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The stressful job of hatching and rearing kiwi chicks has been made easier for the dedicated team at New Zealand’s largest kiwi breeding centre, in Rotorua.

Thanks to the donation from Logic Wireless of four Tait DMR digital hand held radios, the team at Rainbow Springs kiwi breeding centre are able to communicate more effectively during their work days.

The radios ensure they complete all their critical tasks, providing a stress free work environment and relaxed development area for their vulnerable chicks.

Overview of the Kiwi Breeding Centre:

The centre has been breeding kiwi chicks for 20 years, hatching about 120 eggs a year over the busy breeding season that extends from September to April.

However the Rainbow Springs campus sprawls over 9ha of grounds, with kiwi rearing facilities covering most of that, making it hard for staff to stay in touch and quickly know where one another are.

Centre kiwi husbandry manager Claire Travers says their job has been made extra tough by having part of the kiwi rearing facility on top of a hill, requiring a tough 800m walk to get to.

“It meant if you were up it and had to contact one of the others we could only try their cell phone, or turn around and walk back. We would lose a lot of time, and it’s not for nothing it was called ‘bugger hill’!”

“The team were in dire need of some clear, robust communications tools that would keep the tightly run centre operating smoothly, but funding was a challenge for the centre which relies a lot on volunteer and donation input.”

On learning about the centre’s need for better communications, Logic Wireless decided to step up for the centre.

“We could see the Tait DMR digital hand held Two Way Radio were the ideal solution, for the size of the centre and the staffs’ needs. This was a chance for us as a Kiwi company that distributes a Kiwi made product, also supporting our national bird,” says Logic Wireless Regional Manager Dave Parker.

With the radio sponsorship Logic Wireless has naming rights to a newly hatched Brown Kiwi, recovered as an egg from the Whirinaki podocarp forest, carefully incubated at Rainbow Springs, and born only with the code “WHN27”.

“The bright orange casing, robust construction and compact nature of the TP9310s were all features on top of the staff “love it” list. The Taits’ digital voice clarity was a welcome feature for staff who until now have had to rely upon their cell phones, or yelling in the hope team mates would answer, to communicate over any distance.”

With regular trips to the local veterinarian for supplies, the team appreciate the TP9310’s 5km range meaning a radio could accompany a staff member on the vet trip, to easily notify of any additional or forgotten supplies.

The TP9310’s IP67 rated water and dust protection standard is an invaluable feature for radios used in an environment closely resembling the wet, muddy bush conditions kiwi experience in their natural habitat.

“And with the 2400mAh battery the team can be assured there will be more than enough power to keep them running right through their shifts,” says Dave.