News Release

“FAT FREDDY” Drops at Rainbow Springs Kiwi Encounter

Rotorua, 7 November 2013 - The team at Rainbow Springs Kiwi Encounter have given a big welcome to their biggest new arrival. ‘Fat Freddy’ entered the world this week tipping the scales at 432g, the average chick weight being around 340g. ‘Fat Freddy’ is the biggest kiwi ever hatched at Rainbow Springs, and possibly the biggest in New Zealand, and is doing very well.

The egg was delivered from Maungataniwha (Napier) and weighed 524g on arrival so the team knew that they were in for a big event. ‘Fat Freddy’ had a fully assisted hatch due to his malposition inside the egg which would have made it impossible for him to have successfully hatched in the wild.

Claire Travers, Kiwi Encounter Husbandry Manager says “often chicks will vary in size; it all comes down to genetics. It is quite rare to have a chick this big hatch successfully so Rainbow Springs are very excited to have been a part of it and be able to say that ‘Fat Freddy’ is our biggest hatch to date.”

The team at the Kiwi Encounter are saying that ‘Fat Freddy’ is living up to his namesakes “Fat Freddy’s Drop” and is an extremely vocal chick. The ‘baby’ will stay with the team at rainbow springs until he is about a month old before returning to Napier to continue his growth and finally be released back into the wild.

Watch ‘Fat Freddy’ in action here. To find out more about sponsoring a kiwi or making a donation visit www.rainbowsprings.co.nz. Every Kiwi Encounter Tour booked at Rainbow Springs is donated to the National Kiwi Trust.

Rainbow Springs involvement in kiwi conservation began in 1995 with the arrival of an orphaned egg and the hatchery has grown over the years to become the largest kiwi hatching facility in New Zealand, successfully incubating and hatching brown kiwi eggs from around the North Island.

ENDS

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