August 16, 2004
By Lebofsa Masha
A NEW brooder room for incubating eggs and hand-rearing baby birds is to be formally opened at the Johannesburg Zoo during the Sasol Bird Fair on 3 and 4 September.
The new facility will cater for the rarer bird species, like parrots, raptors, waterfowl, cranes, storks, hornbills, and other selected birds.
Zoo marketing manager Senzo Ngcobo says the previous facilities did not have all the amenities essential for staff to institute latest techniques. "The new brooder room is uniquely designed for our purposes," Ngcobo said.
Located close to the main entrance of the zoo, the brooder room will be used to incubate eggs and house the hatched chicks. Visitors will be able to observe the various stages of development from incubation and hatching to hand-rearing and feeding.
Information boards will detail the progress from fertilisation to the laying of the eggs, through the embryo development in the shell to the hatching and subsequent growth of the chick.
Part of the facility will be set up as a nursery and bedroom for staff members who need to remain on the premises to care for young chicks that cannot be moved.
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