For the first time in the country, three ostrich chicks were hatched under natural conditions at the Vana Vignana Kendra here.
The ostriches laid 11 eggs and three birds were hatched on December 20 and 21 -- each weighing 850 grams -- without any incubation.
A visibly elated Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) Ch. Ganga Reddy said nowhere in the country birds were hatched like this.
Veterinary doctor Ch. Praveen Kumar said since temperature was very low owing to winter, the birds were kept at 33.3 degree Celsius for now.
Mr. Ganga Reddy explained that only the zoo at Chennai has the expertise of hatching ostrich eggs through artificial incubation.
“Warangal weather is suitable for bird breeding under natural conditions. In future, this zoo will emerge as a successful breeding centre and supply birds to other zoos in the country,” he explained.
‘A good omen’Forest Department officials consider this as a good omen for ostriches. This was a gift not just to the people of Warangal but to the entire country, Mr. Ganga Reddy said.
The ostrich is the heaviest of all living birds and they sit on a clutch of eggs to incubate them like other birds. The chicks are being fed crumbles. In all, the ostriches laid 13 eggs and one was damaged. The other eggs are being incubated by parent birds. It takes 42 days for each to hatch.
The Vana Vignana Kendra acquired a pair of ostriches born in 2008 from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University by investing an amount of Rs. 3 lakh under the Plough Back Zoo Revenue (PBZR) scheme in January 2013.
