With lots of fluffy feathers, long pink legs and sensitive feet,
Chester Zoo’s latest arrival of 21 Caribbean flamingo chicks required a floor
covering for their enclosure that would be hygienic, comfortable underfoot and
easy to clean.
Forbo Flooring Systems came to the rescue and supplied the UK’s most
visited zoo with its unique – and appropriately named – hybrid flocked
flooring, Flotex.
Hatching from their shells in June, the Caribbean flamingo chicks
need to be hand reared by the zookeepers until they are old enough to be
transported to form part of another important breeding colony, outside of
Chester Zoo.
Mark Vercoe, Assistant Curator of Birds, said: “Hand-rearing young
flamingo chicks is a really intricate and demanding challenge, as they are
required to be fed four times a day at regular intervals and need special
attention until they are around three months old.
“The chicks were placed in a specially created enclosure in a quiet
and tranquil part of the zoo. We needed a floor covering that would be kind to
the chicks’ feet - as they are very sensitive and can get sores easily – and
would also be easy to clean.
After searching the internet, we came across Forbo’s Flotex flocked
flooring, which ticked all of the boxes in terms of performance – and with
a name that included the word ‘flock’ we knew we had to have it; we’re
delighted with our choice.”
Usually, Forbo’s Flotex flocked flooring range is installed in
commercial interiors, such as hotels, gyms and schools, so the manufacturer was
surprised to get the call from Chester Zoo, but it of course, was more than
happy to help and support the development of the flamingo chicks. As such,
Forbo supplied Chester Zoo with the floor covering for its specially created
enclosure.
The
unique construction of Flotex combines the warmth, acoustics and underfoot
comfort of a textile with the durability and cleaning properties of a resilient
flooring – making it ideal.
With 70 million fibres per m2, Flotex has a highly dense surface pile, which reduces the potential
for soiling deposits. The upright fibres and impermeable PVC backing means that
the fibres can be cleaned right down to the base. Dry soiling is also easily
removed using an upright vacuum cleaner, while tougher stains and dirt can be
removed with standard carpet cleaning machinery, as Clare Wylie and Wayne
Mcleod, the keeper and team manager caring for the chicks found out: “We
couldn’t believe how easy it was to clean – and it dried quickly, which meant
we could get the chicks back on it in no time,” says Clare.
Mark continued: “The fact that Clare
and Wayne do not have to spend a lot of time cleaning the new floor covering
means that they are able to spend more time with the chicks and provide them
with the attention they need.
“We think Flotex is absolutely
superb, it was exactly what we needed and have been telling all our colleagues
and partner zoos about it since, so I can imagine we’ll be installing more of
it behind the scenes at the zoo in the future.”
