A pair of flamingo chicks have been left "terrified" of the colour pink, according to keepers at London Zoo.
Published: 1:24PM BST 18 Jun 2009
BABY FLAMINGOS: BABY FLAMINGOS 'SCARED OF PINK'
Young flamingos take up to a year to turn pink, after they shed their grey downing feathers Photo: GETTY
The chicks were fed using a pink sock puppet, and staff at the zoo are now hoping when the 32-day-olds develop their distinctive colour, they will get over their aversion.
The birds are named Little and Large, and Alison Brown, 30, a keeper of birds at the zoo, said: "To try to encourage Little to feed by himself we've been wearing a hand puppet which imitates adult flamingos, but unfortunately he was really terrified of the socks."
Young flamingos take up to a year to turn pink, after they shed their grey downing feathers, so Little and Large are not afraid of themselves or each other, and Ms Brown is confident the chicks will grow out of their fear.
She said: "We'll just have to hope they get used to the colour pink, but I'm sure it won't be a problem. Once Little gets his own pink colour he'll be fine."
Large, at 800g, weighs considerably more than Little, who is just 584g. When they first hatched, keepers fed them a formula of shrimps and mackerel, with vitamins and minerals, and Large has begun to eat the adult food made up with the same ingredients in pellets.
But Ms Brown is not concerned for the smaller chick: "Little just needs to learn to eat by himself and then he'll start putting on weight and get as big as Large.
"It's not a worry at all, Little is just taking his time at learning how to feed himself. It can take up to 45 days, or a little longer. We put them in housing together so he can learn how to feed from Large."
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link to www.telegraph.co.uk]
Last Edited by ALeopardSanctuary on 06/19/2009 01:54 AM
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