Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category

Sep
02

Raven’s name!

Posted by bschaefer in Behind the Scenes,Birds,Natural Encounters

At long last we have bestowed upon our Lady Raven a name.  There was much debate and deliberation over what would fit this bird.  Several people suggested Lenore and it was definitely hard to resist this one, but since Poe’s Lenore came to a mysterious and untimely end, we thought perhaps we wouldn’t invite fate along on this quest for a name.  If you are following along with the comments, you might have seen Kara suggest the name ”Quoth” so when we introduced her during a presentation we could say “This is Quoth…the raven”.  Zoo Keeper’s tend to have a quirky sense of humor so this was a  front runner for a long time, but when we call her to us from a distance, it’s difficult to say “Here Quoth”.  So back to the drawing board.

We are enjoying working with her immensely, but she definitely keeps us on our toes!  She can be soliciting a scratch or a play session one second and then clacking her beak at you and attempting to abscond with your treat container the next.  She definitely has her own ideas about what she wants to do and how a training session should progress, and although we shied away from Lenore, we thought an obscure Poe reference could be in order.

So all the factors; her flight was delayed because of a storm, she changes moods on a dime, Poe reference….hmmmm…

Finally we hit on the perfect name!

We’d like to introduce Tempest the Raven!

 

 

Natural Encounters Keeper Amelia plays a game of tug-of-war with Tempest as Supervisor Amanda watches the fun.

We hope you like our choice and we are looking forward to blogging about all our adventures training with and being educated by Tempest.  She is learning so fast we can hardly keep up and we hope to have her public debut in the next few months.

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Sep
01

More Chicks! The Elegant Crested Tinamous

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

 Elegant Crested Tinamous, found mostly in Argentina, are football shaped ground birds with fancy hats.  Tinamous are usually shy and elusive birds. When it comes time to breed the female will lay her shiny green eggs in a ground nest under the shelter of a bush. It is then the males’ job to incubate the eggs and care for the chicks.

Vividly colored Tinamou eggs

Our breeding pair of Tinamous here at the Houston Zoo, located in the Fischer Bird Gardens, has successfully provided us with an abundance of fertile eggs. Since the male has not yet shown interest in incubating them, our bird department team took over and placed the eggs in an incubator.

This past July 2 chicks hatched and almost immediately began exploring the world (inside their brooder box that is). Tinamou chicks hatch looking remarkably similar to the adults, and even have a starter crest.

Adult female

Hatched chick on day 2

To hand raise the chicks we are feeding them a combination of pheasant starter pellets, chopped fruits, egg and insects. As a keeper, it’s our job to provide the food and clean accommodations, but the chicks are able to feed themselves almost from day one.

Lunch!

We keepers mostly get to sit back and watch their crest grow! You can see why they’re called Elegant Crested…

By day 10 it's crest has nearly doubled in length!

These birds always make me think of something from Dr. Seuss…  Can you see it? Tell me in the comments below!

Written by Samantha Montgomery

Aug
27

Blue-throated Conure chicks hatch at the Houston Zoo!

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

In Brazil, the Blue- throated Conures are found in lowland forest and at the Houston Zoo, in the Birds of the World exhibits.

Adult Blue-throated conures

 This year, our pair hatched a chick on July 24th after about 25 days of incubation. Even though the parents are raising the chick, we still do our part as keepers to help them.

Welcome to the world!

We give them a special diet three times a day, made up of chopped apple, bananas, sweet potato, carrot, corn, and grapes. Also, parakeet seed mix, sunflower seeds, and a crunchy pellet.  Yum!

Fresh and nutritious!

We occasionally get the chick out of the nest  box to see to it’s well being. When we do this we get a weight and check overall health. We will also put a band around the chick’s leg so that we will be able to identify it when it is older.

Attaching a leg band

When the chicks fledge (leaves the nest box), you will be able to see them on exhibit, right across from the flamingo exhibit, around September  10th.

He’ll look a LOT different by then!  Come check the little guys out.

Written by Jessica Clark

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Aug
19

Flamingo Chicks: Sometimes Baby Gets Sick!

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

Not everything about hand raising birds is fun and games.  Sometimes the chicks can get sick – but thankfully we have 4 vets on staff that we can count on to help us out when it happens.

Chick 6 (or “Green Head” as we marked him) is a little bit of a bully.  It was one that had to be kept in a brooder alone (but still next to all the other chicks) because every time we would put them all together, 6 would chase around and bite the other ones.  Until one day about 2 weeks ago….

