Ohio zoo uses fake eggs so mama flamingos rest

[July 14, 2011]  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio zoo is using artificial eggs to fool its mother flamingos, so they don't wear themselves out.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has found eggs laid by its female flamingos are most likely to hatch if they're put in an incubator.

But the Columbus Dispatch reports that when eggs are taken away, the mothers may keep laying replacements.

Zoo assistant curator Carrie Pratt tells the newspaper it can be taxing to continue to lay eggs. To get the females to stop producing, the zoo gives them fake eggs made of wood or plaster.

The zoo just welcomed its latest incubated chicks -- three that were hatched less than a week ago.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com/

[Associated Press]

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