Jul
16

Baby Flamingos Arrive at the Houston Zoo

Posted by in Animal Info,Behind the Scenes,Birds,Featured

Flamingo flock at the Houston Zoo

For over 40 years, Chilean Flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis)  have called the Houston Zoo home.  Our flock has 41 birds; 20 males and 21 females.  We have been hoping to increase the size of our flamingo flock as flamingos generally like large crowds; but unfortunately our flamingos do not breed and raise chicks every year. 

Transporting adult flamingos from one zoo to another can be tricky; with their long necks and long legs, they can easily get too confined and injure themselves.  This makes our normal method of flying birds to other zoos harder than most shipments (the flight is via airplane - wouldn’t it be great if we could just give them flight directions to their new zoo home and they could find their own way?) 

Cory Leboff, Houston Zoo bird keeper, arriving from Atlanta with 10 Chilean Flamingo eggs.

About a month ago, Zoo Atlanta sent out word that they would have extra Chilean Flamingo eggs that would be available to other zoos. So we signed up to get some in order to increase our flock.

On June 30, 2010, Cory Leboff, Houston Zoo bird keeper, drove to Atlanta to pick up 10 Chilean Flamingo eggs.  Because eggs are fragile during incubation (excessive jarring or roughness can harm the developing embryo), it is best to transport them as late in incubation as possible.  The first egg was due July 2, 2010.

To transport eggs, we use a specially modified cooler – it has a heater inside and the temperature can be regulated (see pictures below).  When Cory was at the Atlanta Zoo, he filled the brooder (the transport cooler) with foam rubber to protect the eggs and set the temperature at 94 º to keep the developing flamingos warm and healthy.

After a 13 hour drive from Atlanta, the 10 flamingo eggs arrived at the Houston Zoo at 7 PM on July 1, 2010.

Keep checking back to this blog as we will be posting new updates on the egg hatchings and the flamingo babies growth.

Written by Hannah Bailey, Houston Zoo Bird Curator

 
 

The eggs were transported in a specially modified cooler – it has a heater inside and the temperature can be regulated.

The temperature is set at around 94 º to keep the developing flamingos warm and healthy.

Help with the care and feeding of our baby flamingos by adopting them today! Your adoption also supports important education and conservation programs at the Houston Zoo.

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