if I'm driving eg through Taranaki I feel quite excited when I see one. And I can just imagine how cute the babies look. But I can also see that they could be a pest.
samanya, Feb 22, 10:42am
Those brilliant TV ads have a lot to answer for . 'do do do da do do de do do'.