ZooBorns

A Lucky 13 New Flamingo Chicks for Santa Barbara Zoo

The Santa Barbara Zoo is flush with Chilean Flamingo chicks - thirteen of them to be exact. The past two months have been very successful breeding time for their Flamingo flock. Eight of the new chicks are now on exhibit for visitors to enjoy. The additional five are being hand-raised in the zoo's vet hospital, where they are fed special formula and are doing well. 

Flamingo chicks have downy grey feathers for the first two years of their lives before they take on the light pink color of adults. Their spindly legs need to be strengthened enough to hold up their conparatively large bodies, so the chicks will be encouraged to do their exercise -- daily walks and swims -- as they grow.

Chilean Flamingos do come from Chile but are also found in southern Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and southern Brazil They tend to live and nest in saltwater lakes and lagoons. This lovely bird is classed as Near Threatened.

Photo Credit: Sarah Varsik

Fluffy Flamingos Join the Flock

The Gladys Porter Zoo is tickled pink to introduce Paige, Chico, and Angela, three baby Chilean Flamingos that hatched earlier this month.  They are the first Chilean Flamingos to hatch at Gladys Porter Zoo in ten years.

Paige emerged from her egg on September 2, 2012. Chico hatched on September 7, and Angela followed soon after on September 8.

In early August, Jesse Olvera, Head Keeper in the Bird Department, traveled to Sea World in San Antonio to obtain the eight eggs that Sea World graciously donated to the zoo. The eggs were artificially incubated for 28-30 days under the watchful eye of the Bird Department.

Though the eggs arrived at the zoo together, the eggs were laid by different parents. Of the eight eggs, three hatched. 

Flamingo eggs must be monitored closely due to their permeable shells. Humidity and temperature must be adjusted and checked regularly, and the eggs must be rotated every four hours to ensure a healthy hatching.

Flamingo chicks have downy grey feathers.  It will take roughly two years before they take on the light pink color of adult Flamingos. 

Photo Credits:  Gladys Porter Zoo

Tickled Pink! Flamingo Chick Hatches at Smithsonian National Zoo

On July 29 a Flamingo chick hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Its sex has not yet been determined. The flock of 63 birds produces about 15 fertile eggs in a normal breeding season, however, the flock had irregular mating patterns this year. They produced only six eggs and did not construct nests that were sufficient to foster them. So this little chick is being raised by hand by Bird House keepers, who work closely with the Zoo's Department of Nutrition to ensure that the chick is growing at an appropriate rate. They feed it a formula designed to mimic the crop milk produced by flamingo parents and just recently added Flamingo pellets to its diet, which contains the carotenoid pigments that turn a flamingo's plumage pink. 

In the next few months, the chick will join the rest of the flock in the outdoor Flamingo exhibit. Before it is introduced to the flock, the chick will stay in a holding pen where it can observe the adults until it is fully independent. Its feathers are fluffy and white now, but once it is on exhibit, visitors will recognize the chick by its smaller size and gray color. It will gain some pink feathers and its bill will be more pronounced and begin to show the trademark bend at around 6 months of age. By its first birthday, the chick will have a plumage of light pink feathers. The darker pink color will develop fully by two or three years of age.

Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Zoo

Seeing Pink at Stone Zoo

Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts announces the hatching of seven Caribbean flamingo chicks.

“It’s always fascinating for our visitors to watch the chicks being raised by their parents. We are expecting a few more eggs to hatch this summer, so guests will have the opportunity to observe these striking birds in various stages of development,” said Frederick Beall, Zoo New England General Curator, who added, “We hope to continue successfully breeding these birds to genetically diversify the colony while increasing our flock.” 

Stone Zoo has had a highly successful Caribbean flamingo breeding colony for many years. The first breeding occurred in 1994, and it has continued every year except one with a total of 104 hatches, including the new chicks. The flock at Stone Zoo now numbers more than 42 birds plus seven chicks, which range in age from a few days old to at least 43 years old.  The ideal breeding conditions must include easy access to water as well as a muddy area. Flamingos build their nests by mounding up piles of mud, which can measure up to two feet tall. A single egg is laid and is incubated by both parents. Both parents also rear the chick.

Zoo New England manages Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and Stone Zoo in Stoneham.  Both are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Zoo New England's mission is to inspire people to protect and sustain the natural world for future generations by creating fun and engaging experiences that integrate wildlife and conservation programs, research, and education.

