Inside the new flamingo house
The new Flamingo Lagoon exhibit at WWT Slimbridge contains one of the largest, purpose-built flamingo houses in any zoo that you will visit. Whilst this house is not actually on show to visitors, you can get a good idea of its scale when you are looking at the exhibit from the public viewing area. This house has been designed to comfortably house a flock of up to 500 individuals, and could be used to house more if needed. Aviculturist Phil Tovey was instrumental in the design of the house ensuring that the flamingos received enough space to rest, preen, wash, feed and bathe with ease. Enough space inside that allows the flock to all come together, as well as separate out when they chose. The suitability of the design and the tailor-made aspect of the house is clear when the birds are viewed inside; behaving in a natural, normal fashion. There are several "pop holes" that the avics can watch the birds through, when they need to be housed inside, without disturbing the flock.
The house is bio-secure and contains its own water supply and bathing area for the birds, as well as a thick rubber flooring to keep it as comfortable as possible for flamingo feet. The birds also have their own central heating and ventilation system too. A veritable flamingo Hilton! The link below will show you a short video of the bird's behaviours inside their house, and you'll see them acting in the same fashion as if they were outdoors in the lagoon itself. Testament to the avics' input into the "correct" design for this house.
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJWO_ATli4&feature=youtu.be']
It is always best to allow flamingos to be out in the open, outside in their enclosures, as much as possible, but again, a week of biting winds and iced-over water has seen the birds kept safely indoors. Still, with such palatial accommodation, I doubt they are complaining much!