We weigh the chicks every morning and every evening to make sure they are growing well.  Also, we carefully monitor their hydration and food intake.  About 2 weeks ago, Chick 6 was not gaining as much weight as everyone else and the chick’s appetite seemed to decrease.  About a day after we started really watching 6, we noticed that he (or she) sneezed a lot — but was otherwise active and lively.

The next morning was a completely different story!  When the keepers came in, Chick 6 was coughing and sneezing constantly, and having a really, really hard time breathing.  We called the vets immediately.

Without delay,  Chick 6 was moved to our vet clinic.  It seemed it was pneumonia.  The vet staff placed  it in a special holding area where it could receive oxygen constantly and be nebulized 4 times a day.

The little guy in a nebulizing chamber

The chick was still having trouble breathing, so the vets put in a “air sac canula.” This is basically a tube that is put into the air sac (on the side of the body) that allows the chick to breathe easier — a little like a person getting a tracheotomy.  This helped Chick 6 a lot! He was able to breathe a lot more and not be so stressed.

After a week of treatment (both oral antibiotics, anti-fungal medication and aerosolized medication for the chick’s lung), Chick 6 was able to be move to a holding area with out the oxygen.

The chick in it's holding cage

Just like the other chicks, Chick 6 got it’s exercise by running around to keep it’s strength up.

As it got better, Chick 6 got more strength and was able to play for longer periods at a time.

On Friday, August 13, Chick 6 was returned to the department to live with the 7 other flamingo chicks.  Yay!  He still has to be kept separated from the other chicks – but now it’s just because he’s still a little bit of a bully!!

The now-healthy chick, with Dr. Lauren Howard and Dr. Maryanne Tocidlowski

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Aug
17

Encounter Our Green Aracari

Posted by bschaefer in Behind the Scenes,Birds,Natural Encounters

Natural Encounters Keeper Priscilla is clearly on Pico's "Friends" list

Our members and frequent guests would probably describe Natural Encounters as a place where you can see many species from many habitats all in one place.  We specialize in mixed species exhibits and in bringing our animals out onto the public floor for, well, encounters.  One of our popular birds that you might see in either the indoor or the outdoor rain forest exhibits is Pico, our collard aracari (ahr-uh-SAHR-ee).  He’s quite the charmer with his fancy colors and the way he approaches the front of the exhibit to get a closer look at guests. 

Pico is an inredible animal to work with, but unfortunately he has strong likes and dislikes as far as individuals.  He doesn’t hesitate to let you know how he feels about you the moment he meets you.  So, much as we adore him, as far as an encounter candidate, he’s maybe not the best.  Pico has been able to teach our guests that these birds range from Central through South America and that they are related to toucans as well as many other facts about aracari’s. Don’t forget to tell Pico how handsome he is when you see him!

Because we had come to love aracari’s so much through Pico, we were thrilled when we got a call recently from the Houston SPCA about an aracari that was confiscated from an individual that could not properly care for the large numbers of birds they had aquired.  This aracari was reportedly very friendly and loved everyone she met.  We went right over to the SPCA to meet her.  She was everything they told us, with personality plus!  We quickly made arrangements for quarantine space and she came to the zoo.  She has been given a clean bill of health by our veterinary staff and has now moved to her permanent home in Natural Encounters.

Meet Olivia, the green aracari!  She will be making appearances at Natural Encounters so stop by on your visits to the zoo and learn more cool facts about aracari’s and their rain forest homes!

Get your own bird's eye view of Olivia, our new green aracari when you visit Natural Encounters!

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Aug
13

Flamingo “Foot”-age

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

After several weeks of practice and time to grow strong, the flamingo chicks are starting their walks to the flamingo exhibit.  They will be in the exhibit each day for about an hour to make sure they get plenty of sun and exercise.  Check out the zoo’s daily update  on our webpage, on the Plan Your Day Kiosks on Zoo grounds, or on our iPhone app to find out the time that the flamingo chicks will be out and about….

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Aug
10

The Flamingo Gym

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

Exercise for 30 minutes a day makes you grow big and strong.

Currently, it’s recommended that for a healthy lifestyle everyone should get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.  This is not only true for people, but it is also true for our growing flamingos. 

Since flamingos have such long legs and grow so very quickly, it is easy for them to outgrow the strength of their legs. They have to be monitored each day to make sure they’re gaining enough weight, but not so much that it could possibly cause too much strain on those spindly gams. 