Photo Credits:  Elise Amendola

 

Two Fluffy Flamingo Chicks Hand Raised in Johannesburg

Every spring in South Africa, Johannesburg Zoo’s flock of flamingos gets busy with preparations for their new chicks. Flamingos start laying eggs around September & October, after carefully building raised nests from mud in their enclosure. Weeks before breeding season starts keepers provide clay-like substrate to the enclosure for the birds to build with. Initially the clay is kept wet once a week to ensure nest stay moist and keep their shape.

Unfortunately, the hen sometimes makes the mistake of laying an egg on the grass or the egg may roll off the nest. For those eggs abandoned by the parents’ zookeepers collect and incubate them for 28 to 30 days in the hope that the chicks will hatch and survive. This is no easy task as the eggs need very specific conditions of 99.5 degrees (37.5 degrees celcius) and 75% humidity to grow.

The first egg laid this season unfortunately rolled off of the nest and was collected by birdkeeper, Elaine Bratt. It was incubated from September 22, and to Elaine’s delight a little chick hatched on October 20! Named Nu, it is the first official flamingo chick of 2011 and is being cared for around the clock, just as its parents would do. Nu was joined by Kuba on November 8. The two live in the zoo’s bird rearing facility called “The Brooder Room”. Each has its own room with a heat lamp to keep the temperature constant. The chicks are fed every 2 to 3 hours a special diet of sardines, shrimp, boiled egg, maize meal, calcium and multi-vitamins.

Photo Credits: Photos 1-2 Lorna Fuller, Photos 3-4 Candice Segal/Joburg Zoo

Paignton Zoo Hand Rears Chilean Flamingo Chick

A Chilean Flamingo chick is being hand-reared by zoo keepers after the egg was abandoned by its parents. Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is known for its flock of some 50 Chilean Flamingos that live by the entrance to the Devon zoo. 

Senior head bird keeper Peter Smallbones said, “The chick hatched on July 21, 2011. It is being kept warm in a brooder and fed every 3 hours. We lose eggs to seagulls and to clumsy-footed adult birds, so we take in abandoned eggs to make sure we have some youngsters.” In addition, there are currently two chicks with the flamingo flock on the island. 

Staff are using a syringe to feed the chick on a mixture of children’s porridge and fish. The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) comes from Chile but is also found in southern Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and southern Brazil, and can be found in brackish or saltwater lakes and lagoons. This large bird is classed as Near Threatened.

Photo Credit: Paignton Zoo

Sleight of Hand Helps Flamingo Moms Rest

On July 13, three Flamingo chicks went on exhibit at Columbus Zoo. In recent years, the zoo has been increasingly successful in breeding Flamingos. Keepers have found that hand rearing chicks makes these typicaly easily spooked birds more manageable in their adulthood. Columbus Zoo lightens the load for Flamingo moms by positioning a wooden decoy egg in the nest after removing the real eggs for incubation. This ensures that the females won't continue to lay, since egg laying is a taxing operation.

Photo credits: COurtesy of H. Misner and Columbus Zoo

Unlike adult Flamingos, chicks hatch covered in a fluffy white down which will remain white or grey during the first two years of their lives. The Flamingo's trade mark pink plummage appears in the second or third year. This trio will be on display for an hour each day (from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.) with the other 32 flamingos in the Zoo's flock. The rest of the time they'll be behind the scenes eating a special formula and getting plenty of sleep.

Fluffy Flamingo Chicks at Woodland Park Zoo

Two Chilean flamingos have hatched at Woodland Park Zoo, marking the second successful breeding season for the species. The first chick hatched on Oct. 3, followed by the second hatching on Oct. 9. Both chicks are under the care of their parents in the flamingo exhibit near the Temperate Forest. Both parents care for their chick, feeding them “crop milk,” which is nutritionally similar to milk that is produced by mammals. The chicks leave their nest about three to five days after hatching but remain in close proximity to their parents for feedings and brooding.

Photo credits: Dennis Dow / Woodland Park Zoo

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Flamingo Chick Steps Out

The Albuquerque Biological Park's two month old Caribbean Flamingo chick is learning the ins and outs of life on top of stilt like legs in the pictures below. Looking like something out of the age of dinosaurs, the chick is being hand-reared but gradually introduced to the flock it will join once it is fully grown.

Swaddled in Flamingo Down

Last week the Franklin Park Zoo outside of Boston welcomed a new Chilean Flamingo chick. These flamingos create nests out of mounds of mud, which can reach two feet tall.  A single egg is laid and is incubated by both the parents, who also jointly raise the chick. Thanks to photographer S. Woodruff for sharing these images.