After a four-year break

Sensation at the zoo: flamingo chicks hatch

Thorough planning at Schönbrunn Zoo leads to the long-awaited flamingo offspring.(Bild: Daniel Zupanc)

After a four-year break, Schönbrunn Zoo is delighted to announce the successful breeding of pink flamingos. Twelve chicks have already hatched and we can look forward to more. However, breeding the birds is not easy, it is a complex process!

The exemplary preparation for the breeding success of the pink flamingos is now paying off: twelve chicks have already hatched, some eggs are still in the nests. 

"Flamingo breeding is a complex process in which many factors have to interact," explains zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck. Last winter, for example, was the first time that there was no officially prescribed confinement due to bird flu, which had a positive effect on the animals' biorhythms.

Precise preparation for breeding success
Schönbrunn worked closely with Bratislava Zoo for the feathered offspring, which promoted the formation of suitable breeding pairs, according to the Vienna zoo. 

Above all, precise preparation is crucial for breeding success. This is because precise coordination is required both for setting up a breeding island and for switching to high-energy rearing food.

The newly hatched flamingos still have a gray downy coat - they only acquire their typical pink plumage after three years.(Bild: Daniel Zupanc)

For zoo fans, observing the development of the young flamingos is a remarkable natural spectacle. The newly hatched babies are currently wearing a gray down plumage, which is naturally ideal for camouflaging them in the loamy breeding mounds. The chicks are considered shy at first, but after a short time they begin to explore the entire breeding island. 

From gray fluff to pink splendor
At a young age, the pink flamingos leave the nest and form small "nurseries". The flamingos only acquire the color of their magnificent plumage after three years, whereby a special feed is used in zoos to produce the dye in order to achieve a similar effect as in the wild. 

This is because the dyes in the crabs that the flamingos eat usually give their plumage its typical pink hue. "In the first few months of life, the chicks are fed by their parents with crop milk - a secretion from glands in the oesophagus. Later, they learn to filter food from the water themselves," concludes Hagenbeck.