2-day-old chick

34-day-old chick

Above you can see just how dramatic their growth is. As they do, we provide them with that much more space to move around. Though the chicks may start in small plastic brooders, they soon take up residence in outside pens where there’s plenty of  space to flourish.  But even though they are in a larger area, we still have them get additional exercise in 2 main ways:  swimming and walking. 

The spacious pens mean room to grow

To help keep up their strength,  they are set out to play several times a day in a small swimming pool.  This allows them to bathe, eat, and socialize together. 

We also have them walk around the off-exhibit area to develop their coordination and make their legs strong.  They have learned to follow us and we use this to get them to run and play!

The next step to making sure they get enough exercise is taking them for longer walks – like out to the Flamingo Exhibit to swim in the large pool, and also to be introduced to the adult flamingos.

We can’t wait to have you see it, so stay tuned for the next post!

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Aug
04

Baby Flamingo Gruel a.k.a Fishy Goodness!

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

As mentioned in our last post about the Houston Zoo’s baby Flamingos, here is the recipe for the Flamingo Food.  And just below, a fantastic little video of how we make it that’s too entertaining not to watch!

 Flamingo Hand Rearing Formula (Diet)

 720g Infant rice cereal flakes (soaked in water)
720g Shrimp
720g Smelt/Capelin (whole/thawed) – heads/tails/fins removed
720g Hard-boiled egg yolks
1 cup Vionate
1 cc Thiamin-Vitamin E paste
~12 cups water 
 

1.) Soak Rice cereal in water (according to directions) – set- aside 720 g of soaked rice cereal

2.) Peel shrimp and dice, blend well with ~1-2 cups of water

3.) Take heads, fins, and tails off of the fish, dice, blend well with ~1-2 cups of water

4) Blend egg yolks, vionate, and thiamin with ~1-2 cup of water

5.) Mix all ingredients together and blend well

6.) Strain formula and blend remainder, strain again.

7.) Divide up into smaller batches to freeze. Fresh made formula will keep in the fridge for 24 – 48 hours

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Aug
02

Growing Up Flamingo: Swimming and Feeding

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Birds

Flamingos grow-up quickly… sort of… they will need us to help feed them for at least the next 90 days – so they will still be babies in that sense.  However, in just a span of 3 months they will grow from being about 10 inches high to being over 3 feet tall.  Growing this quickly means that we have to keep a close eye on the development of the flamingo’s legs. Flong-legged birds, it is very important that the chicks do not outgrow their leg strength.

Flamingos hatch out with very dense white/gray down.  This down helps them keep warm and dry.  It also makes them very buoyant.  When chicks are just 2 – 3 days old, the parents will often taken them for their first swim.  Swimming is great exercise for baby flamingos, as it helps their legs develop properly. To mimic this, we start swimming the flamingo chicks when they are just a couple of days old.

The Fuzzy Bunch takes their first swim!

Swimming is just one form of exercise that the flamingo chicks receive.  Several times a day they are placed in “play-pens” with all the other chicks. This allows them to start interacting with others and also show off their ability to bathe themselves (a behavior that they start almost from the time they hatch).

Each flamingo chick has its own distinct personality. Some are very sweet, others like to bite.  This distinction can be seen when they interact with each other. Watch this:

One of the other ways we definitely notice the chick’s personality is when we’re feeding them. Some of the chicks will sit quietly and eat, others like to run around the table.  Some don’t mind if the formula is warm, others want the formula to be exactly 104.6º or they throw food every where. When you’re feeding a formula made of pureed fish and shrimp, having the formula spit back out on you it is not necessarily a pleasant experience. 

A wee bite of the hand that feeds.

This little one needs a napkin.

Now here's how you eat politely!

We’ll share this delictable recipe in the next post, for those among you who are conniseurs… and show a delightful demonstration of just how it’s made, so please stop back!

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Jul
28

Lady Raven’s identity

Posted by bschaefer in Behind the Scenes,Birds,Natural Encounters

Natural Encounters Keeper Amelia with our finally identified Lady Raven.

No longer will we need to sit  engaged in guessing, with multiple syllables expressing the gender of Raven.  We got the lab tests results and SHE will grow into a beautiful Lady as she gets older.  Now comes the fun part, choosing her name!  We’d love to hear suggestions from the audience!

 

 

 

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