Flamingo Chicks Hatch At Marwell Zoo

25 June 2013, 06:46 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Marwell Zoo near Winchester has announced the arrival of four flamingo chicks.

The fluffy grey youngsters range from a few days old to a week old and are still finding their feet whilst they explore their new home.

Three years ago keepers introduced various techniques to encourage the Greater flamingos at Marwell Zoo to breed.

Ross Brown, Marwell’s collection manager for birds explains: “We are delighted by these births. As well as new mirrors to give the illusion of an increased flock size and a recording of flamingo noises playing at the enclosure, we also gave our flamingos a choice of nest sites. And it looks like the hard work has paid off!”

This is a record number of flamingo chicks to have hatched at Marwell Zoo and they’re could be more excitement on the way.

Ross added: “At the moment we have 4 chicks, which is amazing, but watch this space as we have 5 eggs left that may hatch too.”

The birds are being left to bond with their parents but in a few weeks time the animal teams can get closer to see if they are males or females.

Flamingos incubate their eggs for 30 days and the parents take it in turns to look after the youngster.

Young flamingos are grey and do not turn pink for two years. For the first three to four weeks, the chick is fed entirely by the parents who secrete a creamy pink liquid called 'crop milk'.