However, her road to motherhood has had a rocky start.
Kakapo advocacy ranger Karen Arnold said yesterday Kuia had made her nest near a seal colony and had been bothered by sandflies, so Department of Conservation (Doc) staff had dismantled the nest.
The eggs were believed to be fertile, which she said was ‘‘fantastic news''.
Two eggs were being artificially incubated and one had been placed with another kakapo mother.
Since it was early in the breeding season, it was hoped Kuia would lay again and choose a better nest site, Ms Arnold said.
After being close to extinction in the 1970s, kakapo now number 125 through the Doc recovery programme.
Populations of the native parrots now live on Anchor Island, Codfish Island/Whenua Hou in Foveaux Strait and Little Barrier Island/Hauturu in the Hauraki Gulf.
Kuia (18) is one of three siblings that carry the precious genes of their father, the last remaining Fiordland kakapo.
Her brothers have not fathered chicks yet.
Ms Arnold said kakapo were first transferred to Anchor Island in 2005 but only one female had mated there since, in 2011.
This year, an unprecedented 15 females were known to have mated and staff were ‘‘very excited'' about the prospect of chicks soon.
Breeding activity on Codfish was ‘‘steady'', she said, with six known matings and at least one nest so far.
Doc kakapo/takahe operations manager Deidre Vercoe said it was suspected the Anchor Island females had been spurred into action because of the abundance of beech tree seeds this year.
Beech trees do not produce seeds every year.
‘‘It would be significant for the recovery programme if it was determined the females had responded to the beech mast, because such behaviour hasn't been observed before,'' she said.
Kakapo breed very slowly.
No chicks have been born since 2014, when six were successfully raised. However, given the right conditions, kakapo will breed well.
In 2002, 24 chicks were added to the Codfish Island population in a matter of months, and 33 were born there in 2009.
