Target reached!
If we were fortunate enough to reach our target for building this much-needed flamin...
Flamingo chick rearing facility.
Scottish Borders
Aim
Flamingo chicks being hand-reared in Scottish Borders from eggs laid in Autumn - too late to otherwise survive.
Concerning future for threatened Chilean flamingos: their numbers are dropping, every egg a valuable commodity.
The Chilean flamingo has a tendancy to breed in autumn when there is insufficient sunlight (UVb) for chicks to grow properly so have little chance of survival. The solution to their survival is hand rearing. Hand rearing allows the use of special lighting , control of their food and environment. Therefore eggs that would otherwise be discarded by can be hatched and reared by human foster parents.
(two day old Chilean flamingo chicks)
Hand rearing flamingo chicks is challenging as they need to be syringe fed every two hours. It is labour intensive and very few people have the skill basis, time or experience to rear flamingo chicks.
We have experience hatching and rearing late laid eggs and are passionate about the survival of these individuals. It is something we wish to continue doing to provide life for eggs that would otherwise be discarded.
We have successfully reared 29 chicks over two winters and could improve on this with a purpose built rearing shed.
Having tame flamingo chicks has presented research opportunities and provided valuable data. The young scientist of the year 2012, was one of our students, her project was based on flamingo behaviour.
(four week old chick, identifing anklets are used to monitor weight gain and feeding regime for each chick)
We are looking for financial assistance to build a facility which will provide the necessary accommodation to rear chicks. We have volunteer labour to do the build, we just need help with material cost.
The chicks reared in this facility will establish a Chilean flamingo flock in Scotland. The Scottish Borders has parrallels with natural conditions for this flamingo. We have a lake with a nesting island and grassland areas for roosting, preening and space for the birds to simply hang-out.
(two month and three month old Chilean flamingo chicks)
We are a couple who have long-term professional animal keeping backgrounds. We are channelling our energies into creating breeding facilities for threatened birds.
Not all conservation work involves exotic expeditions, a great deal can be achieved with a ground level approach.
Thank you in advance for being part of our exciting adventure to incubate and hatch eggs that would otherwise be discarded.
(class 2012 enjoying exercise time)
This project successfully funded on 10th June 2016